No one wants to experience being locked out of their car, especially when they’re late for an occasion, or late for work. It can be a very frustrating experience. If you don’t know how to unlock your car yourself after losing your keys, then the best alternative is to have a locksmith rekey or replace them for you entirely. So, how much does it cost to get into a locked car?

The cost of a locksmith changing your car lock is different in many countries.


On a regular day, it will cost around £50 to £200 for a locksmith to replace your car lock in the UK. Also, it has to do with the level of work that is involved. Sometimes the cost of the service call is also a price factor. Nevertheless, getting a professional locksmith is the crucial thing to do, should you ever find yourself in such circumstance.


Many factors can determine the end cost. If for instance your car key is lost, and you don’t have an extra, the locksmith you hired will have no choice but to make a new one. The price of lock replacement for locksmiths can range from £150 to £200. This usually involves the base cost of your lockout call and the overall service fee.

Changing locks on luxurious cars

There are different kinds of car lockouts that you can hire a professional locksmith to help you with other than misplacing a key. if you have a fancy car, then it’s a whole different problem.


The cost of changing locks of a luxury car will be much higher than that of an average vehicle. The locksmith will put to use different tools and several methods. This is because most fancy cars out there come with modern enhanced security features that give even some professional locksmiths a tough time to work on.

Forgot keys inside of the car

A lot of people do this; even I’ve had the experience. My kid was playing in the car after I came out, and when I got back out to bring him inside the house, my thoughts were elsewhere, and I completely forgot about the keys, they were right there at the back sit just staring at me


I didn’t realize until it was morning. I spent over an hour looking for the keys in the house, not realizing they were inside the car. And I was getting late for work, and it just hit me to peep in the car and see if I might find something. And there it was, just sitting at the back seat. That was when I figured I had to call in a locksmith to help me get it out.

How Much Does It Cost To Get Into A Locked Car


When the locksmith arrived, he told me he’d have to use something called a key analyzer. He’ll use to determine the electrical resistance values of my car. Afterwards, he’ll then have to use a mechanical key cutter to change the car key by making a new one.

Left key in the trunk

What if you left your keys in the trunk of your vehicle? That’s also another mistake people make. When loading groceries from the store into their car trunks, they unintentionally leave the key out. Or they mistakenly break it in the process. Sometimes you might be holding your keys in your hands along with your groceries. After loading them all up in your trunk, you get to your house, you realize you can’t find your key.

Some car trunks are much more difficult to crack than others. A locksmith will charge you depending on how hard it took them to gain access to your vehicle’s truck. That will inevitably cause an increase in the charge, but shouldn’t be much.


For instance, if your trunk is a deadlocked trunk, it is going to give a locksmith tough time to get inside. But the car makers made it so only as an extra layer of protection for the car owner. If it is difficult for a professional locksmith to gain entry into your truck, imagine how difficult it would be for the common thief.


While the Job may take the locksmith longer time and may require different tools, eventually it will be unlocked. And that also increases the cost of getting into a locked car.

Broken keys

This time you didn’t forget your key inside the trunk or in the back of your car, but instead, it is broken in the process of unlocking. If this happens, automatically you become locked out of your vehicle with no way in. It happens rarely, but it does happen.

Read also: Is It Cheaper To Rekey Or Replace Locks


In such a case, it will be much easier for the locksmith and faster if you have a spare key lying somewhere. But if you don’t, the locksmith will have to change it.


Whenever you’re locked out, due to your key breaking in the lock, remain calm and call out a locksmith. Do not try to force entry into your car as that could cause severe damage to the lock and at the same time making the Job much more difficult for a locksmith. In such a case, there will be additional cost in unlocking your locked car.