The Joy of Running an Old Shed

[Bumblebee7]

I was gifted a VW Sharan by my dad, totally knackered with loads of welding needed to get it through an MOT. Tyres all cracking, mismatched and one of them flat. Inside in awful condition with the whole dash looking like it's been punched in. Gear speed sensor broken so no speedo and as a result car keeps beeping as it thinks it's low on fuel. Suspension absolutely shot to pieces and passenger door doesn't open. Just an all round crap example. I have kept it on my mum's driveway SORN for over a year in case it came in handy for a house refurb then I'd do the necessary to get it an MOT. I've bought a house that's a project, but it's already cleared out so I don't need the VW so was finally planning on scrapping it, even went to the local yard to see what they'd pay last weekend. Then totally out of the blue an Albanian chap knocks on my mum's door (with everything going on she's working from home) and asked if the car's for sale. She passes over my number and the bloke bought the car from me for £200 the same day! I thought that was a right result!

[TheInsanity1234]

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

[carinaman]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

If it's just a key without any electronics get Timpsons to cut you another one, wrap it in cling film and hide it under the car somewhere using a strip of that thick grey duck tape?

[carinaman]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

If the central locking packs up on one of the doors, leave the door on which the central locking no longer works unlocked?

[Jimmy Recard]

carinaman said:

If it's just a key without any electronics get Timpsons to cut you another one, wrap it in cling film and hide it under the car somewhere using a strip of that thick grey duck tape?

Even if it is an immobiliser key you could still do this - the one that you get cut wouldn’t start it, but you can still open the door to get to the key you’ve locked inside

[magpie215]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

I dont ever lock mine. ....nothing inside worth stealing.

[The Mad Monk]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

When you get out of the car the keys come with you and go straight in your pocket (jacket or trouser, it doesn't matter. Oh! As long as you are wearing the jacket)

Perhaps we had better make that trouser pocket. You don't normally get out of the car unless you are wearing a pair of trousers. Do you?

[dgswk]

Jimmy Recard said:

Even if it is an immobiliser key you could still do this - the one that you get cut wouldn’t start it, but you can still open the door to get to the key you’ve locked inside

• * THIS *** would have saved my 18yo lad £75 this week for the callout to break in..... 2nd time in 12 months. Idiot.

How many times, Timpson, £20, just flipping sort it.

[dgswk]

And in other news, replaced the cabin air filters on my Audi Shed to try and get rid of the damp dog smell. £14.68 via ebay / China. Took 5 weeks, but saved a few quid. Quite enjoy spannering on stuff that doesnt matter if I break it.

[ajprice]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

Put the key on a belt clip stretchy keyring (if the stretchy coil is long enough to from trousers to ignition), so then the key is wherever you are.

[M4cruiser]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

I'm not sure I understand the question.
I get out and take the keys with me.
If I don't take the keys then I can't lock the doors, so i go back and open the unlocked door and get the keys from inside.
One of our cars does have a self-locking feature, but that only kicks in if you remote-unlock it and then don't open a door for a whole minute. So it's irrelevant to the situation under discussion.

[TheInsanity1234]

TheInsanity1234 said:

Random question from a shedding newbie - how do the other shedders who regularly drive cars without remote central locking make sure you don't lock your keys in the car?

Tips and advice welcomed and appreciated - I'm just asking as I don't want to be posting in 3 months time asking for tips on how to unlock a door without a key!

Just to clarify, the car in question has no central locking at all, maybe I shouldn't have said remote as I've just remembered you can still have central locking without remote keys!

Lock/unlock the back doors with the little locking stalk thingy in the door (no idea what it's called, forgive me, I'm only 22!), boot is unlockable with key only, and front driver/passenger doors are unlockable with the key but you can push down the locking stalk thing and lock it. My previous car had remote central locking, and there was no way of locking the keys in the car, as you needed the key to lock it. With this one, I just know for a fact one day I'm going to absent-mindedly get out the drivers seat with the key still in the ignition, somehow clumsily knock the locking stalk on the door, and shut the door behind me without thinking, and turn around and see the keys, in the ignition, and no way of getting back inside!

Jimmy Recard said:

carinaman said:

If it's just a key without any electronics get Timpsons to cut you another one, wrap it in cling film and hide it under the car somewhere using a strip of that thick grey duck tape?

Even if it is an immobiliser key you could still do this - the one that you get cut wouldn’t start it, but you can still open the door to get to the key you’ve locked inside

Not a bad idea at all, I'll look into that... Think the big asda just down the road from me has a Timpsons portakabin type shop thing right outside!

The Mad Monk said:

When you get out of the car the keys come with you and go straight in your pocket (jacket or trouser, it doesn't matter. Oh! As long as you are wearing the jacket)

Perhaps we had better make that trouser pocket. You don't normally get out of the car unless you are wearing a pair of trousers. Do you?

No, sometimes I'm wearing a pair of shorts when I get out of the car! Good advice though, I suppose if I make it a habitual thing to never press the stalk down and always lock the door using the key, it'll lessen the chances that I'll lock the keys in... (well, regularly, at least!)

M4cruiser said:

I'm not sure I understand the question.
I get out and take the keys with me.
If I don't take the keys then I can't lock the doors, so i go back and open the unlocked door and get the keys from inside.
One of our cars does have a self-locking feature, but that only kicks in if you remote-unlock it and then don't open a door for a whole minute. So it's irrelevant to the situation under discussion.

That's just it, the car doesn't have central locking at all, my apologies for confusion, but that's the thing, I could absolutely press the locking stalk down on the door, and get out without the key and then actually lock the keys in the car, even with the engine running.
I was asking how to mitigate against this happening so I'm not having to spend silly money/time trying to break back into my car when I could just make sure it'll never happen in the first place (using those stretchy clips attached to my person) or make sure there's a spare key I can always get to if I manage to cock up and lock the main key in!

Edited by TheInsanity1234 on Sunday 22 March 17:43

[M4cruiser]

TheInsanity1234 said:

That's just it, the car doesn't have central locking at all, my apologies for confusion, but that's the thing, I could absolutely press the locking stalk down on the door, and get out without the key and then actually lock the keys in the car, even with the engine running.
I was asking how to mitigate against this happening so I'm not having to spend silly money/time trying to break back into my car when I could just make sure it'll never happen in the first place (using those stretchy clips attached to my person) or make sure there's a spare key I can always get to if I manage to cock up and lock the main key in!

Edited by TheInsanity1234 on Sunday 22 March 17:43

Most cars will pop the stalk back up again when the door shuts (or they used to anyway!)
Unless you physically grab the handle and hold it up (or hold the outside button pressed in) while you slam-lock the door.

The answer is (as you've worked out) never slam-lock the door!

[TheInsanity1234]

M4cruiser said:

Most cars will pop the stalk back up again when the door shuts (or they used to anyway!)
Unless you physically grab the handle and hold it up (or hold the outside button pressed in) while you slam-lock the door.

The answer is (as you've worked out) never slam-lock the door!

Interesting. It's a '60 plate Picanto 1, so pretty new at a mere 10 years old but that's interesting because I'm almost certain that if you push the stalk down (or up... I'm not actually sure, I'm not daily driving it yet, still parked up at the parents' until next weekend), in the locked position, then shut the door, it will shut, locked, regardless of how gentle you are with it. I'll have to do some experimenting!

[Long Drax]

A lot of posters on this thread a recommending to the OP and others that they go to Timpsons and get a duplicate key cut.

Timpsons are now closed for at least the next three months due to the Covid-19 outbreak. You could try googling for somewhere else in your area that cuts car keys.

[p4cks]

Long Drax said:

A lot of posters on this thread a recommending to the OP and others that they go to Timpsons and get a duplicate key cut.

Timpsons are now closed for at least the next three months due to the Covid-19 outbreak. You could try googling for somewhere else in your area that cuts car keys.

You can often get a key cut on eBay from a photo alone - so even without Timpsons there are options

I know that they can also clone a key if you send them a working one (they can do this for Fords, as an example)

[Prohibiting]

I've made a terrible shed mistake with my new shed purchase....

1. New number plates ordered (£15)
2. New wheel hub caps (£9)
3. New bonnet badge (£8)
4. New front and rear wipers (£15)

Number 4 I can forgive as the drivers side was knackered but 1-3 were completely unneccessary

[p4cks]

Prohibiting said:

I've made a terrible shed mistake with my new shed purchase....

1. New number plates ordered (£15)
2. New wheel hub caps (£9)
3. New bonnet badge (£8)
4. New front and rear wipers (£15)

Number 4 I can forgive as the drivers side was knackered but 1-3 were completely unneccessary

It's a dangerous road to go down... I once spent £6 to fix something cosmetic on my shed and it didn't work. I was raging with myself for being so stupid and now everything gets fixed with superglue

[anonymous-user]

Prohibiting said:

I've made a terrible shed mistake with my new shed purchase....

1. New number plates ordered (£15)
2. New wheel hub caps (£9)
3. New bonnet badge (£8)
4. New front and rear wipers (£15)

Number 4 I can forgive as the drivers side was knackered but 1-3 were completely unneccessary

1. Is neccesary, surely?

[Prohibiting]

Comstock said:

1. Is neccesary, surely?

No, the reg is still the same. The original plates were just very tatty and split at the top.