Shady Locksmiths: How to protect yourself

To the guy with onstar- I have been called out to many calls where onstar could not open the vehicle because they were unable to establish a satellite link or the battery on the car was dead. Don't get too arrogant, you may need us yet. :-)

I own a local roadside service company called EZ Lockout & Roadside Service. We charge one low fee to open a car, $35. What I have seen, I have known about, and have tried to tell people who are locked out of their car. It is a shame the public is taken advantage of like this.

I am from CC and locked my keys in the car behidnb San Fernando Cathedral on a sunday. Call info and got pop a lock and called and within 30 min utes he was there and charged me 36.50 on credit card and that was a great end to a wonderful week end in SA. Call POP A LOCK they Rock and cheap

Lol. Oh, goodmichael, you know not the power of the almighty dollar. In this economy, 3 or 4 locksmiths would not 'make an executive decision' to leave and waste precious gas and time. They would do exactly what I set them up to do and that is, bid on who will do the unlock. You need the money like I would need my truck unlocked. Don't try n be all hard like that one little job won't make or break you. It's money. And you would do what you had to do to get it. So, in my best auctioneer voice, I would let the bidding begin.

Scum. I have OnStar, so all these thugs can kiss my ...I rather bust my own window. It'd be cheaper to replace it anyways.

There are no special tools involved. A good quality lockout kit costs about 250.00 off of a tool truck. These people discussed in this article who are causing the problem and the focus of the problem are not locksmiths, they are jacklegs who bought a lockout kit, have no training, no bond, no insurance, no integrity, and probably extensive criminal history. kikimom, what will you do when you do not have access to a cellphone ? I am not one who depends on electronic devices to pull myself out of the fire. By simply googling a number you are seeking you are your own worst enemy, as you allow yourself to be prey to anyone who has a site. This would be an ideal scheme for a sex offender to find prey. camidawg, I was in this business, towing and did a lot of unlocks. If I drove up and you had called three other companies there we would make an executive decision to not open your car and leave you stuck, hopefully in an empty parking lot on a cold rainy day.

How funny special tools? I mean really it's all special tools that can't be found at walmart so the answer is 50 or under or take a hike better yet spend the extra cash when you buy your wheels and get keypad entry which is what Fords have the only company that didn't take a government bailout..

Good Michael, what a brilliant idea! I am going to throw my "yellow pages" in the car right now! Oh, wait a minute. YELLOW PAGES!!! Are you serious? I haven't seen the yellow pages in ages! Ask a teenager if they know what the yellow pages are. In this day and age, you need a number you google it. Who would carry yellow pages in their car anyway? I like Collister's idea, find a reputable company and store the number.

My technique is to call 4 or 5 at one time and then when they all show up, the person with the lowst bid gets to unlock the car. Of course you're gonna have one guy that immediatly drops out cause he thinks it's stupid and he just wasted gas to get to where I'm at. BUT, the remaining locksmiths...they haggle let me tell ya.

Hey @lobo blanco, you realize the only reason you got a brain is because everyone has one, don't you? You need to learn to use it properly.