# Keys go with the person not the vehicle. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 11, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311 "2010-11-11T15:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/21 "2010-11-11T20:50:04Z")
I’m always interested in how many different ways people do things. In our house, keys definitely go with the person. I have my car, he has his car, but each of us has a key to the other. We carry car keys, house keys, etc. with us when we go out, but we’ve never even thought about having the key go with the vehicle. That seems really weird to me, but obviously it’s a lot more common than I thought it was. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/22 "2010-11-11T20:57:57Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I’m always interested in how many different ways people do things. In our house, keys definitely go with the person. I have my car, he has his car, but each of us has a key to the other. We carry car keys, house keys, etc. with us when we go out, but we’ve never even thought about having the key go with the vehicle. That seems really weird to me, but obviously it’s a lot more common than I thought it was. These kinds of threads surprise me when people start defending their position like it actually matters. “You put your pants on BEFORE your socks? What are you, cRaZy or something?” ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/23 "2010-11-11T21:01:30Z")
We have 3 vehicles (one on its last legs, but still drivable) and two drivers in the household. Generally he has the car and I have the van, but that’s just an extension of our rule that the car chosen fits the purpose for the trip: He commutes to work and I work at home, so he gets the higher-mileage vehicle. But if I’m driving a long distance one day, I get the car. Or if we need to haul something, we take the van. We each have a full set of keys for all vehicles. He has work keys but they are on a separate ring. And when we bought our vehicles, we always got 2 keys. His and hers, easy peasy. I don’t believe ours are those fancy electronic ones either, thought the van does have a fob. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/24 "2010-11-11T21:22:31Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Copies are $100 to $200 these days. For a regular, metal key? I doubt it. Blanks are 10 for $5. You local hardware store should be able to make one for under $5. The electronic keys are a different matter, of course. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/25 "2010-11-11T22:19:04Z")
When I lived with mom and dad, everybody had keys to all the cars. When I was married to a woman with a teenage kid, everyone had keys to all the cars. I lost or had my keys stolen the first year I taught high school. Since then, my keys live constantly in my pants pocket- never dangerously exposed, lying on some surface! Whenever I go back to Mom’s house and the place is full of relatives, the number of keys people have just lying around surprises me. When it’s time for people to leave, there’s always an issue in which somebody can’t find the car keys, which comes as no surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/26 "2010-11-11T22:24:47Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > We both have keys to the minivan, but only my husband has a key to his Buick. We purchased it used and it only came with one key. A spare is over $100 because it’s a computer chip key. It’s going to cost a lot more if you lose the only key. I found a locksmith who made a copy for $60. The dealer wanted $120. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/27 "2010-11-11T22:28:39Z")
> [@Zulema](#): > > You can also buy a cheap clicker this way. Cheap clicker? Do tell. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/28 "2010-11-11T22:50:01Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Cheap clicker? Do tell. It was similar to the key programming where you need the key to the vehicle and the vehicle. It has you go through a sequence of doing electronic things with the car and clicker then you’re done. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/29 "2010-11-11T23:05:55Z")
We have a Chevy pickup and a Scion xA. I mostly drive the Scion, but I have a truck key on my keyring. My husband will grab the spare if he drives my car - he doesn’t like a lot of stuff on his key ring. I have no idea what either would cost to be duplicated - hope we don’t have to find out. The key to the Crossfire we used to have cost $160, plus another $50 for the dealer to program it. What a ripoff!! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/30 "2010-11-12T00:02:51Z")
Where is it written that all the keys a person uses during a given day have to be somehow attached to one another? My dad and stepmother are key-goes-with-the-vehicle types. Each car key is just on a ring by itself. When you get home, hang the key on a hook right by the door that leads into the house. When you go somewhere, take the key for whichever vehicle you’re using. It seems to work. I live alone and only have one car, and I still have my car key and fob as a distinct unit. I don’t have any keys rubbing against my knee when I drive, and I think I’ve heard somewhere (_Car Talk_, maybe) that having as little weight as possible keeps the lock mechanism from wearing out. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/31 "2010-11-12T01:20:09Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Where is it written that all the keys a person uses during a given day have to be somehow attached to one another? > > My dad and stepmother are key-goes-with-the-vehicle types. Each car key is just on a ring by itself. When you get home, hang the key on a hook right by the door that leads into the house. When you go somewhere, take the key for whichever vehicle you’re using. It seems to work. You hit on the basic problem. Splitting keys into compounds the possibility of a loss and some of us treat vehicles mostly like personal possessions and don’t share them so you don’t need shared keys. I would make a bad communist even on the smallest scale. I don’t share cars, personal computers, cell phones, or other personal objects with anyone except under the most compelling circumstances. Everyone gets their own and they have to take care of it. There is personal property even among close family members in my world view and vehicles definitely fall into that category so there is no need for shared keys, only emergency keys that are hidden in a safe place. It goes both ways because I feel a little weird driving other people’s vehicles when it comes up. That is sacred space with the mirrors and seats adjusted just right plus the radio stations not to mention the potential for random trash or catastrophe. It is best that everyone just roll their own. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/32 "2010-11-12T01:38:36Z")
It is complicated for us. I always carry one set of keys for my Prius, the other hangs on a hook by the front door. My wife works at home, so only takes a key when she is actively using a car. Our daughter’s CRV, which we are using while she is in Germany, also sits on a hook. That kind of goes with the car. One fob for the truck sits on the hook. I have a key for it on my key chain. The other fob for the truck went down the toilet. I don’t know what this is considered to be going with - the wind? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/33 "2010-11-12T01:45:40Z")
We’re kinda mixed. The two main vehicles are his ‘n’ hers, but I maintain the right to drive the van on occasion because I’m paying the loan. For those, keys stay with the people. We both have sets for both vehicles. There is also a beater pickup truck that isn’t driven much, and those keys would be considered going with the truck; they live on a hook behind the back door. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/34 "2010-11-12T01:48:34Z")
Key’s go with the person IMO. I always have a battle with my main set of keys to keep it slim. My personal vehicle, my work vehicle, my shop, and my house. Anyone else that would reasonable need those keys has their own copy. If my brother needs to get into my shop to borrow a tool or borrow my truck he has a key to do so, I never need to meet up to play key games. I have another set of keys that includes lots of things including any vehicle or home I’d reasonable need to get into. It also has a spare of my main keys so I can lend out a key if needed. At job sites where positioning of vehicles might need juggling I put they keys on the visor so others can move it without me having to be found or interrupted. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/35 "2010-11-12T02:06:09Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > You hit on the basic problem. Splitting keys into compounds the possibility of a loss and some of us treat vehicles mostly like personal possessions and don’t share them so you don’t need shared keys. That’s fine, and in my dad’s case, he generally drove one vehicle and my stepmom drove the other. But I think it’s still a sound practice to follow with the keys. I live alone, but I have a cabinet right by the front door where I put my house key, car key, and wallet. They’re the last things I grab when I’m going out the door, the first things I put away when I get home. (If you’d seen how disorganized I usually am, you’d know what a triumph that is for me.) For that matter, I’m not sure where my spare key is. I haven’t used it since I bought the car eleven years ago. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/36 "2010-11-12T02:11:08Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Copies are $100 to $200 these days. Are you high? I’ve copied a car key before and it only cost me like a dollar. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/37 "2010-11-12T02:19:45Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Are you high? I’ve copied a car key before and it only cost me like a dollar. Not with a Xerox machine. Those copies tend to be unreliable especially in the rain. That reference is to the standard cost at a dealership for the newer electronic keys. They are very expensive to make copies of the advertised way. Other people are describing third-party hacks that are much cheaper but may or may not work for a given vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/38 "2010-11-12T03:37:15Z")
My husband and I both carried keys to the Jeep until he used his ignition key to try to pry off a bent wiper and ended up with a bent key that got stuck in the ignition. He ended up always borrowing my set of keys when he wanted to drive the Jeep. And then he’d put them in his own random place rather than in one of my random places. Grr. I refused to drive his car, so I never had a key to it. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/39 "2010-11-12T03:44:42Z")
To politely paraphrase our current president, “Get yo’ own damn keys!” ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311/40 "2010-11-12T04:01:27Z")
> [@Zulema](#): > > The chip key you buy on ebay is blank. You need a key that goes to your car and the car to program it. The first step is to put your current key in the car, turn on the ignition then turn it off and remove the key, then within a short amount of time you put the new key in the ignition. Your car programs the key to itself after you verify that you already have the means to use the car. > > I have done this myself with a 1999 Chevy and a 2008 Toyota. You could look up your vehicle online first so you know how hard it is to do. This absolutely won’t work with several brands of cars I can think of. It might work with some years of some brands of cars, but as a blanket statement it is false. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-go-with-the-person-not-the-vehicle/560311.md?page=3)