mikejaeggi Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 when I picked up my shelby last week, the dealer suggested covering up the VIN plate in the dash with a piece of paper. He said people can copy the vin and order a replacement key to steal the vehicle. That had never crossed my mind but now it makes me wonder, has anyone heard of this? anyone actually cover their vin plate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_GT350 Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Heard of it yes.... believe it no! If that was the case every car built since the seventies would have been stolen. I think the dealers will ask for quite a lot of proof before they dole out a key to just anybody off the street. EDIT... but I have heard of people using the serial number to order parts that only available on certain cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer-Ted Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Even if they could get a key, the key chip would not be programmed to the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_GT350 Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Even if they could get a key, the key chip would not be programmed to the car. yeah it sounded like a statement a "new" salesman would make..... wait a minute... don't all car dealers blow smoke.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGT0128 Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 You have to have a key to get a chipped key. Complete BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Hard to picture a car thief going thru the trouble and cost to do that. Has anyone even reported a Shelby being stolen on this site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbymotorsports Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 If I recall correctly it is illegal to cover up your VIN number, there's a reason the feds mandate that the VIN is viewable thru the drivers side of the windshield. Now with that said the chances of getting a ticket for covering up your VIN is about as remote as having your car stolen with a duplicate key. Although I can easily see a pissed off parking enforcement officer issuing a ticket for a blocked VIN, as many parking enforcement departments now scan the VIN bar code instead of entering the license plate, I don't forseee a problem with doing so. Many VIN numbers are unintentionally blocked by sun shades, dash mats, handicap placards, and valet/parking lot ticket stubs. Although that may be considered a ticketable offense you sure don't hear of anyone receiving citations for that. Now on the other hand if try to block your VIN with say paint or electrical tape don't be surprised if you will someday be explaining your reason for doing so to the cop that pulled you over on the side of the highway. In a nutshell you're worrying too much. Its very difficult to get a duplicate key from the dealer without proper proof and even then most if not all manufacturers require the dealer to keep records. If you have any doubts walk into your local dealership and see how far you get requesting a duplicate key with a VIN number written on a piece of scrap paper. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FILF Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 I think a certain car dealer watched Gone in 60 seconds a few too many times! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikejaeggi Posted December 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 I think a certain car dealer watched Gone in 60 seconds a few too many times! no kidding, that was my same thought exactly. i thought the whole idea was somewhat paranoid as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmor Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 My 2006 Expedition VIN was covered by a little piece of paper that became lodged over it for the 5 years I owned it...LOL...that always bugged me but one thing I never worried about was being ticketed for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGT0128 Posted December 21, 2012 Report Share Posted December 21, 2012 My 2006 Expedition VIN was covered by a little piece of paper that became lodged over it for the 5 years I owned it...LOL...that always bugged me but one thing I never worried about was being ticketed for it. The only officer that might care about it would be from an auto theft task force. If the NADR sticker is there it satisfies most officers curiosity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shel-b001 Posted December 21, 2012 Report Share Posted December 21, 2012 yeah it sounded like a statement a "new" salesman would make..... wait a minute... don't all car dealers blow smoke.... Yup smoke out their A$$ & SH$t out their mouth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandy09 Posted December 21, 2012 Report Share Posted December 21, 2012 take it for what its worth, a cop buddy of mine in Lawton OK was telling me about it a few years ago. he advised me to cover my vin plate. im sure a lot of states are different, but we are not required to have a copy of our registration like when in live in So. Cal. and again i dont know about the chipped keys on our cars, but from my own expirience i bought a used Caddilac Escalade a few years ago and my wife "lost" her key. i called the local dealership, i was told to bring anything that said my truck was mine and had the vin and they would cut/program me a key. i took my insurence card down there. piece of paper with my name vin and vehicle info. i could make one on my computer in 5 min. the guy looked at it 20 min later i had my key. i never saw him run anything to verify it. i dont even know if they could with out calling the tag agency. im not saying it can happen, but in my case with my caddy it was VERY easy to get the key made cut and programed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Hamilton Posted December 21, 2012 Report Share Posted December 21, 2012 I locked the door with my only key in the ignition of a 2003 Mach 1 one time about five years back. My wife had misplaced (okay, lost) one of the keys and I only had one. I took an insurance card with my name and VIN to the Ford dealership. A friend of mine worked in the parts department and made me a "door key only" for about $5 once I proved to the Parts Department Manager with a picture ID who I was. Once a couple of years later my wife went to move my car in the driveway and killed the battery before coming back in the house and telling me my car wouldn't start. She had use the "door only" key. It would turn over but not crank. I was told back then that a full purpose key with chip would run around $300 since I only had the one key. If I had two keys and wanted a third, it would have been much cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedj Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 We bought a 07 GT that had the VIN blocked with tape. Don't know how he got it in there because we haven't been able to get it out yet. Last summer the car had to be checked by DMV for emissions. The emissions people had a fit because the VIN was blocked and they couldn't get the tape out either. Made my son stand in a booth while they went all over the car looking at all the numbers. I assume they thought it was stolen. Treated him like a criminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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