Vehicle Locksmith in Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk
Over the last week I have had two call outs to attend to owners who have locked themselves out of their vehicles. It is easily done and happens a lot this time of year when people want to keep the warmth inside their cars and keys get misplaced or lost while being dropped with thick gloves on.
The first call out was to visit an owner of a Fiat Ducato Camper Van in Sutton Heath, which is near Woodbridge in Suffolk.They had locked the van keys inside and were just about to head off for a long weekend and came to the realisation it was not going to happen. They phoned me in a bit of a panic and I got to them within 15 minutes as I was in the area. 30 seconds later and they were off on their weekend break to Devon. Happy and smiling which I like to see.
The second callout was early on Wednesday morning. A man was late for work as he had locked himself of the car with the keys inside the boot. Unusual as most people lock them in the car itself. The car was a 2005 Mercedes E Class, nice car and not one you want to be locked out of when you are tight for time to get to work. After about 2 minutes of professional locksmithing I was in and the owner set off for work.
Using the correct tools and experience allows me to unlock these cars and many other types without damage to the car or lock so if you are worried you may lock yourself out of your vehicle one day its probably a good idea to put my mobile number into your phone: 07873 610131
So what should you do if you lock yourself out of your car or lose your car keys? Here are a few of my tips:
Realising You Have Lost Your Car Keys:
So you get to your car and realise your keys are not where you think they are. You search all your pockets, your bag, your jeans, wallet, look on the ground and then realise in a panic that you do not have then. A dread sets in and you feel bad. Maybe you were at your car and you accidentally shut the door and then realised that your keys were on the seat.
What To Do:
1. Don’t Panic: It may sound really obvious but the first thing to do is not get wound up and panic. There is no point getting all flustered and going on a mission to hunt in every nook and cranny to find your lost car keys. If you are tight for time this can also waste valuable minutes.
2. Remain Calm – Have A Plan – Retrace Your Route: Have a think about where you last saw them and then walk back along the route you came from and carefully hunt for your keys. You may get lucky and find them if it has been a short walk. If you are at home make a cup of tea it helps calm the nerves. If you are calm and sensible and think a bit you are much more likely to find your keys within five minutes than panicking and wasting a haphazard thirty.
3. Shopping: If you have just come out of Tesco, check all your shopping because its so easy to put them in amongst the bananas without thinking.
4. They Might Have Fallen Out Of My Pocket: Most times car keys turn up within five minutes especially if you are at home or work but sometimes the worst happens and you lose them down a drain, in a shopping centre, in town or out and about. In these cases its best to keep calm and just come to terms with the fact they are now gone. The best you can hope for is that a decent member of the public has picked them up and will hand them in at either the local Police Station or the local shopping centre. Its sometimes a good call to telephone and ask the next morning.
5. Options If Your Keys Have Gone: If you are totally sure you have lost your keys and you haven’t just locked them in the car, the first port of call is your main dealer. They can usually provide a new set of keys for your car but prices can range from affordable to expensive depending on the make of vehicle. If you can, shop around the places that service your make of car.
You will need to visit the garage and prove you own the car with relevant documentation and note that keys won’t be able to be ordered over the phone. Getting keys this way is not usually a same day service and they will arrive as blanks and be cut to suit your car and then will have to be programmed to your alarm and immobiliser system.
If the keys are not in stock this can take weeks instead of days in some instance especially if you have a rare high performance car. You will also have to arrange some form of recovery to get your vehicle back home.
6. Vehicle Locksmith: If you have locked yourself out of your car a far cheaper option is to call a vehicle locksmith. A vehicle locksmith such as Paul can unlock your car for you in a under 10 minutes to retrieve your keys so you can be on your way at far less of the cost a dealer would charge and much more quickly too. Paul is able to unlock many kinds of car covering all major makes and most vans too.
