A listener named Bernie e-mailed us earlier this week with the saga of locking the key in the boot of his 10-year-old BMW 318i.

Tragedy is, Bernie's always wanted a BMW, and he got one - used - aged 48. That's Bernie, not the car. Long story short, after some other problems, his kid locks the keys in the boot. Calls the BMW dealership. They won't give him the key code, but they will sell him a replacement remote key for $628 or a manual key for $312.

And it has to be shipped from Asia. And they won't get the ball rolling without payment up front. And it'll take five days.

Anyway, he calls out some whiz-kid locksmith who cracks the boot, retrieves the key and solves the problem all in under two hours.

This whole key rip-off has to stop. And it's not just BMW. It's tantamount to rape.

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