2,28,08 --car theives

We recently lost a set of car keys and took a second key to a locksmith. He wouldn't make a duplicate until we went to the dealership and picked up a certain kind of blank key. This saved us about $50, but still it cost $150. That would have been $200 had the dealership made the key. So it appears the car manufactorers were thinking of trying to cut down the thief problem in that they make it harder for just any locksmith to make a duplicate key. But the following information sent to me by Harriet Priska of Escalante seems to be another way the bad guys have found to steal your car: "The car thieves peer through the windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN # from the label on the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key based on the VIN #.
I didn't believe this e-mail, so I called Chrysler-Dodge and pretended I had lost my keys They told me to just bring in the VIN #, and they would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless device if I wanted."The Car Dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN #, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He doesn't haveto break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert the key and off he goes to a local Chop Shop with your vehicle. You don't believe it? It IS that easy.To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical tape, duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN Metal Label located on the dash board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you CAN cover it so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief. I urge you to forward this to your friends before some other car thief steals another car or truck. I slipped a 3 x 5 card over my VIN NUMBER."

By the ways, I wrote last year about how to open a car door where you have an extra set of keys at home. (You have someone at home, or where the second set of keys might be, use the clicker that opens the door through a telephone held up to the car door.) Someone worte and said it didn't work. I thought it did as I had tried it. But now I wonder if I was far enough away. I was only in the house and the car was in the garage, about 30 feet away. Maybe the clicker would have worked without the sound going through the phone. Anyone else have any idea about this?

Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956, Pangutich, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com