Vehicle lockouts occurs almost every day among car owners or users. Some people lose their car keys nearly every day or unintentionally lock their cars with the keys still inside. So, How much does it cost to change car locks?

Car lockouts are one of the most well-known problems that all car owners face. If you find yourself in a situation whereby you
are unable to get into your car because you’ve lost your key or locked it in, call out a locksmith to help you.


There have been reports of various car owners who happen to lock their keys in but choosed to force their way back into their car. Such desperate measures should be avoided as they can damage your car lock entirely. The best measures to take is to call out a locksmith, preferably an emergency locksmith to help you. Unless of course, you have a precise technique in getting back into your car


An excellent professional locksmith will change your car locks without any hassle or fear of damaging your car because such locksmiths usually possess the right skills and the necessary tools to change the lock or unlock your vehicle regardless of the car model and fabrication year.

Common reasons to change your car lock

If you’re planning on changing your car lock, there has to be a genuine reason for it. Maybe you’ve misplaced your car keys, lock malfunctions, forgot your keys in the car, jammed keys, stolen, or damaged. These are some of the reasons to have your lock changed.


However, if the reason for changing your car locks is not stated above, the precise thing to do is to call in a locksmith and have them either unlock your car or replace the locks entirely. Also, something a lot of car owners fail to tell their locksmiths is to ask the locksmith to make them a spare key.

Related: Can I Get A Key Made From The VIN Number


Doing that will save you a considerable amount of money in calling out a locksmith and the overall cost of repair if such lockout crisis occurs another time. So it’s highly recommended to have spare keys made for future use.


Some cars come with enhanced features such as alarm systems that will trigger once you desperately try to unlock
your car yourself. So unless you live in a neighborhood where pretty much everyone knows it’s your car, such alarm triggers will make you look like a car thief.

Locksmith working on a red car - How Much Does It Cost To Change Car Locks


And if you decide to break the window or take any other severe measure in opening your car, it could lead to severe damage. Whereas an emergency locksmith will have your car locks changed or unlocked your car in a matter of minutes.

Cost Range

If you are unable to change your car locks yourself, you hire a professional locksmithhome1 to help you change them. In some countries, local locksmiths can do that without any hassle as well. The cost to change car locks or unlocking your car might vary, and most times it depends on how damaged your car lock is.


Which is why we stated above that you should not try desperate measures to get back into your car. Likewise attempt to change the locks yourself. That could cause further damage to your car, and at the same time attract additional expenses.

The cost of change car locks can depend on how bad the damage is. As well as the type of vehicle, and the type of key, alongside other factors that locksmiths usually consider. In the UK, the price of changing a car lock can range from £75. But in more robust cases, it can be as high as £100 or more.


For instance, let’s say your key breaks inside the car lock, in such a case, even a spare key wouldn’t help. This means the locksmith will have to get inside the lock and try to remove the broken piece of the key or change the locks entirely. In that case, you might be charged £180.


Other than the cost of labour, some locksmiths charge separately for extracting a key. Which means they’ll charge you separately for merely removing a part of your broken key from your car lock. The cost could be £65 to £70.


You might wonder why the cost of changing locks seems high. That is because it’s much more complicated than it looks. It takes years to become a locksmith. And other than that, locksmiths have no government licensing. Which allows them the liberty to charge you whatever they want.

Conclusion

In other to save yourself the trouble of spending a handful of money on changing your car locks, it is much better to prevent ever having to change or unlock your car in the first place. Most times it is a tiring and expensive process.


Some preventive measures you can take in making sure you don’t find yourself in a situation where you have to change your car locks is that you have to pay more attention to your keys and not lose them.

It is best to have a spare key. And preferably give one to a trusted member of the family if you get locked out of your home.


Furthermore, technological advancements in the world today has made a lot of things much more easy. One of those things are Mobile Apps. Nowadays there are mobile apps on just about everything.

If you lose or misplace your keys, depending on the car manufacturer, there could be an App that can find them. Such Apps will make a loud beep whenever they come closer to the location of your keys.


And lastly, if the above preventive measure fail to work out for you and you still somehow got yourself in a car lock problem, it is best not to panic. Every situation has a solution. And your answer is a professional locksmith to help you change your car locks or unlock it fast and easy