A Key You Don't Want to Lose

I'm pretty good at keeping track of things. I'm not known for losing my car keys, my wallet, or my cell phone. But I discovered this week that I'd lost something you don't want to lose - my wheel lock key.

Years ago I bought a set of wheels for my Civic from a friend (they were factory wheels on a 2001 Civic, my 2000 Civic came with caps, so having actual wheels was a serious upgrade plus he sold them to me cheap). This particular set of wheels came with a lug nut for each wheel that requires a key to remove it (a wheel lock if you will). He included the lock key in the sale, so no worries. I always carried the lock key in the glove box, so it was there when I needed.

Last week I discovered I had a slow leak in one of my tires, so I went to get it fixed only to find out that I didn't have the key with me. A thorough search of the car and the garage turned up nothing. I had to face the fact that I had lost it. It was tough, I'm still a little embarrassed (and calling car places to confess my failure wasn't sounding like fun either!).

A couple of calls had me headed to the local Honda dealer. The service advisor was really helpful, didn't try to stick it to me. The parts guy wanted $12 per lug nut, negotiated down to $6.57 each before I decided I'd try my luck elsewhere - remember I needed 4 of them, so $30 on lug nuts for the Civic wasn't sounding good (besides, he only had 3, so he couldn't actually fix my problem today anyway). The service advisor walked outside and used his wheel lock keys to take the locks off and sent me on my way. Seriously, thanks, you could of worked me over, that was a stand up move.

From there - with 3 lugs per wheel - I drove to Reeves Tires on 7th. I've been to Reeves a few times before and have been nothing but impressed. They are the only tire shop in town that I'll let touch my Firehawk - I was sent to Reeves by the best Goodyear place in town as the only place that could handle large, powder-coated wheels. They unmounted and remounted 2 of them without a scratch.

So I walk in carrying one of the locks the Honda guy had just taken off and ask the guy at the counter (Mark) if they carry any lug nuts that look roughly like the lock. 45 seconds later he hands me 2 options, one of which was nearly a match for the existing lugs. I walked out to the car to check it, came back and asked, "How much?"

He replied, "Ninety-seven cents."

Sold!

$4.18 and I was out the door installing the four new lugs (I had thrown my 1/2"-drive ratchet, 19mm deep-wall 12-point socket, and 5" extension in the car before leaving home).

Now, hopefully tomorrow I can actually get the tire fixed - as you recall, that's how this started in the first place.

Moral of the story:
1. Buyer beware when buying parts at a new-car dealership.
2. There are good people out there - service advisor, parts guy (who gave me some good advice before I left), and the guy at Reeves.
3. It pays to have the right tool on hand - cause who wants to use the tire tool that came with the car to install anything?!?