I am interested in buying a GEM car from someone, however they don’t have the keys. They have the title, etc… but the keys are lost. Can I get a new key for a 2002 GEM fairly easily?
The stock key-lock on a 2002 GEM is made by Medico. These high-security locks & keys are expensive at about $120 to $150 for a lockset and 2 keys. If you remove the lock from the steering column and take it to a good locksmith he may be able to cut you new keys from the numbers on the rear of the lock but they won’t be cheap. Figure on $40-$60 for a set of keys (if he can even make them).
Another alternative is to replace the lockset with a common one made for garden tractors etc. Look in the topic “alternate parts sources” for the part number to ask for at your local auto parts store. I installed one of these Echlin key-switches and it works just fine. It takes a bit of fiddling to get it to fit properly in the OEM location and you need to put new terminals on the ignition wires but it’s under $30 for the whole setup.