Locksmith

Locksmith

Josh-the-Locksmith

25 Years Experience

Austin, TX

Male, 46

I've been a locksmith since 1998. I did automotive residential & commercial work from 1998 to 2008. From 2008 to 2018, I did some residential, but mostly commercial work. I have been project managing & estimating since 2018. I used to locksmith in the Chicago area, now the Austin area.

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329 Questions

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Last Answer on June 11, 2024

Best Rated

I have a key it says taylor on it and 137 On one side c3 On other what it go to

Asked by Jordy almost 8 years ago

Could've lots of things. Motorcycle, safe, tool box, hard to say. It's a widely used key.

Hello! I bought a Jeep & it should have a remote with key. I only have a KEY. I can buy a remote w/key, but what should a reputable locksmith charge on average to cut the key? Can he use mine as the master? Can he also program the fob? Price? Thanks!

Asked by spookycc almost 7 years ago

I don’t do automotive work anymore, and it will probably greatly depend on your local market prices, but a locksmith should be able to do that for you, and use your existing key to cut the new key. I would roughly guess $75-100 to program the remote, & $50-100 to program and cut the key (if it has a chip in it). Be careful though, some locksmiths won’t cut and program 3rd party keys and remotes. So ask around before you buy.

I have a hidden vertical rod storefront door with a loose key cylinder so I need to remove the exit device to tighten the key cylinder. Can I do this without removing the door or does the door need to be laying flat?

Asked by Skwgee@gmail.com almost 8 years ago

I've never worked on a door that required me to take the door down to take out or work on a cylinder, so no, you probably shouldn't have to do that. Now if the bottom concealed latch/bolt needs work, sometimes you do have to take the door down, sometimes not.

How can I remove the core from a 1933 spare tire lock?

Asked by Jloe almost 7 years ago

Take it to a locksmith. Being that old, you might be lucky it even comes out at all!

I live in a multi tenant house. My key lets me into the side door (a common entry point for all tenants) and my door. I asked my landlord: doesn't that mean the other tenants can get into my apartment with their side door keys? He says no. Is he lying

Asked by anonymous tenant over 7 years ago

Haha no he is not lying. It’s called “masterkeying a lock”. Entire office buildings are masterkeyed so a Bldg Mgr can carry 1 key & get in every door, but every door can also have its own individual key that doesn’t work anything but that 1 door.

How do you know that the client who calls you out owns the house/car you're unlocking? What is the procedure if a client doesn't have money/ID with them at the time to prove then and there? And should police be called if I think I've been ripped off?

Asked by S.Lee over 7 years ago

1- it's impossible to truly know who the owner is. The best we can do is take as much information as we can just in case things go south. So we get a drivers license, plate, year, make & model, location, time, name, address, & phone number. If it's a home, the drivers license or a piece of mail has to have the address on it. 2- if you don't have money, we don't do the service. If you don't have ID, we prob wouldn't do the service unless it was a special circumstance. 3- to my knowledge, there aren't any laws i know of that saw you can't over-charge people. But in many states it's illegal to operate as a locksmith without a permit or license. A lot of these guys are contractors & do not have one. I tell people all the time that everyone should have the name & phone number of a reputable locksmith in their phone. It's your job to research the company you're hiring. There are a LOT of crooked companies out there, & the only thing that can stop them is smart & knowledgeable customers. Leave reviews on Yelp & Google, report them to BBB. Ask for a quote before they do the work. If you don't like it, call someone else. You should never feel pressured or threatened.

I have no key to the lock in the front gate of my new house. I don't want to replace the lock, so how do I get a key that will work with the existing lock? Thanks!

Asked by Moebym over 7 years ago

Well you have 2 options then. Take the lock off & take it to a locksmith, or call a locksmith to come out and make a key. Obviously the cheapest option would be to take it to a locksmith.