Locksmiths are professionals when it comes to anything having to do with locks, home security, and keys. More often then not, most of the jobs that a locksmith undergoes are emergency services, which is either someone being locked out of their home, or someone being locked out of their car. Though the situations sound similar, they are very different from one another. An automotive locksmith will be able to provide you with services such as all vehicle key service, broken ignition key or ignition replacement, dealership keys, high security keys, smart keys, ignition replacement keys, key cutting, laser cut keys, locked doors or lock and key problems, lock pick options, problems with transponder chip key programming, re-key, lost car keys, remote control keys, and VAT keys.
To become an automotive locksmith, the ability to do the above mentioned is not enough. Most successful, licensed automotive locksmiths go through specialized training courses, which will also include a minimum of 40 hours of hand-on training. Like any other profession, a car locksmith needs to know exactly how to handle every situation, as well as the ability to get the jobs done correctly, and in a timely matter since in most cases they are emergencies, and what will determine how reputable you are as a locksmith is how well you can do those things.
Choosing a good automotive locksmith could take some time, more importantly, finding an automotive locksmith which you can trust is even harder. Vehicles are very expensive, so are the keys that turn them on, so whoever is working on your car should definitely be someone that you feel is qualified to do so, as well as licensed, and insured through a reputable company. It’s very important that they understand getting you an exact key substitute or duplicate, and you also should inquire if they could give you a duplicate of that key as well to ensure that you aren’t put into the same situation once again. Pricing for replacing keys depends on a lot of things such as year, make, model or whether the car locks have been changed or re-keyed. High security keys such as those from Lexus or Mercedes can be more expensive due to the nature of the key since vehicle security is constantly improving, the transponders, which are a anti-theft device boost the pricing. Locksmith companies have to invest in equipment and training to be able to generate working keys/fobs for these vehicles.
When looking for a locksmith, during an emergency lockout situation, its always better to resort to someone local. Most locksmith companies are on the internet, and can easily be found in your area. The automotive locksmith companies are always available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and should be able to assist you in about 30 minutes (usually faster), depending on how traffic is where you are at. Automotive locksmith companies usually will have several technicians as there is always a need for locksmith services, and when it is an emergency service, they will need to drive to you.