I am about to buy a used Pontiac. (But there's a problem with the keyless entry.)

Actually, my dad is buying it for me as a gift. I spent the past two-and-a-half years taking care of my increasingly ill mother, and she passed away (last week) barely 15 days after the doctors accidentally discovered she had very advanced cancer (stage 4 of the secondary kind, no knowing where the hell the primary cancer was). Anyway, my father has come to see just how intently I had been caring for my mom, and now that I have a new job, I truly need another car. So he is buying me one this week, and even paying for the first year's insurance on it. It's a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am.

Now I realize Piontiac no longer exists. But I can't look a gift horse in the mouth. So if this is what he's buying me, so be it. Meanwhile, the car has only a key, but without the keyless entry thingy. And I would really like one of those. I mentioned it to the car dealer, and he brushed it off by saying "Oh you can pick up one of those anywhere." And then I mentioned it to my dad, and he said "You don't need one of those." But I really really want one.

So ...

How hard is it to get a keyless entry after you have bought a car from a used car lot?

How much does one cost?

And how likely am I to find one now that Ponitac is no more?

Great responses. Thanks, guys.

The car has been bought and paid for as of this morning. First we went to the dealer and signed all the papers. Then we went to the insurance agent and paid for a year's worth of insurance. Then we went to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and got a set of plates. (All told, my dad plunked down five digits for me. Yes, he's a gem.)

And I now have just one key (not two) and no beeper thingy on the key fob.

I went to the local GM dealership. They said my edition of the Grand Am --the SE edition-- is not equipped with keyless entry. The GT edition would have had it as a standard feature, but this ain't no GT, just an SE. And since it never came equipped with keyless entry from the factory, they will not install it. So now I have to go to some specialty shop that will install it for me.




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Silver King said:

That's a bummer about the keyless entry issue; whether you have that installed or not, make sure you have a spare key made as soon as possible.

Also, resist the urge to text while driving (unless you're posting on AW, of course)!

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Bummer indeed.

(And the no-texting thing: duly noted.)

alleycat said:

I owned a Pontiac one time.

Good luck.

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Thanks for the encouragement.