Key to Lost car sale

[Bekeart]

Recent thread told - There's not a single new car I would buy at this point

Yesterday I looked at two vehicles.
Rejected both because of key problem.
Fobs had HIDDEN KEYS.

2025 Mazda CX-5
Had key hole in door.
Salesman could not figure how to get a hidden key out of fob.

2019 GMC Acadia Denali
No VISIBLE key hole in door.
The key hold is hidden behind a trim strip to rear of door handle.
Salesman was able to extract the HIDDEN KEY form the fob.
There was a small opening under the trim strip for prying.
Salesman suggested use a screwdriver.
My answer - DEAD BATTERY IN FOB AND NO SCREWDRIVER !
Salesman was, with great difficulty, able to pry trim strip off.
He also had problem reinstalling the trim strip.


I demand EASY ACCESS with dead Fob Battery.
Few weeks ago SWMBO had a DYING Fob battery.
She had forgotten the secret to accessing the hidden key in her Fob.

I will be looking for older model vehicles that still have an exposed key on the fob.

I am also against the $500+ Documentation Fees.
Walmart does not charge an additional fee for printing a receipt.

Bekeart

Cranky Senior Curmudgeon

 

[mtgianni]

2023 Chevy Traverse has a key inside the fob. It has no serrations cut in it, the lock "supposedly" cuts the key when you turn it. In actuality it is easy to remember to change the batteries in the fob annually.

 

[Krogen]

My Ford has a fob with the key in it. It's not a monumental task to get the key out. On the car, there's a small cover you remove from the door handle show the lock. That gets you inside. To start the car with a dead fob, put the fob in a recess underneath the console's rubber mat. It uses near field communication allowing you to start the car with a dead fob.

Having said all this, the car whines, complains and grumbles when the fob's battery is dying. You can change the battery yourself and don't need the dealer to do it for $$. I have yet to need the key in the fob. Just change the fob battery when it alerts you.

 

[Breakaway500]

There is no reason cars today cannot open by voice command and start. If we are going high tech let's do it right!

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Recent thread told - There's not a single new car I would buy at this point

Yesterday I looked at two vehicles.
Rejected both because of key problem.
Fobs had HIDDEN KEYS.

2025 Mazda CX-5
Had key hole in door.
Salesman could not figure how to get a hidden key out of fob.

2019 GMC Acadia Denali
No VISIBLE key hole in door.
The key hold is hidden behind a trim strip to rear of door handle.
Salesman was able to extract the HIDDEN KEY form the fob.
There was a small opening under the trim strip for prying.
Salesman suggested use a screwdriver.
My answer - DEAD BATTERY IN FOB AND NO SCREWDRIVER !
Salesman was, with great difficulty, able to pry trim strip off.
He also had problem reinstalling the trim strip.


I demand EASY ACCESS with dead Fob Battery.
Few weeks ago SWMBO had a DYING Fob battery.
She had forgotten the secret to accessing the hidden key in her Fob.

I will be looking for older model vehicles that still have an exposed key on the fob.

I am also against the $500+ Documentation Fees.
Walmart does not charge an additional fee for printing a receipt.

Bekeart

Cranky Senior Curmudgeon

I share your pain especially regarding the documentation fee as I think $500 is a bit stiff. Down here the documentation fee is $175 which is them charging you to go to the DMV to do the paperwork. For me, paying $175 not to F with the DMV and waste a morning is well worth it! For $500, I'll do it myself. As far as Notary fee, I won't pay it.. Period. Not for an in house employee Notary who isn't even in the room while you sign the papers. I once walked out on a sale over that one little thing. Reported the dealership to the Notary board and used that little bit of information (the Notary wasn't present at the time of signing) to my client's advantage a year or two later in overturning an executory process filed against the client because of the defect on the paperwork-Notary not present at the time of signing.

 

[Onomea]

Like others above, I just wait for the car to notify me that the battery is dying, and then switch 'em out. YouTube has videos on how to do this for specific cars.

I didn't read the thread on not buying any new car today. The premise didn't apply to me. I think new cars are great. I like all the new stuff.

 

[LVSteve]

The doc fee racket is why I will likely never buy a car from a Nevada dealer ever again. The cabal has been upping it over the years and I'm done with their games.

As for the key thing, it comes under the "first world problems" category. Most cars bleat about a low fob battery long before it dies, so I'm not seeing the issue.

 

[swsig]

...Walmart does not charge an additional fee for printing a receipt.

Yet...

 

[Bald1]

My 2022 F250 has a key in the fob. Press a button and it shoots out like a switch blade. A key in the ignition is the only way to start it.

 

[GaryS]

Except Kia and Hyundai. They seem to start themselves on the command of car thieves.

There is no reason cars today cannot open by voice command and start. If we are going high tech let's do it right!

 

[decuerno]

My 1951 Ford F-1 pickup (former U.S. Dept of Agriculture) made of cast-iron and an inline-six with 3-on the column has a key and a push-button for the starter, with manual steering, brakes and windows and mechanical cabin-air scoop and vent windows. That truck is still serviceable and will still be serviceable as long as it exists by anyone with a modicum of talent who knows how to set the ignition-points and access the 6-volt, positive-ground battery beneath the passenger-side floorboards.

I cannot foresee the same with my new 2024 RAm 2500 Cummins diesel with electronic engine-control-gizmos, touch-screen "U-connect", WIFI/Satellite that automatically updates the software over-the-air (and reports my driving habits and service-records to Stellantis via the cellular network as well as any dealership that plugs into the OBD-port). When the TIPM (computer mainframe) or voice-command navigation, cell-phone, and climate controls dies in a decade or two… does anyone really believe this truck will be supportable so my grandson can drive it…?

I think not.

 

[AJ]

Except Kia and Hyundai. They seem to start themselves on the command of car thieves.

The last several new cars that we have purchase have not really needed a key to open the doors or to start the car. Just change the battery on the fob when alerted..

My Wife just bought a Hyundai Santa Fe Limited. No hidden key, just all electronic to open or start. As long as you have the fob in your pocket just grab the door handle and it will unlock. Then it is push button to start. Car is smarter than I am. Need a degree to read the owners manual. Nine cameras or sensors around the car to let you know where you are in relation to other cars and such!