Christmas and Car Keys..

So let’s get something straight. The average, half decent Auto-Locksmith doesn’t want you to call him on Christmas day. He, or she, is not sitting by the phone hoping that you mess up. Being a human being, as well as an Auto-Locksmith means that we have families and friends to see and family parties to attend. So believe me when I say, we want you enjoy Christmas, without having to call us.

But what about all that extra money? Triple time, ‘name your price!’ Well yes, there will be a few individuals that wait to take advantage of the market, but believe me, if you can’t earn enough during the rest of the year, you really are in trouble.

How to  avoid calling an Auto Locksmith over Christmas.

Spare keys

The most basic place to start. This isn’t a sales pitch, but Christmas or not, you really should have a spare key. The trouble with spare keys is that you can only use one at a time, so it may seem a waste of money when you first get the quote. However, just like insurance, when you need it, you’re normally in some kind of trouble, so we’d always suggest a spare.

If you can’t afford a spare key this close to Christmas, I completely get it. Why not just buy a door key, one that will turn the lock, should you lock your keys inside the car? These are £10 – £15 and you can have a chip put in at a later date when you can afford it! On top of this, if you lose the main car key, and have a key that turns the locks, most Auto-Locksmiths will kiss you on turning up! It makes our job so much easier and more importantly, cheaper.

Two keys locked in the car

Most people get locked out when they are doing something out of routine, including Christmas car journeys, a roadtrip with a car full of presents, or simply moving house. This is because everything is packed into the car, ( including the spare car key ) and then disaster strikes. So if possible, keep both car keys out of the car. There’s little point having the spare key in the glovebox ( come on, you know who you are…)

Locking keys in the boot

We have posed lots about this altready. It will also be one of our campaigns in 2017. If you have the option to just unlock the boot…don’t. Open the whole car first, then open the boot. We open up so many cars that have keys in the boot, so don’t be a victim to this unfortunate design feature.

Broken car keys

These days, the problems we see with broken car keys can be predicted in advance. In the olden days, a blade would snap in the door unexpectedly. However most keys now have central locking, so there’s no need to put the key into the door. The most common problem we see are keys falling apart and electronics failing (after months of playing up ). So if you are going on a long journey, and the key has been playing up for a while, get it looked at before the Auto-Locksmiths and main dealers close.

We hope this helps. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas, we are actually closing our doors for a few days so won’t be even on call. So take care on the roads and look after those car keys.