A friend is visiting from out of state. Last night he locked his only car key in his car. Rather than call a locksmith for $30-$40, his wife is overnighting a spare key from their home a few states away for less than $20, and it will be here tomorrow.
I was simultaneously shocked and not shocked by this incident. Not shocked, because so many people do this so often, that it’s a big part of the demand for locksmiths. Shocked, because I thought my friend was smarter than this. Because he saw fit to only bring one key, now he’s out $20, and he can’t access his car for another 24 hours or so.
Most of the time I have two car keys in my pocket, on separate keychains. One is the standard car key that I regularly use, attached to the remote-entry key fob; the other is a spare key, attached to another keyring along with my house key. If I ever somehow lock the first key in my car or lose it, I will have a second key in my pocket with which I can get into the car again. The two-key thang is standard practice for me even around my hometown; I can’t imagine driving across several states on a vacation with only one key in my possession.
So…how many copies of your car key do you carry with you when you drive somewhere?
You left out “one and only one, and I’ve only locked it in my car a few times over the last 50 years, it’s no big deal” ?
I don’t know many people who carry an extra key, now that they all have those humongous heads on them. How is that supposed to fit in your wallet?
I used to know people who kept an extra key hidden on the vehicle somewhere.
Nowadays a car dealer can cut you a key when provided with a VIN. I’ve done that a couple of times.
The thing is, I can’t stand having anything in my pockets while I’m driving.
Wallet, cell phone, any other keys I’m carrying, and so forth, all go in the armrest console as soon as I get in the car. So if I were to lock my keys in the car I’d undoubtedly lock all that other stuff in there too (and be pretty well screwed, I know).
But with newer cars it’s much harder to lock your keys in than it was years ago. My car beeps at me if the door is open and the key is in the ignition. I’m also in the habit of never locking the door manually as I get out. I always use the fob as I’m walking away. That guarantees that it’s in my possesion before the car is locked.
How much did that cost you? Especially now with the “chipped” keys, I think this can get pretty pricey - and unless you’ve actually lost your key (as opposed to simply locking it in the car) it ends up being a bit of a waste if you’ve got a spare key sitting in your desk drawer at home.
Plus the time/expense of transportation to/from the car dealer.
All for want of a second key in your pocket. :smack:
If you only lock the door with the button on the remote fob as you’re walking away, how is it possible to lock your keys in your car? So no, I don’t carry a spare. If I somehow managed to need a second key, my wife has the second set on her keyring and could unlock my car.
I did go through a phase where I kept a spare car key in my wallet, as once when I was 17 I locked and then closed the doors to my Mom’s car with the key not only still inside the car, but in the ignition with the engine running. I had borrowed the family car to go to the movies with a bunch of friends. Very embarrassing. It still comes up in conversation from time to time. If you can call one-sided jeering in reference to a 20+ year old event “conversation” anyway.
My Dad also locked the keys in the car once, on a family vacation tracing from the Grand Canyon to Yellowstone. We’d pulled over to check out a Scenic Overlook on a desolate stretch of highway in Utah and realized we were locked out of our rental car. A nice Mormon family pulled over to see if we needed help, and gave us a lift into the nearest town to find a locksmith (I assume they were Mormon, because there were literally 10 kids in the family). In an age before cellphones this was a complete lifesaver. In their honor, whenever possible I always ask stranded-looking motorists if I can help in some way (if they’re not already talking on a cellphone).
You’d think both of these events would have scarred me for life, but this was a much bigger risk before the days of the remote control/car alarm systems. In both my current cars (one 7 and one 10 years old), the security system that came with the car will not allow the driver’s side door to lock with the key inside the car. And I only ever lock it using the remote.
My biggest risk now is of physically losing the keys while I’m away from the vehicle, which is pretty small, and even if it were to happen, unlikely to be a particularly big bother: if my wife isn’t with me with her set of keys to back me up, generally it would be a case of me leaving the keys on the desk at work or at a store I just visited and could quickly go and retrieve them. On the other hand, my wallet is plenty fat enough already, and I don’t drive enough to bulkify it with a spare key.
So for me, your poll should have had the option: “ONE: I’ve been burned by this before, but it’s painfully annoying to carry a spare**, and technology and my current circumstances have rendered the scenario nearly impossible.**”
I don’t lose stuff very often. My cousin told me that she lost her wallet for the fifth time once, and I looked at her like she was from Mars; I’ve never lost my wallet (or my car keys, for that matter).
I carry my key fob and always lock the door using it.
Occasionally, during the summer, when I am running errands and the dogs are with me, I will leave the keys in the running car with the AC on high so the pups won’t get broiled.
If we count the separate key fob as a separate key, then my vote for 2 makes sense.
Otherwise, put me down for 1.
I carry one key only; in fact my last car only had one key altogether since no one seemed to be able to make a working copy of it. Once upon a time, 13 years ago, I locked my key in my car and had to have my parents bring a spare, but that’s the only time I’ve ever done so.
Always carrying a second key in my pocket, reminds me of a guy I worked with during a summer job back in college. It was an hourly job, where we clocked in. His commute was about 45 minutes one way. He would arrive everyday about 45 minutes early, and sit in the parking lot until it was time to clock in. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was in case he were to have a flat on the way to work, he had time to change it and still make to work on time.
The OP and the guy I knew years ago, are some of the most risk averse people I’ve come across. Let me guess you purchase the extended warranties on all electronic appliances you purchase. I bet you also have lenders insurance for your car loan, that will pay off your loan in the event of your death.
Before remote entry I used to lock my keys in the car all the damn time. Luckily those keys were thin enough for me to keep a spare in my wallet. Nowadays I only use the key fob to lock the doors so one key is fine.
I answered “one,” but then I remembered that I keep the “valet key” in the center compartment, to leave with the garage when I get it serviced, etc. It doesn’t have the remote, just a key. That way I don’t have to fool with getting it off my fob. I don’t “take it with me” as per the OP, but it’s in the car when I drive, so I take it with me that way.
I voted 2, but one of them is a “credit card key” that I got from AAA. It works for unlocking the doors and the ignition, but I’d only use it to start the car in a real emergency.