But as I discuss later, with a little bit of shopping around you can almost always find someone who will do it for 50-60 dollars. Price: The fee to get your car unlocked can vary from $50 to $150, depending on your car, time of day, and location. In rarer cases you can end up with a slightly bent door or a broken locking mechanism.ģ. The most common types of damage I’ve seen are tears to the door’s rubber seal and small scratches to the door’s plastic panel and frame. The amount and severity of the damage depend on the tools you’ll use and how complicated the car you’re trying to unlock is. When using improvised tools, especially if you’ve never done this before, you may cause some damage to your car. Using these tools makes it extremely easy to unlock almost any car without damaging it. Possible damage: Locksmiths use special tools that are made specifically for the purpose of opening locked cars. There are many tools you can use to achieve that, but if there is nothing you can use around you, you may have to call a locksmith after all.Ģ. As I discuss more in depth later, you mainly need one tool to wedge the door slightly open, and another tool to reach into your car and unlock it from the inside. Tools: Since you probably don’t have professional car opening tools, you’re going to have to improvise using tools you find around you. Should You Call a Locksmith Or Open It Yourself?Īfter exploring the immediate options, you need to decide if you should call a locksmith or unlock your car on your own. AAA membership also includes roadside assistance and even certain credit cards, so make sure you check all these options first. Some companies will send their own locksmith while others reimburse you for the locksmith’s fee. If you have a comprehensive car insurance coverage, roadside assistance might be included.Ĭall your insurance emergency line and check before you call a locksmith. You May Have Roadside Assistance (And don’t even know it)īut before you start prying your door open or call a locksmith, it’s possible that you have road side assistance coverage and you don’t even know it. If your house keys are also locked in your vehicle, keep in mind it’s almost always cheaper to get your car unlocked by a locksmith, than your house. And yet sometimes it’s still a better option than going through the hassle of rushing home to get the spare key. Is your spare key at home? How far are you? Do you have someone who can bring it over? If you’re in a hurry or far away from home, trying to open the car yourself or calling a locksmith may be your best choice.Īn average locksmith fee for unlocking a vehicle is around $70, but it can go as high as $140 depending on your vehicle. You may consider using your spare key, but this can be tricky depending on your situation. So you checked all the doors and the car is definitely locked. Try the trunk too, it’s often overlooked and many times you can get back into the vehicle by folding the seats through the trunk. This may sound silly but you’d be surprised how many times I’ve arrived to unlock a customer’s car… just to find out one of the car doors was unlocked.īefore you do anything else, check all the doors and make sure they’re all actually locked. Are You Really Locked Out?įirst, make sure you’re actually locked out. I do not condone criminal activity of any kind. This guide is meant to help people who locked their keys in their cars and would like to try to unlock it themselves. If you do decide to unlock a car, make sure you are the owner or you’ve been given permission by the owner. I also don’t encourage you to open your car or any other car and I wrote this guide for informational reasons only. Using this step-by-step guide, you may be able to open it yourself.ĭisclaimer: I do not take responsibility for any damage caused to your car or any car you try to open using this guide. In this article, I’ll guide you through these options so you can know for sure whether you even need a locksmith. Yet when you’re locked out, you may have more options than you think to get back in. In fact – that’s mostly what I do, since the problem is so common. As a locksmith in Denver, I open about 5-10 cars a day. It’s frustrating, unexpected, but most of all – it’s expensive.Įvery day, across the US people pay a quarter of a million dollars in locksmith fees after getting locked out of their cars. Getting locked out of your car is annoying.
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