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eighty2angelfan t1_jbou4tj wrote

I know immediately when I get into someone else's car.

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Giantmidget1914 t1_jbpqx9p wrote

Happened to me a while back at a gas station early before sunrise. As soon as I sat down and really looked, I had a quick 'oh shit' moment.

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iordseyton t1_jbqxjjw wrote

Back in the 80s or 90s, Toyota would only actually have like 150- 250. Different keys/ locks for any given run of cars. Dealerships would buy packs that were each key and could figure out the right one based on Vin (iirc)

As luck would have it, in our small town, there was one other guy with a red 86 Toyota pickup, and his and my dad's had the same key.

To make matters worse, they both worked with boats (my dad built them, and the other guy was a fisherman we think)

Occasionally, when launching a boat or doing something at the marina, when we came back at the end of the day, the other guy would have taken my dad's car home for the night. So my dad would just take it home for the night, then drop it back off in the parking lot first the next day, and get his back when the guy came back for it.

It happened 3 or 4 times that I know of- first time was a surprise when we came back from a sail, My dad reached under the seat for a fresh pack of smokes, as he pulled out of the lot, and came up with a fishing knife instead.

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this_1_is_mine t1_jbrctqw wrote

Ford had around 30 different door key cuts in the same time frame. The likelihood you could open any passing Ford was pretty high. Made working opening lockouts a pretty easy but not too time consuming task to do. But in the days of 2 keys to open and then start it was still pretty secure cause even of your door key worked the ignition key probably wouldn't.

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iordseyton t1_jbrqg8t wrote

I'm confused, are you saying that ford's came with 2 separate keys back then, or was it a half and half kind of thing?

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ctheory83 t1_jbrs4te wrote

My mustang (85) had an ignition key and a hatchback key, I also later found out my friends key for his ranger would work on my car.

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StygianSavior t1_jbrt75x wrote

My first car (‘85 Bronco II) had separate keys for doors and ignition.

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Mndelta25 t1_jbrzjnj wrote

My 86 Oldsmobile had two keys, my 72 Mustang originally came with two.

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Guideon72 t1_jbrze6r wrote

Problem was, once the keys wore down a bit, you could get into any, other Ford with em. Thankfully, the ignition didn’t appear to suffer the same.

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Spire_Citron t1_jbs7f2e wrote

Maybe you wouldn't get your car stolen, but wouldn't it make it super easy for thieves to steal things from people's cars? Just collect a few different keys and you can open any Ford.

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ScattyWilliam t1_jbr6akl wrote

Never new of different keys starting vehicles but was definitely some 80’s imports (Asian) that often had door keys that worked on different vehicles. When we learnt this in high school there was some shenanigans

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giskardwasright t1_jbr920d wrote

This happened with multiple Plymouth minivans in the 90s as I recall

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bilateralrope t1_jbsbrd8 wrote

My dad once owned a car where the door locks were so worn out that anything vaguely key-shaped would unlock them. The ignition had flanges around it so you didn't even need a key.

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It only got stolen once before my dad decided to replace it with something new enough to require rear seatbelts.

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InfergnomeHKSC t1_jbqm1kz wrote

They're Teslas. It's like trying to differentiate a dentist's waiting room from a dermatologist's waiting room. That said, yeah you'd still have to be pretty out of it not to notice.

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calliatom t1_jbqh97k wrote

Right? Like, I've walked up to another car that was the same model as mine, but immediately noticed that it had none of my decorations, and then saw mine a few spots down.

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Moonkai2k t1_jbqgd9e wrote

I know immediately if someone's sat in my car. I would for sure know I was in the wrong car.

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Aeronautix t1_jbqvbrx wrote

sure, if either of your cars have any personality whatsoever

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l30 t1_jbr49aj wrote

I had this happen with a 98' Toyota Tacoma. Same make/model/year and even the key. Found a guy sitting in the passenger seat waiting for his friend who had the exact same truck. Blew my mind.

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RRC_driver t1_jbswg81 wrote

My friend accidentally drove the wrong car (same make model), with his own key.

It was the radio station that clued him in. He is a police officer.

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L0nz t1_jbsmr8f wrote

It says he received a text from the other owner who found his phone number on a document in his car (implying that the other guy could get into his car somehow too). Why would you text someone who took your car, rather than call them?

Nothing about this story sounds legit, but shitting on tesla is so hot right now so obviously it's international news

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alexanderpas t1_jbtd2ec wrote

> Why would you text someone who took your car, rather than call them?

To cover your ass, and ensure the message arrived, instead of having the call declined because it was an unknown number

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