Why do they give you both keys to a rental?

"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal) 05/05/2018 at 01:48 • Filed to: None

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I’ve got a Hyundai Mistake with an excited squirrel for a motor for a few days in LA. It’s annoying to drive but what the fuck is with rental places giving you two keys that are crimped onto #6 gauge wire? Every time I rent a car I need a separate pocket for the two remotes for the same car, wired together which makes them even bulkier. Why?

facw > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 02:07

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Because cars move around, so it is easier to keep the keys together. Stockpiling them somewhere would be expensive, and isn’t really necessary because if a customer loses them, they’ll just bill the customer. Conversely, if they kept one in storage, they would have to spend money finding and shipping that key when it came time to sell the car.

That said, it is definitely an annoyance, especially in the age of huge fobs.

Svend > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 03:02

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In the U.K. I’ve never known anyone get both keyfobs.

That being said, the garages themselves only have the one so maybe the second keys are just held at a location readily accessible, most of the U.K. can be reached in a few hours or overnight should the need arise. And if the car is in a dangerous location, they can just go lift it.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 04:44

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so they can charge you double when you lose em

you irresponsible rental guy you

MoCamino > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 07:01

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This always annoys the crap out of me. 1) It’s way too big to fit comfortably in my pocket and 2) WOW it would be nice to have that second key if I lock myself out of the car.

smobgirl > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 07:13

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Yeah, I ran a marathon once holding onto that key bouquet. Definitely wasn’t part of my planning process so I got to the race start and then realized...shit.

WilliamsSW > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 08:31

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So what is the plan for it? Impromptu Rallycross? Actual top speed measurement? Both at the same time?

TheRealBicycleBuck > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 11:16

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Some companies do this, some don’t. Sometimes they do it for some of their cars, sometimes they don’t. My last rental had two key fobs wired together. My current rental doesn’t. Both are from the same company. Why? Who knows.

Urambo Tauro > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/05/2018 at 11:39

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I’m thinking maybe it’s standard practice because some rentals are “one-way”. Otherwise, what are they going to do- mail it to the other branch? I guess they could, but it’s just easier to send it with the car.

Donald Lebovsky > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief 05/10/2018 at 07:14

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You know when I took my last rental car Rental24h.com, they asked me if I need two keys. Everything is simple. If you really need you can take, if it is terribly uncomfortable, not take.