I just purchased a 1996 E300 in beautiful shape. The owner only had 1 set of keys and they are the basic mbz round and square key. I contacted my local dealership and they ran the vin for the car and said it did come with 2 flip key remotes. He said if I want to purchase one it's $250 not including me scheduling an appointment to come in and have it programmed to the car. Does anyone have a suggestion to bypass the dealership and have it work? Are there any coding people out there in the NJ area? I could care less about having the remote fob since I rarely lock my car, but the car tells me to take the keys out of the ignition even when they're already out. This leads to the car sometimes activating the security system and not letting the car start till i get out and lock the doors with the key and unlock it. It's becoming a nuisance. Would that issue be because of lack of a remote fob or is it because there is something wrong with the ignition?

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Current fleet-
1993 Mercedes 300SD
2004 Chevy Avalanche 4x4
2009 BMW 535i xDrive
1995 Saturn SL2
1993 Mercedes 300SE (parts car)

Previous Benz's-
2001 Mercedes SL500
1983 Mercedes 300SD
1980 Mercedes 300TD
1996 Mercedes E300D
1999 E300DT
1984 300TD-T
1988 Mercedes 560SEL (parts car)
1979 300SD
2003 E500
2004 S430 4Matic
2001 E55
2003 E430