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Old 06-06-2019, 03:17 AM
 
Location: Los Angeles
50 posts, read 47,900 times
Reputation: 61

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I left my car key in my car and locked out. It was at the mall parking lot around 8:00 PM. I don't have AAA or any other service like that. This is the first time it happened to me. I called one of the mobile locksmith. One lady answered and she told me that it would cost anywhere between $ 75 to $ 190. She asked for my car year, make and model. Mine is 2012 Honda civic. After few seconds she told me that it would cost $ 95 ($ 80 operating fee + $ 15 service fee). She said the locksmith will be at my place in 20 minutes. But he came in 50 minutes, looked at my car and told me that it would cost $ 160. I told him the price I was given on the phone. He said that I may not have listened properly and for this kind of car, it is at least $ 160. So I called the number again to confirm with the lady and she never picked up the phone. I told the locksmith that I have a duplicate key, I could have gone to my apartment (would take 40 to 50 minutes on Uber), get my duplicate key and solved the issue. The only reason I went for locksmith is because the lady said he would come in 20 minutes and the price is $ 90. I tried to negotiate with him for $ 125 (mid price between $ 90 and $ 160). He didn't agree. I came all the way up to $ 150. He sarcastically smiled and he was ready to leave. Finally I paid his price $ 160. After I paid, he came with his tool and opened the car in less than 3 minutes.

I just want to know whether I was cheated and whether he took advantage of the situation? If it's just the normal price, I am totally fine with it. What is the normal price range for this kind of service in Los Angeles?
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Old 06-06-2019, 10:04 PM
 
Location: Montreal
2,029 posts, read 1,075,757 times
Reputation: 2248
I don't know about L.A> but in Montreal, if you call a cab company, they will usually have a cabby come and unlock your car door for a decent price. This sounds like you were shafted big time, I recommend you get a AAA membership if you think you may have a problem with your car in the near future; battery, flat tire, locked out, etc...


Get the base membership for lower cost, and if you run into a bigger problem where you need to get towed a longer distance not covered by the base membership, you can always upgrade by calling them when you need it, and that will do the trick.
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Old 06-07-2019, 05:05 PM
 
Location: Southern California
1,166 posts, read 1,623,407 times
Reputation: 2904
We live in West L.A. Our front door lock jammed and would not unlock from the outside. I called a local locksmith and was quoted a price of $65. The locksmith came out, unscrewed the cover on the inside of the door, sprayed some WD-40 on it, and replaced the cover. It took about five minutes, but it fixed the problem. He then it would be $80. I told him what I was quoted, and he said $65 was for the service call, and the $15 was for the work he did.
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Old 04-10-2020, 08:16 AM
 
572 posts, read 317,438 times
Reputation: 344
You were robbed even in New York the emergency locksmith cost less than 100$ including emergency call and repair.
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Old 04-10-2020, 09:46 AM
 
2,088 posts, read 1,946,916 times
Reputation: 3167
Well, it’s an old thread, but it seems locksmith scams are common-

https://www.latimes.com/business/sto...locksmith-scam

My favorite when he talked to Nimrod Atinger- the quotes from the dbag are priceless.
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