AUTO LOCKSMITHS
Adding Auto Locksmithing Services to your Traditional Locksmithing Business
In this uncertain climate , it is increasingly important to capture as much business as possible .
Byron Toomey - Hickleys
» TIME AND TIME AGAIN I HEAR FROM key cutting shop owners and cobblers , that have customers who require a spare or new automotive key or remote . However , these shop owners are having to turn away automotive key jobs in droves as this is not a service they currently offer . Either this or they are doggedly struggling along with an outdated cloning machine that can barely do a handful of twenty-year-old vehicles . Time , taxes and clean air schemes are coming for those vehicles . Soon even these old cloners will be obsolete . The result ? Our embittered key cutter / shoe repairer declares car keys not to be worth the time , all whilst watching the work , and the deluge of profits streaming away to competitors . It is very easy to dismiss auto locksmithing equipment as too expensive to purchase , or too complex to learn .
While auto locksmithing is undoubtably complicated , modern key programming units are usually tablet style touchscreen devices that walk the locksmith through each step of programming a new key or remote . Obviously , I would never suggest jumping in at the deep end and starting to program keys without any training , as there are many pitfalls to be aware of ! But with modern technology programming these keys is much more obtainable with a little bit of training from the right training academy . In the age we are in now where cars are becoming ‘ connected ’ we are seeing that vehicle security now comes in multiple layers . And with the key or fob being at the centre of these security systems there are again potential problems to be aware of when programming additional or replacement keys . Thankfully key programming is now a mature industry and there are trusted companies with experienced developers constantly pushing both hardware and software programming solutions forward . As someone who is looking at dipping their toes into key programming it may be tempting pick up a cheap cloning or programming machine that claims to be a comprehensive solution . But please be wary of a machine that cannot live up to its lofty claims as it is very easy to render a vehicle electronically inoperable with a wrong move .
What about cutting the physical blades for car keys ? Just a few years ago , cutting automotive keys would have involved investing in multiple , expensive key cutting machines in order to cover all the different types of key blades . And not just multiple machines that each
cost several thousands of pounds , but also additional jaws for these machines to be able to cut specialist keys such as dimple or Tibbe keys . Thankfully there are modern solutions to these problems , in the form of compact key cutting machines that have easily swappable cutters to do almost any auto key cutting job with just one machine . How about cutting a new automotive key just from a photo ? Sounds like some kind of magic , but this is actually a reality ! More about that below .
The other consideration is stock . A very wise man once said that before you build a tower , you must first sit down and calculate the expense . It ’ s all very well rushing in headlong and purchasing equipment but what if you cannot afford to spend thousands on keys and transponders ? Everybody wants a remote key these days , how much needs to be spent on them ? Which ones need to be kept in stock ? Proximity keys are coming in , what about them ?
58
JULY 2024
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