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My wife lost her purse, including one of the keys for the C230. Thankfully, it was returned, but in the interim, we had a dilemma.
Someone out there had our address and a key for my car.
The dealer was closed (of course) so locking out the key wasn't an option at that point.
We parked both the Benzes in the garage, and locked the garage. Then, I disabled the C230 electrically (pulled some key fuses) but knew this would only slow someone down. Then, I parked the Mazda up against the outside of the garage door, blocking the door. They would have to hotwire the 626 (top line security installed), break into the garage, and then sort out my missing fuses.
Even then, I slept poorly that night!
Thankfully, the next day Home Depot called. Helen had left her purse on the counter, and it was returned safe and intact. We keep more careful control over keys since then.
However, this does nothing to protect against the dealer selling your keys. I think the only defence against that is to own an "undesirable" model that might not be worth them stealing. Maybe an S500 is high on the "hit list?" I have no idea.
Perhaps MB "head office" should step up key security and take steps to ensure employees cannot order keys. Maybe a new policy of ONLY shipping keys to owner's home addresses? Maybe a PIN you choose when you buy the car?
If MB's are being stolen in this way, MB should step up to bat and help out...
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