auto locksmith training

[dennis thompson]

I am interested in a career as an auto locksmith.Is there anyone who can give me any useful info on courses,cost of start up and any relevant advice would be a great help.

[79commando]

Like most locksmithing opportunities you will probably be too late to make a go of it. I won't bore you with the details but if you are keen to try decide what area you want to specialise in.

For vehicle entry where the customers keys are locked inside the vehicle this is the cheapest area to specialise in. With a tool budget of about £300 you can buy sufficient tools to gain entry to the majority of cars. Add to this a few hundred pounds on practice locks and a few months picking practice then you will be ready to start trading.

Lock entry and copying keys is your next avenue. Everything as above then about £4000 on cloning machines and key machines then a few hundred on key blanks.

Full Auto locksmithing (lost keys) will require all of the above then a couple of years electronics experience and learning the ins and outs of all vehicle security systems. Get it wrong and you will pay thousands in compensation.

Finnaly all you need is to spend a few grand on advertising and a vehicle in every area to get the AA or RAC contract and you are away. Work on one call out per thousand population to be shared between each locksmith or National Advertiser in your area.

[prag]

Hi. Welcome to the site.

Locksmithing as a hobby or career is greatly rewarding. I still get a kick when I struggled with a challenge and "it" gets solved. So enjoy it.

It depends on how long you have been in the trade but specializing in auto locksmithing can be quite luctrative. I have a buddy that does this and he has the knowhow and tools to do virtually any car.

My best advice is to go to the scrap yard and befriend someone important. Then you can start teaching yourself how to open cars, Stripping locks from doors and the door mechanism etc.

Also get the word out to car dealerships and auto repair shops that you specialize in cars. Secondhand car dealerships and auction places are always loosing keys.

Learn impressioning. Helps allot.. There's a ton of tools that can be bought, lots quite usefull. Get advice always. This forum is a definite asset for this.

79commando wrote

Finnaly all you need is to spend a few grand on advertising

This is a must if you're serious about this career. Don't underestimate advertising.
Good luck with your choice and this is do-able

[lockey1963]

trouble with auto locksmithing is that The AA and RAC do the openings very well and free to members, this along with the likes of timpsons and just about every domestic locksmith offering it, there is very little pure opening work left, so a closed door for a living.

cloning and copying keys is now done by just about every key cutters and cobbler shop these days, so again a tough area to earn from.

full auto set up is the only way to go, 79commando is correct at least a years electronics training, adequate auto electrics training is essential, all on top of auto lockie training, and a huge investment in machinery, stock and advertising, £25k would not be an over estimate of start up capital with more investment ahead of you.

forget the short courses, 5 years ago a good in, now market saturated with 1 week auto lockies.

get some good basic electronics and auto electrics training in and build from there, set a realistic business plan and investment program and go for it if its what you want, or believe a short course is all you need and take one of the many out there.

[lockey1963]

meant to add, basic start up equipment;

ad100 full system £5500
cloning machine £800
cylinder machine £600
hpc blitz with cutters £1500
instacode software £665
viper machine £4600
key blank and fob stock £1500
chips etc £500
lock stck and parts £335
lock picks and lock tools £1000

so initial equipment and stock to start up £17000

then you need to consider
Van
Advertising
admin
training

Now this can be done alot cheaper, using an MVP pro but will make you uncompetetive due to token prices, you can also scrap the viper and order keys cut to code but this will delay each of your jobs by 2 to 3 days a job , again making you uncompetetive.

even with the full set up above and after training you will only be able to cover lost key jobs on around 65% of current cars, with sufficient electronics training and another few grands worth of gear you could get this up to around 85%.

if you want to be able to do mercedes and bmw you will need to add another £5k to this for the programming equipment.

Its not unusual for a good auto lockie to carry well in excess of £50 k of equipment and stock as well as a large advertising budget.

[79commando]

What if I just cut out the middleman and do a 2 day City and Guilds course; after all it is recognised in over 120 countries (sadly none on this planet).

[alltoys]

I am new to this site but also am interested in vehicle lock training. Where can a person get instruction on vehicle electronics for locks? Is it to do with Mechanics offered by a Trade School?

[Eyes_Only]

That would be a great start. Cos they'll teach you all the basics of automotive electronics, electronic theory, the different tools and how to use them for diagnosis work. It really came in handy for me.

[79commando]

Any money spent on vehicle electronics will be money well spent. There are loads of cheap Chinese machines out there which the budding vehicle locksmiths are buying. Unfortunately they are also fragging the vehicle management systems by not knowing what they are doing

[mickramsey]

be very carefull where you go for training, stick to mla or ala approved training, theres one guy advertising auto courses in leicester claims to be working with sks a large locksmith wholesaler, yet he is a convicted armed robber having served 11 years inside for a vicious armed robbery.

with this sort of record he shouldnt be able to trade as a locksmith let alone train auto locksmiths, im surprised a large wholesaler has linked with his outfit, just shows the state of it all.

this thread has good sound advice, read it and follow it and avoid the many pitfalls that exist.