is when you leave Cabelas with your Model 70 and you discover your key fob fails to open the Subaru two spaces from yours. Same kind Subaru. Same color. AAArrrghh!

LOLOLOL reminds me of something as a kid. I think about half of us have done what you did.

I was eating dinner at Picadilly's with my grandparents when I was about 8......as we were walking in there was this really old couple, who kept trying the key in their black Lincoln towncar…...and they couldn't get the door open.....my grandfather tried to help them....but the key wouldn't unlock the doors.......well they realized that someone stole their black Lincoln towncar that was parked in the very same spot and someone else parked their with a nearly identical black Lincoln towncar.

I play a little game with my wife whenever there is the same model and color car parked near ours.

About 90% of the time if I walk towards the "wrong car" my wife will follow.

Hilarities ensue

Key fobs and the headlights flashing help us senior people find the right vehicle.
Of course fob batteries seem to go dead at inconvient times! The key seems to work better then, unless you are blonde.

Jimmy good story, new on me , car stolen and identical one parks in same spot! What are the odds?

in 1958 our family had a 1957 ford sedan... after church dad retrieved car from parking lot... as we arrived at home - mother realized that we were in wrong car - this car had a radio and ours didn"t. dad returned to church lot to find OUR car and the other family trying to gain access to OUR car. after proving our key worked on their car all was forgiven................ drill sgt.

never had that problem when I drove MINI Coopers,

however, now that I drive gray Honda Civic,

the keyfob is my locator

Years ago, I attended the Concours Delegance weekend in Monterey, Ca. The featured mark was the Ferrari and there were 1000 Ferraris in Montery that weekend. At one event, they were parking cars by country of origin, all the Italian cars together, all the German cars together and so forth. As I was walking through the Ferrari section, most of which were red, I heard the gentleman in front of me say to his friend, "I can't find my car." I thought to myself, where else but in this town, on this weekend, could you be driving a red Ferrari and not be able to find it in a parking lot.

I've done that a couple of times. With door handles that open to the touch. So I'm just yanking at the door handle several times.

Worst was one time, I looked at the wheels and thought, "Someone swapped my wheels!" as they were different (probably more expensive). What an idiot ( i was).

quote:

Originally posted by walkinghorse:

new on me , car stolen and identical one parks in same spot! What are the odds?

Much more common than you think. Thieves steal an item and substitute a clone.

A variation on this theme: back about 20 years ago, maybe a bit longer, the most popular aircraft NAVCOM (NAVigation & COMmunication) radio was the KX-155 series, initially made by King, later by Bendix and Honeywill. These were not cheap units, and were in demand by buyers. Stolen units could be identified by serial number; there was a database of stolen serial numbers that was available to be checked by licensed repair shops.

What the thieves did: Steal the radio from airplane A, then go to airplane B, remove the radio from airplane B and replace it with the radio from airplane A. The owner of airplane A will report his radio stolen. It is actually in airplane B. The owner of airplane B is not missing a radio, his airplane has the radio from airplane A, and since the KX-155 radios all look alike, the owner of airplane B is not aware that he has somebody else's radio and the thieves have his radio, so it does not get reported as stolen. The thieves now have a radio with a clean serial number and they can sell it.

It was July 4th weekend, sometime around 1992, that they hit our airport, and in one night they got a bunch of KX-155 radios. Many airplanes were broken into, and the KX-155s were the only things taken. The guess was that they all wound up in Central or South America.

quote:

What the thieves did: Steal the radio from airplane A, then go to airplane B, remove the radio from airplane B and replace it with the radio from airplane A. The owner of airplane A will report his radio stolen. It is actually in airplane B. The owner of airplane B is not missing a radio, his airplane has the radio from airplane A ...

Guess I'm on the other side of this.

I have about a 30% success rate opening Fords and about half of the Freightliner trucks with the key for my Dodge.

The good news is my truck will not lock the doors when the key is in the ignition.

This was not the only time either.

Back in the 70s I had a Pinto hatchback
I parked in a lot and shopped across the way. Coming back I entered the Pinto which I did not lock. Sat in the seat and tried to start it. Key would not turn I wiggled the steering wheel, but no key turn. I looked around in confusion. I looked between the seats and remarked to myself "That's not my purse". Looking up I saw a bunch of ladies in the large laundromat window laughing their heads off. Then I looked beside me at my own Pinto. Pintos matched exact except for the purse. And key.

New lighter wheels are in order!

four or five times a month I find myself waiting for a buddy or neighbor at a wal mart or other big box store.

and every single time I see a half dozen people wandering around looking for their car.

up and down isles, around and through the lanes .

some have kids in tow.

I want buy a dozen magnetic cones and offer to sell'em to these people , so they can see them from the front of the store , and never meander or wander again

I'm amazed that there are Subarus in a Cabelas parking lot!

Back in the day, I had a white 1983 Toyota Tercel. Awesome car by the way.

I had taken it to a dealer for four new tires. When I returned, I did a walk around, and noticed, even after I had paid. I didn’t have four new tires.

They had put them on another white Tercel. And the manager had shown me that my key not only opened the other car, it started it as well.

quote:

Originally posted by NK402:
Years ago, I attended the Concours Delegance weekend in Monterey, Ca. The featured mark was the Ferrari and there were 1000 Ferraris in Montery that weekend. At one event, they were parking cars by country of origin, all the Italian cars together, all the German cars together and so forth. As I was walking through the Ferrari section, most of which were red, I heard the gentleman in front of me say to his friend, "I can't find my car." I thought to myself, where else but in this town, on this weekend, could you be driving a red Ferrari and not be able to find it in a parking lot.

"Is it that one over there?"

"No, you fool...that one is in rosso corsa and mine is rosso barchetta!"

quote:

Originally posted by IntrepidTraveler:
I'm amazed that there are Subarus in a Cabelas parking lot!

Easy there, might be my Outback !

We drive a red GMC pickup. My wife knows red and pickup. In a parking lot she will head towards any red pickup in the lot. I always ask her if she would like to take our truck home or is she trying to find a new one? She doesn't always find me amusing.
Rod

It could be worse...