Article summary:
- It’s not as easy as you think
- You’ll probably damage your car
- Your insurance company won’t be happy
- You can easily injure yourself
- You might get your collar felt!
If the title of this article has you perplexed as to why you’d want to break into your own car, there’s one obvious reason. It is, of course, because you’ve lost your car keys or accidentally left them in the vehicle, which essentially means that you’re locked out. As such, you may be tempted to try and avoid calling an auto locksmith to gain access on your behalf if you’re confident that you can do it instead. You think to yourself “how hard can it be?” and go off to grab a few tools and watch a couple of Youtube videos. As tempting as it may be and as confident as you may feel, here are 5 reasons not to attempt to break into your own car.
1. It’s not as easy as you think
Even if you have a fairly comprehensive toolkit at your disposal, you almost certainly WON’T have the right ones for the job. Auto locksmiths carry an array of different gizmos and gadgets in their vans that allow them to tackle a wide variety of different locksmithing issues as they arise and they can also be more flexible and adaptable because of this – If one tool or technique won’t work on one particular make and model, they’ll have others in their arsenal that will. Add to that the fact that most modern vehicles have fairly sophisticated anti-theft technology built-in as standard as soon as they roll off the production line. In other words, even if you haven’t added extra security yourself, such as a new alarm, you’ll most likely still have quite a few obstacles to overcome such as deadlocks, factory alarm/immobilisers and so on. There’s also the time factor to consider – how long is it going to take you? If it’s very hot or cold outside, the extreme temperature can start to take its toll on your body, making it more difficult to concentrate and focus on the job at hand. There’s also the ‘time is money’ issue to consider. Are you late for work or will you need to take the entire day off? The bottom line is, it’ll probably work out cheaper in the long run to get in touch with a professional car locksmith who’ll be able to get into your car much quicker than you; often in as little as a few minutes.
2. You’ll probably damage your car
This can be especially true if you watch a self-help video of someone showing you how to break into a different age, make or model of car than your own. What works on one vehicle may not work on another, with the age of the vehicle being a factor as well – technology changes fast and it might be the case the same model has different security depending on the year that it was built. If you use the wrong technique on the wrong car, you’re almost certainly heading for disaster. Even if you’re lucky to find an exact match online tutorial, it’s worth bearing in mind that you’ll probably have zero experience of doing it before, thereby increasing the risk of making a costly mistake. More often than not, those who attempt to break into their own cars without any previous experience under their belt will most likely damage the window/window mechanism, door/door lock or the vehicle’s paintwork. You may even end up denting it as well. Once again, getting the car fixed after you’ve damaged it in some way will undoubtedly work out more expensive (with a lot more stress and hassle on top) than calling 24-hour car locksmith to open the car for you instead.
3. Your insurance company won’t be happy
There’s little doubt that, if you have comprehensive insurance cover, it won’t go down too well if you ring your insurers and tell them you’ve just vandalised your own car! It’s bad enough if someone else does it, but not the car’s owner. Aside from the embarrassment of your own amateur exploits, also bear in mind that if you make a successful claim for any damage you’ve caused, your premium will most likely be hiked up the following year.
4. You can easily injure yourself
If you’re thinking of levering the door open or trying to force a gap in the window so you can pass an old coathanger through the door, don’t. Aside from the damage you’ll do to your pride and joy, you may actually do more damage to yourself. A slip with a screwdriver or a crowbar at the wrong moment at the wrong angle can end up being very costly to your body so it’s really not worth the risk. You could well end up stabbing you hand or arm and injure yourself very badly. Worse still, if your chosen tool slips, you may slip too.. in the path of a passing vehicle. Don’t take the risk – call a professional car locksmith instead. <
5. You might get your collar felt!
Although perhaps less likely than the points above, you may end up attracting the attention of the police. If someone sees someone else (i.e. you) attempting to force their way into a vehicle, it will, of course, look suspicious, meaning a call to police to report an attempted car theft. Whilst it’s not a crime to break into your own car, you’ll have to explain yourself when they arrive. If your ID is in the car, then simply telling the police “I don’t have any ID but it’s my car officer” probably won’t be adequate to send them on their way. Once again, this will involve more time, stress and hassle than calling an auto locksmith to get the job done.. and prevent you from getting arrested!
Final thoughts
If getting locked out of your car isn’t bad enough, falling foul to any of the above-mentioned points will undoubtedly make it worse. A quick call to Keys 4 Cars is all it takes to avoid the pain a novice will almost certainly experience when trying to break into their own car. We’re mobile, available 24 hours a day and can cut new spare keys on the spot, fix broken locks and ignition barrels, program new transponder keys and much, much more. In short, leave it to the professionals instead of trying to break into your own car yourself.