> They obviously made the key from the key code they had on record,
> pretty basic stuff.
BINGO! Now you've got it!
And that record you refer to has all information about the car...including
the VIN#, me as owner, the color, what service it's had, what recalls have
been performed (or not), etc. etc. Surely you don't believe that the dealer
goes to the trouble of keeping an entirely *different* set of records just
to keep track of the key code? Or, do you?
> The fact remains one can not steal a vehicle by simply knowing
> the VIN and going to a dealership and obtaining a key as the
> original poster suggest.
Well clearly the dealer CAN generate a key if they need to. I've seen it
done. Now, how easy would it be for someone other than me or the wife to
obtain a copy is a separate question. It probably would not be "easy" since
the procedures at the dealers are to request the ID of the person (which is
also cross referenced to the VIN# record in their database) to verify that
the person requesting the key is, in fact, the owner. Possible ways around
that is if...
1. ...the employee doesn't follow procedure (and doesn't
check for ID). This happens more often than anyone
would admit, I'd bet!
2. ...someone is working "on the inside". This probably
happens more often than we would like as well.