Month: November 2011

Here’s a scenario : it’s late at night, you are about to enter your building on the upper west side, let’s say 81st & Amsterdam,  you reach to your pocket or bag and then you realize you don’t know where your keys are.

You can’t remember if you’ve left them in the apartment when you left in the morning and slammed the door shut or if you’ve lost them some where during the day.

It doesn’t matter right now, what does matter is that you won’t make costly mistakes right now.

The next instinctive step would be to go online either from a laptop, a tablet or your smart phone ( if you are in new york it’s probably an Iphone (-; ).  you are about to see a lot of companies on line, you gonna call a few and you’ll look at their websites.

Even though your’e panicking right now because it’s late and your first response is to call the first locksmith you see, try to control yourself ( you see it’s not that hard ), because here it’s when it may get a little tricky.

When on the phone you’ll be able to notice something is wrong when the dispatch ( who’s NOT a locksmith ), will not give you neither an address where the company’s office is located nor a solid price for the job in question.

What you’ll here would be something a long these lines: ” it’s a $15 service call to get a tech to you and labor starts at $15 and up “.  –  hang up the phone, it’s a scam that will cost you hundreds of dollars and will put your property at risk.

A local locksmith, a licensed locksmith, an honest and experienced locksmith will know exactly what needs to be done and how much it should cost you at any giving hour of the day or the night.

An honest and reliable locksmith will tell you what’s is DCA locksmith license number is and what’s the company’s address in new york.

It’s very sad but many so called “locksmith” companies on line are actually call centers with dispatchers located on a different state sometimes even a different country altogether.

These companies will hire subcontractors that aren’t licensed locksmith in any way and will send them to unlock your apartment or to change your locks, these individuals get paid a percentage of the job so it’s in their best interest to charge as much as they can.

And who is paying for the scam your’e asking ?  well isn’t it clear ?   you are !!!

This is how a $15 service call plus $15 and up for parts and labor becomes a $350 lock out job.

So what i’m trying to say is actually very simple ( it’s always is (-:), use your common sense, it’s not that complicated, the signs are pretty clear.     if it looks and sounds too good to be true, it’s usually because it is.

Not all locksmith companies that advertise on line are fake and not all of them will try to scam and reap you off ( aren’t you lucky ? ) but most of them will, so be very careful and try not to step in the trap, it’s stress full enough to be locked out you don’t need to get reaped off as well. ( right ? ).

When the time comes ( and it will ) and you need a reliable locksmith in new york city, one that works 24 hours and he is actually local and licensed, give us a call at (646) 450-6320,   (877) LOCKS-20 or check us out on line www.metrolocallocksmith.com

You don’t have to call us ( even though we’re super cool ), just make sure you know who it is that your’e calling and get a price over the phone and not $15 and up B.S

Don’t say should have, could have, would have.  it’s too little too late afterwords.

So try not to lose your keys to begin with (-;

And always remember ” when you need a locksmith…   Metro Local Locksmith!!!”

14 W 90th st, ste# 1A.

New York,NY,10024.

(646) 450-6320

WWW.METROLOCALLOCKSMITH.COM

Ben.

On today’s blog we’ll talk about the sucky situation of losing your car keys, more specifically losing your Honda car keys.

When you first notice you’ve lost your car keys there are two things that instantly cross your mined:  1) how do i get new keys made.     2) if someone found my keys can he/she steel my car ?

So the answer for question number 1 is call a locksmith and ask for a price, the answer for question number 2 is YES, until you program new keys to the car someone will be able to steel it with your lost/old/stolen key.

At Metro Local Locksmith we make Honda / Acura transponder keys ( cut & programmed ).

You’ll need to call a locksmith that would come to you, if it’s a licensed professional locksmith he will ask you on the phone if you are the owner of the car and if you ever had to change your ignition or door locks before.

The procedure is actually very simple ( o.k not very but fairly simple ), there are 2 basic ways to make a Honda or Acura car key, you can either get the cuts for the key from the VIN (vehicle identification number ) and convert the code to cuts, or you can get the code or cuts from one of the cylinder locks in the vehicle, ( the glove box cylinder works great for that mater ).

After the keys are made ( always get two copies ), and they are working on the doors and ignition locks, it’s time to plug the computer and program the chips ( transponder chips ) in the keys to the vehicle’s computer immobilizer unit.

When the new keys are programmed and the green security light is off, then the old keys ( the chips in the old keys ) are deleted from the car’s computer, which means that who ever found/stall your keys can’t steel your car.

For more information about replacement car keys in the New York metro area please fill free to contact us at Metro Local Locksmith, on the phone or at the web www.metrolocallocksmith.com

Usually a Honda / Acura transponder key should cost less then $199 but every job is different and every case needs to be evaluated.

Like always – try not to lose your keys to begin with !

Ben.

Last week Metro Local Locksmith had no blog post because i was running the ING New York City marathon.

Iv’e got to say it wasn’t as easy as i thought it would be since i had no time to practice for the run, you guys kept me very busy at nights unlocking doors and making new car keys all over the upper west side and the city.

It has been an amazing experience running the ING New York City marathon, i’m sure that i will run again next year, so until the next blog stay safe, keep it cool and try not to loose your house or car keys.

When you need a locksmith in new york city ( one that can also run a marathon ) give us a call at Metro Local Locksmith.

Ben.

Winter is coming, we’ve all felt it the last snow storm at the end of October.

There are a few things you can do in order to get ready for winter: buy a coat, buy a shovel and get your locks changed / inspected and make some spare copies of your car keys.

Yes,  you’ve herd right !

Every winter we at Metro Local Locksmith receive calls to change locks that stopped working due to low maintenance and neglect.

Don’t wait until it’s too late,   winter can take it’s toll on old used locks, don’t let your lock stop working when it’s cold and snowing out side, have it replaced or fixed by a licensed locksmith and save time and money.

The second issue of winter and snow ( snow storms ) is lost car keys.

If you don’t have spare car keys, then it’s defiantly the right time to have a copy made.

Don’t wait until you drop your car keys in the snow and they either stop working or get lost in the snow, call us at Metro Local Locksmith and we’ll make you a spare copy of your car keys, we will cut and program your keys.

Transponder keys, laser cut keys and ignition locks are all repaired or replaced.

When you lose ALL of your car keys then it’s too late and a new key made from scratch can be expensive and the process can be long and stressful if it’s late at night and it’s snowing out side,  on the other hand it’s pretty simple and cost efficient to have your car keys duplicated and programmed so you know you are ready for anything.

Last winter was very hard, Don’t let this one catch you unprepared.

Call us at Metro Local Locksmith,  your New York City locksmiths and get your locks inspected and your car keys copied so you don’t stay out in the cold this winter.

Ben.