A KEY question

[holtff1074]

Hey Guys,hope I can share a little information about the experience I and my brother experienced from the same dealer. I have a 2017 1500 5.7 Bighorn which I bought in 2018 with just over 2k miles.
My brother recently bought a 2018 2500 6.4 with just over 7k on the clock.
Both were CERTIFIED PREOWNED trucks. We both got fed what now we believe are false reasons as to why we never received a second key. Once we confirmed purchase of the vehicles it was only then we received only 1 key.

I was told that the previous owner who was senior had traded the truck back in to buy a 300 as his wife had difficulty getting into the truck. I was told he had not been able to find the other key. I pressured my salesman to make contact to learn the whereabouts of the key regardless what channels he had to use to do so. Eventually that salesman quit and NoOne offered to assist me to obtain my 2nd key.
A few months ago after being uncomfortable not having a second key I bought a new key from a different dealer at $300+.

As my brother confirmed purchase of his truck and realized they were only giving him one key he ask why. The salesman said only Certified Preowned vehicles include both keys.As mentioned both trucks were Certified Preowned. As days went by and my brother continued to pressure the salesman and the dealership as he was told "the previous owner failed to give the other key. My brother is on a mission and I wish to join him on getting to the truth of whats happening and the untruths we feel are being told. I've told my brother I believe they are keeping the second keys....reprogramming to serve as keys for others who must buy a second key. We plan to get to the truth and share all we can learn as social media is a great outlet to inform other possible customers.
I'm hoping someone here may share any thoughts or leads they wish. Maybe others have experienced something of this themselves. I'll make it a point to post any progress we make as we are truly disgusted how it appears this....maybe other dealerships may be taking advantage of customers to gain more dollars. It's like how I always argue "Doc Fees" as that's a obvious ripoff. Thanks for viewing-DeWayne

 

[Tach_tech]

At the dealer level with dealer scan tools we can not program a key fob from one vehicle to another. Some aftermarket equipment can do it but it’s still hit and miss.

More than likely, previous owner only brought in one key or the dealer lost it.

 

[JoeCo]

When I trade it in, they get my second set when I get both sets to the new truck. If they don't give me the second set, then it looks like I just lost my backup set for my trade in.

 

[Tim Garceau]

I’m going to make a key point here: they’re called stealer-ships for a reason...

 

[holtff1074]

At the dealer level with dealer scan tools we can not program a key fob from one vehicle to another. Some aftermarket equipment can do it but it’s still hit and miss.

More than likely, previous owner only brought in one key or the dealer lost it.

Appreciate the input......however I still find it odd that each vehicle was bought almost a year apart....both with low miles and we both at one point and time were told of the previous owner having not turned in the other key. But also more than one explanation was given to my brother. Leaves too much room for doubt.......I'm just saying. However I have friends and others I've known from various dealerships who all work with reputable dealers. But theres more to this dealer than the problem with us not receiving our second keys,but that's a different story of maint issues.

 

[Tach_tech]

Appreciate the input......however I still find it odd that each vehicle was bought almost a year apart....both with low miles and we both at one point and time were told of the previous owner having not turned in the other key. But also more than one explanation was given to my brother. Leaves too much room for doubt.......I'm just saying. However I have friends and others I've known from various dealerships who all work with reputable dealers. But theres more to this dealer than the problem with us not receiving our second keys,but that's a different story of maint issues.

I’m a tech at a FCA dealer and it’s pretty common to have used vehicles that we only have one key. People either seem to lose them or never bring them in.

 

[alpinegreenneon]

It's real easy to program a fob for a lot less than what a dealer wants using alfaOBD.
https://www.ramforum.com/threads/alfaobd.123982/

 

[madtrucker2016]

well that's a bunch of horse****. You buy a truck that's almost new from a dealer He should make it his job to have two sets of keys to present to the buyer. Not trying to hear that the previous owner lost the second set. A car comes with two sets of keys from where I come from.

 

[Lawsuit11]

well that's a bunch of horse****. You buy a truck that's almost new from a dealer He should make it his job to have two sets of keys to present to the buyer. Not trying to hear that the previous owner lost the second set. A car comes with two sets of keys from where I come from.

That’s what my dealer said also when checking the RF hub it said still had two keys connected to it. I thought it might be a way of getting your vehicle repo if you didn’t pay cause they have the key and can just drive away with it.


—2018 Ram 1500—

 

[Redheadhunter21]

So many people end up buying a vehicle that they just went to look at, I don't know about you but I don't carry both sets of keys with me and frankly wouldn't worry about taking the second back to the dealer if the deal was already done.

 

[bigred90gt]

I think I've only gotten 2 keys with 1 used vehicle (out of 11 or 12 that I've bought). It isnt uncommon and certainly nothing to get that worked up about. It's not some conspiracy, who ever traded it it just didnt bring the other set.

 

[JoeCo]

I think I've only gotten 2 keys with 1 used vehicle (out of 11 or 12 that I've bought). It isnt uncommon and certainly nothing to get that worked up about. It's not some conspiracy, who ever traded it it just didnt bring the other set.

Depends on the perspective and how important second key is to you. If the cars old and making a duplicate key is cheap and easy, that's obviously no big deal. However, when I buy a 2017 or 2018 truck for 30-40k, I demand to get both sets. I'm not paying that much to immediately pay more (much much more compared to old keys) to obtain a second key for it. Or if having a second key doesn't matter to you, I guess that would work but I need the second set. I don't necessarily think it's a big conspiracy, but I'm not going to give any dealer the benefit of the doubt either (and not sure why anyone would).

Just got my 17 a few months ago, before I went in for a test drive I inquired about that and they said they had both sets, I still didn't hand over my spare for my trade til I had both new sets in my hands.

 

[PolarisCobra]

My truck came with two. The car I bought before that only had one on the ring when I test drove it. I told them I would not buy it unless they gave me two keys, make them put it in the paperwork when I put down the down payment. They had two keys for me when I picked it up.

You have to watch for those things. Buying a car for my daughter, , I checked for the jack, it wasn't there. Made sure they provided one before I drove it off the lot. For all I know, they pulled it out of a different car.

You have do do some due diligence when buying used.

 

[GrumpyOleMan]

I got up and started to walk out on a deal for a used truck a few years back because they only had 1 key. suddenly, they decided they could spring for a second key. Would I have walked? Who knows...probably ... it's the principle of the thing. Long gone are the days of spare keys being cut for a couple bucks.

 

[madtrucker2016]

So many people end up buying a vehicle that they just went to look at, I don't know about you but I don't carry both sets of keys with me and frankly wouldn't worry about taking the second back to the dealer if the deal was already done.

OK with that said The dealer can make another key fob to your truck. The truck is costing thousands of dollars not a couple of hundred dollars. The dealer seems to me just trying to reach in your pocket for extra money for new key fob for the truck. Also this was after the fact the purchase was made and papers signed.So now the buyer is on the hook for the new key fob another 300 dollars. to me its fraud. The dealer is not reputable or honest in any sense.

 

[madtrucker2016]

That’s what my dealer said also when checking the RF hub it said still had two keys connected to it. I thought it might be a way of getting your vehicle repo if you didn’t pay cause they have the key and can just drive away with it.


—2018 Ram 1500—

If true then they have the other key fob and are waiting for you buy it, and are giving you your property back at a cost

 

[madtrucker2016]

My truck came with two. The car I bought before that only had one on the ring when I test drove it. I told them I would not buy it unless they gave me two keys, make them put it in the paperwork when I put down the down payment. They had two keys for me when I picked it up.

You have to watch for those things. Buying a car for my daughter, , I checked for the jack, it wasn't there. Made sure they provided one before I drove it off the lot. For all I know, they pulled it out of a different car.

You have do do some due diligence when buying used.

YEP I got a 04 ram used one time and don't know what made me look for the spare tire and their was none. So guess what the seller had to buy one for the sale to go into affect

 

[Shiva]

that's a obvious ripoff. Thanks for viewing-DeWayne

Ok dealers may not get second key from previous owner or auction. Fine I'm good with that.
However, if they are making thousands of $ reselling the vehicle to me they can damn well take $30 their cost for the key out of their pocket. Takes 10 minutes of their time to program it.

Supply me a second key or keep the truck. Lost sale is not something they want just because you told them this.

 

[ram1500rsm]

I bought my truck used from Carmax and only came with one keyfob and one key. If the vehicle is used certified or not, they might not always have have the 2nd key. Plain and simple really.

I wanted a second keyfob to have as a backup to enable/disable the alarm and start the engine so I just bought a 2nd keyfob from Amazon and paid the the dealer to program it. Now that I think about it I wonder if the key alone will be enough to disable the alarm if the system was enable using just the key to open the driver door?

 

[Darrin Sevitz]

I just bought my 2017 3 weeks ago, I told them I wanted 2 keys. The dealer told me they only had 1....I told them I wasn’t buying the truck then. He asked me if I was going to give up a good deal on a truck over a key? I told him HE was gonna loose a sale over a key! They got me a second key!

I think sometimes people keep a key when trading their vehicles in because it doesn’t effect what they get on trade in and they can throw the key online and make a few extra bucks.