When I bought my car two weeks ago, they only gave me one of my two keys saying that the second one was being sent to them. After pestering them for all this time the news came today - they cannot find my key and they are going to order a replacement key. Of course no one thought of how the valet key on the lost fob can open up my car. And how someone for the time being can steal my car by just using the key. Or how I will have to take time out of my day to get the new key programmed. Has anyone ever have that happen to them? I am puzzled - and kind of worried too as I don't like the extra floating around. Also, while I know that the key can be deprogrammed, the valet key will still work.

I will keep you all updated - just venting!

 

Which dealer is this? Maybe you can post it so others can be aware of what they are getting into!

But this is ridiculous when they didn't even give you two keys to start with...

 

Yeah that is the insane bit - they could not find the second key and now they say they lost it!

 

Your key being lost can be a bigger problem than just replacing it with a new one. This is because it has that mechanical key with it that can open the doors and trunk. The dealer who lost the key should have door, trunk and glove box locks replaced and provide two new keys programmed for the car and this is what you should request them to do.


You may also run in problems with car insurance as a lost key can be very costly for insurance, can also disqualify you from getting an insurance. This is up to the insurance company to decide, i.e. don't let them know your key is missing.

 

In my Cadillac store, with a very active used car department, over the years we collected boxes of key fobs. This also included valet keys that came with the car. For various reasons, spare keys were lost or abandoned on a regular basis. I am sure it would be no different in a Mercedes store.

In twenty years, we never had a case where a car was opened or stolen using one of these "lost" keys. Finding the car a single key would fit would be like finding a needle in a haystack even if one were inclined to do so. As far as insurance, I never had the insurance company question whether the car had all its original keys. If they wouldn't insure a car without proof of original keys, half the cars we sold would have been uninsurable.

 

This happened with my BMW. Girlfriend lost my key on a beach. The dealer programmed a new FOB ($300.00 later!). They took down the VIN and sent the information to BMW in Germany and about 2 weeks later I had a replacement mechanical key. I agree with Jallen4, a needle in a haystack.

 

Same issue here. Dealer didn't have the second key. Apparently they lose it? However, I was informed one would be ordered out of TX and shipped overnight. Sure enough, I got the key within two days.

 

I agree that a risk is really low if somebody could find a mechanical key, and then identify your car, find where it is parked and then steal something from it. I wouldn't really worry and insisted on replacing all mechanical locks, since it will require to bring a car to a dealer for a day or two, and also add another risk that during replacement your car can lose original tightness. A risk that somebody will break a window and then steal something is much higher. It happens mostly with every one. However if you plan to keep your car for long, you can think different.