What to Do When You Have Lost Your Car Keys
Do you know how important your car keys are? Most people do not realize it until they have already lost their car keys and they do not know what to do anymore. Your car key is the number one item that will allow you to get into your car and start moving. Without it, you cannot do anything with your vehicle.
People tend to experience losing their car keys at least once in their life. If this happens to you, are you prepared? Do you know what you are going to do? A lot of people know that they would need to contact their local locksmith immediately but are there other options available just in case?
Preparing for this Situation
A lot of people do not normally prepare to lose their car keys because this is something that they never thought would happen to them. This can happen to everyone and you should be prepared for it. You can search for the right locksmith to contact ahead of time. If you would search online, you will see that there are so many locksmiths available.
When you are panicking and you do not know what to do, you tend to pick the very first locksmith that you see. You may end up with a locksmith who does not know what he is doing. You can search for the locksmith you want ahead of time and when an emergency occurs, you will know who to call.
What Should You Do?
Get to know the different things that you can do when your car keys get lost and you do not have any spare keys available.
The first thing that you should do is to remain calm. Your initial reaction is to panic and this is understandable but if you truly want to improve your situation, you need to stay calm and think rationally. It is normal for people to start panicking but if you let your panic go overboard, you may end up doing something that will make your present situation worse.
You should also know what type of key you have lost. Gone are the days when there is only one type of car key that people use to power up their vehicles. Most car keys now are created with technological advancements. You need to tell the locksmith you will contact what type of car key you have lost so they will come prepared.
These are the different types of car keys available:
- Keyless Entry Remote – This is also known as a key fob. This can communicate with your vehicle so that your vehicle will unlock on its own. This can make your car very accessible but when you lose it, it can be problematic. Someone might gain access to it and steal your vehicle and a replacement of this key fob is very expensive.
- Transponder Key – Modern cars are usually outfitted with this type of key. The transponder will be communicating with the keyless entry that may be placed inside the vehicle so that the vehicle will open. This can provide better security than the traditional car key but it can still be hard when it gets lost.
- Traditional Car Key – This is the usual key that you will use on your car door to open your car. This type of car key is easy to duplicate so you do not have to spend a lot of money when it gets lost. The main problem with this is that it is still the easiest type of lock to be opened so it does not provide as much security as the more modern types of car keys can provide.
Once you are sure what type of car key you have lost, that is the time when you can contact your chosen locksmith.
These are other things you can do to help you get out of your uncomfortable situation:
- You can go around the area that you have traversed to get to your vehicle. You may have dropped your key. Finding it will help solve your problems easily. This is the reason why you should stay calm given your present situation. If you are frantic, you would not be able to cover all of the areas that you have passed by. Your calmness will help you become more strategic in finding your lost car key.
- Once you are sure that you have not lost the car key anywhere, try to take a look inside your vehicle. Did you leave the keys inside? A lot of people experience this. Some people experience this more than others though.
- Make sure that you have all of the right information about your vehicle. Locksmiths will not open your vehicle just like that. You need to provide proper documents that will prove that you are the car owner. Be prepared with all of the necessary documents that you may need. The most important documents are your VIN (Vehicle Information Number) and your registration document.
- You can consider the cost of having your vehicle opened. If you know that you have lost the keys for good, this may be your option. You know that you can have the vehicle opened immediately but it may cost a lot of money.
- some people would like to have an additional key made no matter what type of key they have. Some keys can only be received from the car dealer so consider this before deciding on whether to get a spare key or not.
You have to be prepared for this type of situation because there is always a possibility that this is going to happen in the future. It is best that you will always have the number of a locksmith that you trust and you have all of the necessary documents ready when you need to present them. The right locksmith can be contacted anytime. Just expect that the fees will be higher when the locksmith is contacted during an
