Car key stolen

May 7, 2016 12:21 PM

We have 2 cars in our carport. Car A was accidentally left unlocked last night, and this morning it was evident that someone had gone through it. There was nothing taken (apparently) except that Car A had a spare key to Car B, and that is now missing. (Car B was also ransacked but contained nothing of value). What should we do about the missing key? How likely is Car B to get stolen now?
posted by Maximian to Society & Culture (12 answers total)

Best answer: Get the locks changed pronto for car b.
posted by brujita at 12:27 PM on May 7, 2016 [12 favorites]

Best answer: ^Yep^ You can also have the original locks rekeyed by a locksmith which might cost less. In the meantime, maybe park car A in such a way as to block car B in.
posted by rodlymight at 12:32 PM on May 7, 2016 [7 favorites]

Best answer: You can also take the battery out.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:42 PM on May 7, 2016 [9 favorites]

Best answer: I would be very concerned that the thieves would return to steal Car B, though it seems odd that they didn't do it right away. Have you looked around in the area around the car and the street/sidewalk to see if the spare key was dropped? If you can't find the spare, I would definitely have Car B re-keyed.

Also check your documents and plates-- in my area, thieves are stealing registrations and proof of insurance and switching plates.
posted by charmcityblues at 1:28 PM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I know someone who had their car keys stolen from their house, then that evening their car was stolen. The thief went away and came back later specifically for the car. So definitely do whatever you can to make both the cars secure. The last thing you want is your insurance refusing to pay out because the key was left around where it could be found (maybe not likely, but also may be possible).
posted by shelleycat at 1:43 PM on May 7, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks for the advice so far. We did search the area for the key, but couldn't find it. Oddly, the thief missed an MP3 player in Car A, or for some reason didn't take it. I'll call a locksmith, and if they can't deal with it today I guess I'll remove the battery. I don't think I can block the car in with the other car, but hopefully the would-be car thief won't bring their own battery.

Another idea is to use a steering wheel lock ("the club"), but I'm not sure whether that's worthwhile as I know nothing about them.
posted by Maximian at 1:57 PM on May 7, 2016

Response by poster: Also, should we file a police report?
posted by Maximian at 2:02 PM on May 7, 2016

Best answer: I would file a police report, yeah. It's not going to do anything for you directly, but if it turns out there's a pattern of break-ins, the police might patrol the area to discourage future incidents.
posted by rodlymight at 2:17 PM on May 7, 2016 [9 favorites]

Best answer: Also, should we file a police report?

Yes. It helps them out. The more the cops know about where crimes like this are happening the more likely it is they will catch somebody.
posted by beagle at 2:19 PM on May 7, 2016 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Nthing the police report especially if your car insurance covers the cost of rekeying.
posted by Zedcaster at 7:32 PM on May 7, 2016

Best answer: "Another idea is to use a steering wheel lock ("the club"), but I'm not sure whether that's worthwhile as I know nothing about them."

Depending how badly the thief wants the car, I found that The Club was pretty useless. The second(!) time that my car was stolen I had put The Club on it. The thieves wanted my car badly enough that they wrenched the steering wheel back and forth until it snapped in half. When I came out of the house I found The Club and the other half of the steering wheel in the street...
posted by Hanuman1960 at 9:52 AM on May 9, 2016

Response by poster: We had the locks changed and the stolen remote disabled. It wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be, but took several hours.

On closer inspection, absolutely nothing was taken from either car except that spare key. The documents and plates are all accounted for, and the thief did not even take the $3 or so in coins that were in the little coin bins. Curious.

Thanks again for the help.
posted by Maximian at 2:00 PM on May 9, 2016 [1 favorite]