How To Choose A Reputable Auto Locksmith

We’ve seen a number of adverts on sites – such as Facebook Marketplace – advertising car & vehicle keys at very low prices. Whilst we appreciate everyone is after a bargain, these adverts could cause you a lot of problems in the long run. We’ve put together a few tips of how to choose an Auto Locksmith and how to make sure you get a fair price;

1) Know exactly who is working on your vehicle.
When trusting someone to plug diagnostic equipment into your £10,000 + vehicle, you’ll want to know everything about who they are. Luckily these days it’s relatively easy to find information out about a company. A quick google search should bring up the company and using review services from Google & Yell you can read past experiences from customers about how they’ve rated the service.

We would advise using the ‘Locksmith Locator’ tool on the Auto Locksmith Association tool here – https://www.autolocksmiths.net/. The Auto Locksmith Association is a directory of fantastic auto locksmiths based all over the UK & the world who are quality checked. We’re proud to have 2 members of staff (at present) that are part of this association.

2) Cheaper isn’t always better.
Seen a price that seems to good to be true? It probably is. Reputable Auto Locksmiths charge a price calculated on a number of things including travel cost to vehicle, part cost & warranty. A low price may mean that there’s no warranty included, or may indicate poor quality parts supplied. Always ask if there’s a warranty included. As with any industry, inferior parts exist on the market, meaning their poor quality may mean that they do not stand the test of the time.

We offer a warranty on all keys supplied and also have a main workshop that customers can attend if they need any advice with any products we sell. Whilst we stock a huge selection of OEM parts, we also have a fully staffed workshop who constantly test new aftermarket stock that comes onto the market and, only once it passes our strict quality requirements, is then sold to customers.

3) Online Adverts aren’t regulated
Unfortunately (at present) the Auto Locksmith industry isn’t regulated, meaning it’s possible for anyone to advertise key services on sites such as Facebook Marketplace. This means that whilst there may be genuine companies using this to advertise, anyone can fire up a web browser and techincally publish a listing advertising themself as a locksmith.

We’ve spent the last 3 months investigating numerous listing sites and found evidence of this. We actively report these adverts to Facebook to help customers avoid them. When choosing an Auto Locksmith to work on your vehicle do your research & again, if it seems to cheap to be true, it probably will be.

We hope these tips help & hope to see you instore soon.