Expert: INSTALLSUPPORT - 11/29/2007

Question
I recently had my 2003 Cadillac CTS stolen.  When it was recovered there were no signs of the car's ignition having been tampered with.  I have the only key to the car. The car was equipped with OEM transponder-based anti-theft system. Any thoughts on how it was stolen?  Secondly, I understand that car theft rings can easily have duplicate keys made to a GMc vehicle with nothing more than the VIN number.  Is this true?

Answer
Bad luck, but a good question...

Depends on the sophistication of the thief,
but most likely they put it up on a side lift
Repo truck, and simply took it.
Done all the time with GM cars n trucks.
Then it's usually stripped down to the
Onstar system (thrown into the trash I'd imagine),
and the car parts are sold all along the I95
corridor.

The second one, yes this is true and disturbing.
however from what we've heard, it is limited
to the door locks. These keys will not
get the truck started however.

GM is notorious for only using a set number
(under 15) of key cylinder lock set ups.
There are bound to be duplicated locks all
over the place.

Solution? Re key the locks, shave the door handles,
or, add another layer of security.

I hope this helped you some.

ALARMTEK
CARALARMSTORE.com