It can be very costly to lock your keys in your car. You come out of the store or from visiting a friend to realize that you left your keys in the ignition or on the seat. Sigh! You can see them, but you can’t reach them because you’ve locked your car doors for safety. Now what? Call a locksmith or break a window? What would be the locksmith cost in this situation?
Well, we highly recommend going the Locksmith route. Breaking a window will most likely cost more and make a big mess.
Depending on where you live and what day of the week and time this unhappy situation occurs, it can cost anywhere from $50 to $250 to hire a locksmith to unlock your car and get you back on the road.
Part of this depends on the services you need and the level of difficulty in getting your car unlocked. Mostly this would mean the cost of the service call so if it’s 2 am on a Sunday, it might be a little more than a weekday or evening.
Getting locked out of your car is no fun. It’s a hassle and causes an unnecessary and unwanted expense. Hiring a professional locksmith is important when you find yourself in such a predicament.
There are different types of car lockouts other than broken or lost keys. If you happen to own a luxury car, the cost of a lockout may be higher because their enhanced security features may require that different tools and methods need to be used making reparation more difficult.
So, if you should get stuck in this situation, here is what you can expect when you call a car locksmith?
Different types of car lockouts that require a locksmith can include:
Breaking your car key in the lock:
If you happen to break your car key and you don’t have a spare key, a locksmith will have to make one for you. Locksmith replacement car key prices vary but are typically more than $100 and can be as much or more than $200 when you include the cost of the service fee and lockout call.
Locking your keys in your car or in your trunk.
Believe it or not, people lock their keys in their trunk all the time so don’t feel foolish if it happens to you. It usually occurs when loading groceries in the trunk and some trunks are harder to gain entry to than others. This can affect the cost a little and may depend on whether or not your trunk is deadlocked. A deadlock can make it more difficult for a locksmith, but it adds a layer of an extra section of protection. It may take a little more time, but it can be unlocked.
If you lock your keys in your car, a locksmith may have to use a key analyzer to determine what electrical resistance values your vehicle has depended on the make, year, and model. Then they can use a mechanical key cutter to make you a new key if they can’t simply pop the lock and gain entry.
Breaking the Key in the Lock
If your key breaks in your lock, you can become locked out. Don’t keep trying to force it free, this could cause damage to the lock and increase the cost of repair. The locksmith can remove the broken key by using a broken key extractor to remove the broken key parts from the car’s lock so the locksmith can duplicate the key and unlock the car.
Lost Keys
If you lose your car key, the lock will need to be rekeyed. Rekeying the door can cost between $40 to $100 plus $5 to $25 per lock cylinder when a locksmith is required. An experienced locksmith will be able to replace your key without having the original. This cost can go up if it happens over a weekend or late-night hours after normal working hours.
Car locksmiths can address a variety of other issues.
Most vehicles have a keyless entry that may need to be programmed first before being unlocked. A locksmith can reprogram this and unlock a car without damage if they are familiar with keyless entry systems. Car locksmiths can repair, re-key, install and replace the cylinders on door and trunk. They also deal with ignition switch issues such as installing, repairing, and re-keying auto ignition switches in different cars.
Hiring a locksmith to resolve issues with your car locks can cost you between $50 and $250 for such locksmith services, depending on the issues.
Dealing with these issues is a major pain but knowing that there is a car locksmith on call 24 hours a day should make you feel safer.
If you find yourself dealing with car lock issues in the Bellevue, Washington area, consider the reliability of Bellevue Locksmithing.
