Car Key Woes!

[Foofoogal]

Reading about Gilbey and his VCR woes. I lost my keys which had my car keys on it.
Figured I would take my spare and go to the local hardware store and pay $1.30 for a new key. NOT..........
Was stunned to be told there is a computer chip in it and it will cost $250.00 for a new one though the hardware store would give me one for $60.00. I told a lady this and she said her key was $1000.00 to replace. :eusa_doh:
Is it just me or has this been a bit kookoo year?
I saw on TV last night that now they are recalling baby bibs as they have lead paint. Not counting endless toys and food.
Is it people sit around trying to figure out how to scam people or is the rule now Fake it till you make it and noone ever gets around to really making it?
I see a giant potential market for safe, vintage items. Too bad we cannot buy vintage food.
Here kid, play with this wood block.

 

[Nashoba]

Here kid, play with this wood block.

lol. I hear you there. I lost my entire set of keys about 8 months ago..used my husband's until I ran out of time and had to have new ones made...lucky for me my car is a '97 and my husband's truck a '98. No ridiculous computer chips in our keys...
As for the toys...we have a large stock of legos, lincoln logs, and various other toys stored away...

 

[LizzieMaine]

The question that leaps to my mind is -- Are we actually better off today, having $250 computerized car keys, or have we, as a society, just been lulled into thinking we absolutely have to have every new gizmo that comes along just because we can?

As for toys, sheesh. Some of the most fun I had as a little kid was playing "store" with food boxes and cans I'd filched from the kitchen cupboard. Although Ma did draw the line at me playing Scrabble with the alphabet soup.

 

[Dominic]

Well, let's not kid ourselves, the "vintage" era had it's own mishaps. Many of the indoor paints were filled with lead and in the fifties, Fiberglas company sold decoration items woven with fiberglass and asbestos. Many buildings were also insulated with asbestos and when these buildings are renovated today, extra precautions must be taken. Many water pipes for drinking water were made of lead thus contaminating the water. And these elements were used for years and years before they we believed to be causing major health problems.

And Lizzie, you're right, the best toys were actually those we made ourselves. For my part, me and my friends made frequent trips to unkonwn planets using valiant spaceships conveniently made out of appliance carboxes.

 

[Foofoogal]

I don't know. Something about the baby bib put me over the edge on this stuff after the car keys I guess.
The local news actually showed a lady using a test kit bought at Lowes or something on this bib.
When my children were babies I made my own baby food as back then (30 years ago) they were finding stuff in the jars.
I had a blender, a ice cube tray and a 3 egg poacher. I would cook some say fresh green beans or chicken breast. (no seasoning as they don't miss it if they don't know what it is) then I blend the food, pour it into ice cube trays covered with plastic wrap till frozen, pop these cubes out into freezer bags and then when junior or missy wanted some food I would take out the egg poacher and pop a veggie into each poacher thing and the chicken cube and voila. Cheap, cheap. Only bought jars to go to zoo or something.
No LizzieMaine. To answer your question. No.
Half the toys I bought for my grandaughters last year they have recalled.
Nana is not happy I can assure you. Trying to figure out what to get the darlings this year that will not give them uh brain damage. Unreal. :rage:

 

[Foofoogal]

True Dominic. My father died from Mesothelioma which is only caused by asbestos.
I do think though since we have all learned this stuff like lead paint was bad that makes it so unreal to now in 2007 having to deal with it.
When you are a Nana you would like to think the world is better for your grandbabies then it was in the 1950s.

 

[carter]

I guess this is one reason why I have a 1961 Morris Minor 1000 and a 1976 Mercury Colony Park Station Wagon. At least the keys are cheap.

They're like the Cutie and the Beast.

 

[Dominic]

Originally posted by foofoogal
I do think though since we have all learned this stuff like lead paint was bad that makes it so unreal to now in 2007 having to deal with it.

I do agree with you, the knowledge learned from the past should keep us safe. Keyword here is "should".

 

[Diamondback]

fftopic::

As for the toys...we have a large stock of legos, lincoln logs, and various other toys stored away...

Don't knock Legos, you'd be surprised how many engineering-geeks use them for "expedient prototyping"...

Besides, they're vintage, too! (First brick sets sold in '49) lol

*sigh*I am such a geek...lol

 

[Dominic]

Don't forget Meccano!

 

[Nashoba]

fftopic::
Don't knock Legos, you'd be surprised how many engineering-geeks use them for "expedient prototyping"...

Besides, they're vintage, too! (First brick sets sold in '49) lol

*sigh*I am such a geek...lol

not knockin them, trust me. we have 4 BUCKETS of them. And I married a geek. Believe me...I understand...

 

[MrNewportCustom]

No car key woes here. My cars are an '85 Nissan and a '67 Chtysler. The closest either of those come to computers is the engine controller under the seat in the Nissan; and I barely think it needs it. The closest the Chrysler comes to a computer is when I post pictures of it on the web.

My best toy? My brother and I would make mud cities around the huge ash tree in the side yard. Actually, it was more of a country drive, as there were roads and driveways, but no houses. We'd drive our Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars around them when they dried. And if a road broke, that was just an excuse to get muddy again.


Lee

 

[dostacos]

The question that leaps to my mind is -- Are we actually better off today, having $250 computerized car keys, or have we, as a society, just been lulled into thinking we absolutely have to have every new gizmo that comes along just because we can?

As for toys, sheesh. Some of the most fun I had as a little kid was playing "store" with food boxes and cans I'd filched from the kitchen cupboard. Although Ma did draw the line at me playing Scrabble with the alphabet soup.

on rainy days I would make a cardboard cockpit for my ROCKET SHIP. I had a plastic Short wave receiver for my radio and I would sit at my desk with my cockpit [complete with pencil levers ] and the scratchy sounds of the SWRadio and entertain myself for hours.

as an only child I needed to keep myself entertained

 

[Flivver]

I have worked as a product planner at both GM and Ford. Both companies were obsessed with the concept of "feature first"... that is being first in the industry to offer a new feature. That concept, and government regulation, are why cars are so complex and expensive these days.

Myself, I'd be happy to have a car with as few of these features as possible. But, I'm in the distinct minority. Research indicates that most consumers *love* those features and want more!

When I bought my 2000 Grand Marquis last year, it came with only one key. I discovered that it was one of those blasted computer chip keys that would cost $65 to duplicate. So I went to the local hardware store who made me three non chip versions for a buck. These will work in the trunk and door locks but won't operate the ignition. So if I lock the chip key in the trunk, or leave it in the ignition then lock the door, I'll be fine. But if I loose the chip key...I'm out of luck. This is progress?

 

[Foofoogal]

Oh, well that explains it. Mine is a 2006 Grand Marquis. I guess the key to drive went up since 2000.

If it wasn't for air bags which I do think may help I would be buying me a 1957 Chevy. My grandad had one that was the strangest green.
Maybe I will get a old car like from the 1930s. So much metal the other car wouldn't stand a chance. lol

It would of at least been nice when I bought it that someone would of explained it to. Never heard a peep.
We are teching ourselves out of life. In Houston a mess on the news about digital meters on houses eliminating meter readers.
They even have automatic trash trucks.

---------------
Oh on the trunk key, ignition key thing. Wonder which Einstein thought that up? A valet can drive the car but not get in the locked trunk. Hmm. But hey, look here. On the side of the door there is a button that pops open the trunk.
Ok.

 

[Twitch]

My 96 El Dorado has the older chip. The newer ones are costly. I can still get hardware store dupes that work w/o chips.

The real pizzer was when the remotes, which ultimately get old and worn, needed replacement. Cadillac wanted $153 which dropped to $135 when I blurted out a string of obscenities having to do with someones greedy illigitimate child.

Now, a friend has a Saturn with an identical remote which cost $50, he checked. All remotes simply need the same programming to get them going. I'm thinking of seeing of Saturn will do it.

We're talking a tiny, single circuitboard here. I could buy several DVD players for the same cost.

I got a temporart fix from a local electrician who micro soldered a connection on one for me for $10.

Whaddya gonna do?[huh]

 

[griffer]

Yes, we are better off today than yesterday.

Yes, my Lincoln has an expensive fob.

Yes, my wife's Audi doesn't have a single part that costs less than $250.

Yes, you can get aftermarket clones cheaply. Get to know a used car dealer or eBay.

Yes, my Bronco requires 3 keys as the passenger side, tailgate and drivers side all have different locks.

Yes, I can like vintage and dissagree with luddites and reactionaries.

 

[nyx]

on rainy days I would make a cardboard cockpit for my ROCKET SHIP. I had a plastic Short wave receiver for my radio and I would sit at my desk with my cockpit [complete with pencil levers ] and the scratchy sounds of the SWRadio and entertain myself for hours.

as an only child I needed to keep myself entertained

My father said I spent half of my childhood playing in large appliance boxes. I would make a submarine, or a car, and once a puppet theater. I made forts, and then when I was older, my dad actually built a playhouse for me out of multiple cardboard boxes which I used for YEARS. It even had an awning you could lower and raise

 

[ScionPI2005]

Was stunned to be told there is a computer chip in it and it will cost $250.00 for a new one though the hardware store would give me one for $60.00. I told a lady this and she said her key was $1000.00 to replace.

I have a 2005 Scion tC that has the computer chip inside the key. I don't have enough information to say whether or not it really works, but the aim is to make the car virtually impossible to start in any fashion without the computer chip inside the key "communicating" with the engine's computer every time you insert the key in the ignition.

Yeah, for anyone with a computer chip who loses their car keys, that can truly suck, but I'd like to think that this new technology is helping prevent auto theft just a little bit more. I'd especially like to think that since I live on a college campus, and park my car downtown in the parking garage...

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Computerized cars...having chips in the keys....how shocking.

If you want -features- like airbags and all the rest of the bells and whistles, the price you pay is having computers to manage them.

Unless you can get the model with the gnomes that all exhale to inflate the airbag in case of accident....but gnome food is pricey.