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All the Gear and No Idea
Having been in the industry quite a while now as an actual locksmith and distributor
I have seen how equipment has evolved, once upon a time my favourite machine
was a SBB as it covered 70% of my jobs and earned me lots of money. Whereas
these days, with the variety of modern immobiliser systems, we have to have at
least three or four pieces of hardware to confidently cover the majority of vehicles.
» » AS TIME GOES ON, I AM
hearing more locksmiths
constantly investing large amounts
of money in new equipment that
promise to make the job easier, is
that a good thing?
My answer is most certainly ‘no’.
There is an ever-increasing
range of auto locksmith ability;
some of my customers do 90%
eeprom work and won’t bat an
eyelid if they need to remove
a BCM from a 2014 Porsche
Panamera and solder onto the
board to read the flash file (if you
have done this job you’ll know
how careful you need to be);
whereas some will turn away a
BMW EWS spare key because they
need to remove a module and
would rather wait for the customer
who needs a spare Megane key
card so they can plug in True
Code.
But, the latter will still spend
thousands of pounds on
equipment every year and we
all know there are many OBD
machines that cost a few grand.
There also the ones in the middle
who will do a bit of everything, but
‘rather than buying
a new machine to
make your existing
work easier, why not
open the door to
more (and sometimes
better paying) work?’
if they are unsure will walk away
(or over quote to save face).
What is the solution to this?
Training and Support.
There are a few companies that
offer training courses; Hickleys
being the biggest. Autowave offers
tailor-made courses and I believe
KAP will train on AVDI and maybe
that is where money should be
spent.
Over the years we buy into
so many different pieces of
equipment and surely training is
going to bring you the biggest
return on your investment, and
after your training ongoing support
(those who have dealt with us in
the past know how seriously we
take support). There are many
courses on offer and lots of
valuable skills and techniques so
rather than buying another new
machine to make your existing
work easier, why not open the
door to more (and sometimes
better paying) work?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nottingham-born Ravi Kotecha
started his career installing car
radios and working with auto
electrics. After a seven-year spell
in London working as a self-
proclaimed ‘man in a van’, he’s
returned to the East Midlands
and set up shop as an auto-
locksmith equipment distributor,
ECU-specialist, and key cutter/
programmer across two sites
in Long Eaton, plus has a car
accessory shop and used-car
dealership in nearby Sandiacre.
Find out more at autowave.co.uk
or call 0115 837 7972
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | MAY/JUN 2019
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