How much does a locksmith cost for your car?
Who knew that losing your car’s keys or getting locked outside can cost an arm and a leg? But that is a sad reality.
Have you ever walked out of the car to the grocery store or to the restaurant only to find that you forgot the keys in the ignition? Well, we have all been there at least once. What is even more frustrating is that you can see the keys with your eyes but cannot access them. What a pity! Here you can know what to do if you have lost your car keys.
The next smart thing to do is dial that emergency contact of a reliable locksmith nearby. However, before you dial that number, it is imperative to calculate how much would it cost you. Do you even have enough cash in your wallet?
You may be tempted to break through the car’s window to access those keys you can see, but do not, we repeat do not go down that road. Call a locksmith.
How much would a car locksmith cost?
The exact cost for hiring a locksmith for your car would depend on your area of residence and the time of the day that you need one. According to these factors, the bill may be around $50 to $250 to get your wheels back on the road.
Moreover, the type of service you hire and the intensity of the situation are other factors that will determine the exact cost of unlocking a car. Let’s say you get locked out of your car at 3 a.m on a Saturday night, the cost would be a lot more than a weekday service.
Whatever may be the case, getting locked outside is not pretty and no one wants to bear that added expense. But, there is no shortcut out of this situation other than hiring a car locksmith.
What are the various types of car lockouts and their respective locksmith service charges?
Lost or forgotten car keys are not the only types of car lockouts. In case you have a big luxurious vehicle, then the cost of hiring a car locksmith will be relatively more than that of a normal vehicle due to heightened security features that may require the use of advanced unlocking tools and mechanisms.
Here are some of the car lockout situations that may require you to hire a locksmith and their respective costs. Let’s take a look.
A broken key inside the car’s lock
In case you are in a situation where your car key breaks inside the lock and you haven’t kept a spare key, then the locksmith will have to generate an identical key for your lock. This may cost you around $100 or even more, the cost can go as far as $200 depending on the severity of the situation and the type of lock.
Important Note: If you ever break your key inside the car’s lock and you are stuck outside, do not make the mistake of forcing the key out. This will cause more harm than good and may even significantly increase the repair costs.
A professional locksmith on the other hand has a special broken key extractor using which he will easily be able to remove any broken key or its parts from the locks for duplication.
A locked key inside the car’s trunk
One surprising fact about lost car keys is that many people often lock their car keys inside the trunk. If you are in the same boat then definitely you are not the first one. It happens to anyone who is loading grocery bags in a hurry in the trunk.
If this is the case with your car, then your locksmith may charge you more than a normal car lockout situation especially if your trunk is a dead-end lock. Such locks require more time and effort by the locksmith to gain access, even if deadlocks are relatively secure than other forms of lock. It is difficult but not impossible.
Also, when you call a car lockout specialist, he will use a special analyzer to assess the electrical resistance that your car might present according to its make and model. After this analysis, the locksmith can easily use a key cutter to generate a duplicate key for you in case they fail to access the locked key inside the trunk, which is quite a possibility.
And the lost, forgotten, and misplaced keys…
The most common car lockout situation is when the owner simply misplaces or loses the key. The only solution here is to rekey your locks which may cost around $50 to $100 and additional charges for the lock cylinder when you hire a locksmith.
A credible locksmith with years of experience can easily make a duplicate without the original key. But, if the situation occurs at an odd hour of the night or on the weekends, the locksmith cost will significantly multiply.
Miscellaneous charges for other locksmith related car issues
A lot of modern-day and advanced vehicles provide keyless access to the car prior to the unlocking stage. A car locksmith should reprogram the keyless entry and then access the car without causing any further issues. Hence, a locksmith should have the necessary knowledge regarding the keyless locking system.
At the same time, car lockout specialists also specialize in ignition-related issues and can conduct the necessary repairs and replacements for the ignition switches on various vehicles. In case you are facing any such issues, the locksmith charges will be around $50 to $250 depending on the sort of issue your vehicle is facing.
Without a doubt, dealing with a locked car is a real pain and a frustrating situation. However, if you have access to a locksmith service that works round the clock, you need not worry. locksmiths have a solution to practically every problem.
Besides, a car lockout situation is not a situation that anyone wants to stay in for long, so it is better to always keep an emergency locksmith contact on speed dial on your phone. This may come in handy in emergencies.
