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Key Security Within The Dealership
A recent letter I received from a Wheels reader, Harold Schroeder, requested comment on an important subject.
Mr. Ken Shaw:
Recently, I received a disturbing e-mail regarding car thieves. Apparently, they read the VIN # [Vehicle Identification Number] of a car they wish to steal. Then they phone the dealership to cut a new key, and go and pick it up.
Now they have a key to the car and can drive away without having to break in. Would they not have to supply any identification? Have you heard of this?
Harold Schroeder
Auto theft in Canada has become an extremely slick and sophisticated activity for car thieves and it is a continuous challenge for our under-staffed, law enforcement agencies. Car theft has proliferated because it?s so profitable for the thieves, and because the penalties are much less severe than, for example, dealing drugs.
Our legal system seems to view car theft as a victimless crime, since insurance companies will usually cover your loss. This is one area where I sympathize with the insurance companies ? but the only area! Needless to say, these insurance payouts drive up insurance premiums for all of us.
To address Mr. Schroeder?s point, it is true that there are usually manufacturers? databases from which authorized personnel can extract a car?s key number, if they have the VIN. These databases are obviously restricted but, as we all know, even the best security can sometimes be breached.
In the 1970s, key security was almost non-existent, as vehicles were shipped on transport trucks with the key code often written in crayon, right on the car?s window. But, this is a brave new world of auto theft; key codes are no longer marked on windows or stamped on the keys, and the days of hot-wiring vehicles are long gone.
Today, auto manufacturers have engineered so many security features into new vehicles that they are virtually impossible to steal ? unless, a crook steals your key or he/she succeeds in getting a duplicate key cut and programmed.
Many of today's car keys have a programmable immobilizer chip in the key. This immobilizer chip ?in the key? must match the engine computer or the car will not start. With this technology, the security of key codes AND the ease of getting a replacement key cut can determine if your car is still in your driveway in the morning.
A declining number of dealers will still innocently cut and sell keys with no questions asked. This could easily lead to your car ending up on a container ship, leaving the country, within hours.
However, a growing number of dealers are escalating security and demanding proper identification before they cut a key. Many dealers, based on police recommendations, will now only cut a key for the registered owner of a vehicle when he/she presents multiple pieces of ID.
Legitimate customers are often annoyed by these security measures even though these added measures are in place strictly to safeguard their vehicles. Increased security measures inevitably result in greater inconvenience.
On a personal note, several months ago, our Parts Department was approached by a male wanting a key cut for a vehicle that belonged to his wife. He had his personal ID, but he was NOT the registered owner of the vehicle. The vehicle was registered in his wife?s name. The Parts Department followed policy and refused to cut a key for him. The customer was extremely upset, especially since the vehicle had been purchased at our dealership.
The husband then contacted me, hoping for a different decision. Somewhat reluctantly, I stood firm on our company policy: no key. The husband left extremely angry, and I spent the rest of the day wondering if I hade made a big mistake in not selling this man a key.
Two days later, I received a call from this man?s wife, thanking me for not cutting the key. She was in the midst of a nasty divorce and her husband was trying to obtain a duplicate key and take her vehicle.
So, the next time your dealer refuses to cut you a key without proper ID, rather than getting upset, you should thank the dealer (and that parts person) for taking the security of your vehicle so seriously.
Ken Shaw Jr. is President of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association and is a new-car dealer in Toronto. E-mail comments to president@tada.ca
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