A couple years ago, my used '98 CRV's battery died. I got it replaced, and when I started it back up, the radio was locked out; I needed an unlock code that they'd have given me when I bought the car, if the car hadn't passed through at least a dozen hands before finally reaching me.

I called up my nearest Honda dealership, gave them the VIN, and they gave me the radio code.

I like that they can do that. Maybe it makes more sense from a security standpoint if I would've had to call some centralized Honda location, but that doesn't really solve the problem, does it? I have the VIN -- so does anyone who looks through my windshield. I have the title number -- so does the dealership who originally sold the car. We'd have to enter a few concurrent bits of information to verify that I own it, that this car I'm calling about is mine, and I can identify both it and myself, and then the centralized Honda location would have to be able to verify all that on their end.

Or we can assume some modicum of trust at dealerships, and accept the fringe cases where criminals use information they wouldn't have access to in a perfect world.