so i was at the car wash last night around midnight and i had my xa stolen at gunpoint by 3 guys. fortunately my car was retrieved 3 hours later by police thanks to the lo jack system that was installed by the dealer. my question: my keys and a receiver for my viper aftermarket alarm is and will probably remain missing. how much does a dealer charge to replace the ignition switch and my door locks with a different set of keys? can i have a frequency changed on my alarm so i can still use my alarm without replacing the entire system? any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

dang... this is why I don't want lojack.

You take my car, I never want to see it again.

The bigger issue is that they probably know where you live and they have the keys to your house! I'd be very careful at home for quite a while! (and change the locks).

You might be able to simply rekey the locks, but I'm not sure how it works on cars (I know you can on house locks). Yor viper alarm should have rolling codes (or else it's a piece of crap), so you should reset it and then resync a new remote and be ok (take it to where you had it installed and they should be able to do it).

 

might this be something covered by your comprehensive car insurance?

 

i got the car back without anything missing or any damage. i'm glad i got lo jack(but i was thinking if my car was damaged beyond repair, then i could get another 06 xa painted yellow with 17 inch enkei wheels painted black). as far as keys... the house keys are replaced, the viper alarm will be recoded tomorrow, and the car... i don't know how much it costs to rekey my car. i was hoping someone here could fill me in on that.

as far as my insurance, all that i lost was a $60 camera, & nintendo ds with 2 games - about $200 for that. if it's cheaper to pay for the rekeying out of pocket rather than file a claim, pay a $500 deduct, and have a higher insurance rate, i'd rather pay the money out of pocket.

 

i don't think your rates go up for filing a comprehensive claim. you didn't do anything wrong. your insure your car to protect against theft. if it gets stolen and you file a claim for the losses you suffered, you are not responsible unless you drove your car to the wrong side of the train tracks and left the keys in the car unlocked with the windows down.

also, that 500 might be your collision deductible, not the same as your comprehensive per se. it might be, but i think they are usually a separate lower deductible.

i got lojack too, very worthwhile investment, except i want the police to find my car with the perp still in it and then beat him to the full extent of the law.

my dealership also stenciled my vin number with acid on all glass surfaces except for the mirrors so that if even if my car is stolen and they manage to somehow beat the system. my vin number is all over that car.

 

i've been told that my warranty might cover most or all the costs of this replacement. can anyone here verify this???

 

You were a victim of aggravated robbery, not auto theft. Where at in Houston were you? LoJack is awesome, but not enough patrol cars have it in Houston... though the helicopters do and they usually get some good leads...

Glad you didn't get hurt...

 

warranty covers factory defects. unless you can prove that there was something wrong with your ignition and door locks from the day it was built,

no. they will not cover it under warranty if somebody vandalized your car.

 

Glad you aren't hurt and you got your ride back, but next time go wash your car during day light hours. Midnight at a car wash is asking for trouble.

 

u can delete all transmitters on the alarm and re program them so all previous transmitters are deleted out the the alarm