AUTO LOCKSMITHS
The road to success
We try out the training at 3D Group
» WE OFTEN FEATURE TRAINING courses, skills and hints and tips in The Locksmith Journal. There’ s nothing we like more than sharing wisdom with our readers, but recently we thought why should our readers be having all the fun? So, after a visit to 3D Group’ s fantastic new training centre, we sent our very own Chris down to Nottingham to knowledge up on VAG UDS and MQB lost and spare key solutions – using XHorse tooling.
Here’ s how he got on …
I’ m not an auto locksmith( or any other kind of locksmith) but I’ m on a mission to find out more about our industry, our customers and what is on offer for locksmiths of all levels. It was a pleasure to be invited to 3D Group and an experience I’ d love to repeat either there, or elsewhere.
These particular courses started just under a year ago and all sessions are scheduled in for the year and ready to be booked. There’ s multiple courses of varying levels( see website for breakdown of courses).
When I arrived at the dedicated training room, I was impressed to see there was real kit to practice with( the session is a mix of theory and practical) and there are scrap cars on site that are stripped to create practice benches with real dashboards, clocks, ignition, ECU etc.
For participants, discounts were offered on products should they want to buy them. But don’ t worry there was no sales‘ pitch’. It was just a case of‘ look there’ s discounts available if you want them, but you’ ve come to learn not to be sold to’; no pressure at all.
When it came to the nuts and bolts of the training, it started with an overview of VAG systems; focusing on the Golf as an example MK3 > MK7. We were showed a guideline of what models use what immobiliser or cluster codes etc.
Then it came to practical key coding, real life kit on bench, things can( and did) go wrong so you get troubleshooting tips as you go along; this means you can‘ mess up’ in the classroom so if any issues arise in the‘ real world’ you already have practice and experience to navigate through them.
As a complete novice, I managed to follow along and now feel I could code the keys if I needed to using the Key tool Plus. Ashley was the trainer; he was a really sound guy and very knowledgeable and clear.
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FEBRUARY 2025
57
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