Locksmiths - Beware who you use...(long but funny)

cdover73

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From another thread about locking keys in trunks I referred to my incident the other day regarding a certain locksmith and thought I would take the time to tell ya'll about it in case you needed a good laugh today. Before I get started though, I want to say a few things from lessons learned:

1. If your car doesn't have the manual trunk release, or even if it does, ALWAYS take an extra set of keys to your outings! The Gen 3 convertibles, for sure, don't allow the trunk to normally be opened without the key or fob. More on this later...
2. As much as your siginificant other loves you...DO NOT always assume they have your best interest in mind when they leave you dealing with an issue they created. Also more on this later...
3. Do not trust anybody to take care of your car as good as you do. Period.
4. And lastly, we have some super people on this site that are willing to help when you get in a bind so always keep some form of contact with certain people handy. Here I want to give special thanks to NSANE1, Steve-Indy, and Tom Sessions for helping me (or at least willing to) with my ordeal. I'm sure there are many more on here that are equally superb. Thank you all!

So, last weekend I had gotten home from driving back from Texas (in my company truck) around midnight Friday night, after being out of town all week. I made it to bed around 1:30am and had to get up at 6am Saturday to take my wife an hour and a half away so she could jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I spent the morning between 6am and the time of about 20 minutes past the time we had to leave detailing the car. We arrived at the little airport in Lumberton MS about 1030am for her 1045 scheduled jump with a few of her friends. Their husbands and I spent the rest of the time calling our life insurance companies and watching others flop to the ground. Overall a good time...until...

About 1230pm or so, my wife asked to see the car keys so she could put some stuff in the trunk. Now, I started to bring my other set that morning but decided against it because "I didn't have time to walk back inside to get them" since we were already "late". Anyway, I hear that familiar frantic tone in her voice when she quietly called around the corner of the building where I was standing for me to come to the car. UH OH!! Yep, she had locked the keys in the trunk. This didn't surprise me since I have her and two daughters that have probably caused me at least one set of tires over the years from taking them an extra set of keys. What I didn't know was how hard it was to find anybody willing to stick around in the heat to give you that much needed morale support while you figure out what to do next, including her...

After a few minutes of realizing there wasn't a manual release I knew I had two options. Either find someone willing to bring my spare set from home almost two hours away, which I figured I would have been more likely to get a cube of ice from a passing polar bear than that, or I could call a locksmith. I set on option 2 and started Googling local locksmiths. I found one about 10 miles from where I was and called them (I will leave names out here). On the phone my problems were solved. Within an hour I would have my VIN number called in for a cut code and be in my trunk and out of the heat in no time for around $135, or at least that's how they sounded on the phone. After about two hours, I called them back and had to remind them who I was and what I needed... Okay, so they're on the way. In the meantime, I have been on the VCA site searching my issue and kept seeing something about a trick, but I could never find it posted. After realizing that's because we don't want anybody knowing how to break into our cars I called NSANE1. He tried calling a couple other members who knew the 'trick' but couldn't get anyone on the phone. I told him no sweat, I had a locksmith on the way anyway. I did, however, happen upon another thread with a contact number for Tom Sessions and called him. After threatening to find me and sacrifice my first born if I let the secret out (not really, but kinda...), he told me how to get in my car.

Well, being the kind and honest person that I am I figured I would at least let the locksmith give it a try first, and since he should be here any minute or hour, I held on to my new secret for now. All this time, mind you, my darling wife has been inside the jump school's air conditioned office waiting for me to "hurry up and get in the car so we can get to the car show". While contemplating the cost of a divorce, the locksmith showed up. And when I say Billy Bob and Bubba stepped out of the former taxi/mail carrier/army surplus mini van, I mean there are more teeth in an earthworm than these two had between them. I guess the first sign I was in for a treat was when one of them jumped out and while scratching his bare chest what was under the overalls he was wearing (no shirt...) while asking "gollleeee!!!! What kinda car you done got yourself there??!!". They proceeded to roll out an extension cord and I'm guessing found somewhere to plug it in, which happened to be in the office where my wife HAD been posted up but was now running with the rest of the ladies out the back door holding their noses (yes I laughed at this, demonically even...). He cut the 1st key from the code he was given. Didn't work... Tried it again after some filing of the key...didn't work. When they started breaking out tumblers and handheld vibrating tools I started getting a little more worried. The last straw was when I saw the old man inserting something into the trunk lid. By the time I walked around to the back of the car, he had a mini air bag (like a blood pressure cuff) inserted into the seam of my trunk and quarter panel and was squeezing the bulb with all his might!!! I told to "hold on, we aren't prying on anything"!! He takes it out and walks to the opposite side and tries to insert a rubberized wedge into that side!!!! "THAT'S IT!!! EVERYBODY AWAY FROM MY CAR"!!!!!

I looked around and found the 'tools' I needed for the trick and within seconds had the trunk open, which I wouldn't let anyone witness me doing because, as I'm sure Tom is a nice guy, I didn't want him to come and find me... As they were picking up to leave, I still had that honest man syndrome in me, so I walked up to him and asked what I owed him. He said, "well, being as though we didn't do nothing, don't worry about the $35 and just make it an even hundered(that's no misspelling...)" I thought about it, and as my wife was settling in to her seat and started adjusting the a/c vent, I said "no sir, I NEED to pay you this money. I can't buy this kind of experience anywhere else"!! I gave him the $90 cash I had in my wallet and left. What a day!!!
 
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NMviperguy

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So to prevent this kinda harsh treatment to our beloved snakes... My profile shows owner, can someone please share this secret with me? I have no plans on letting it out!
 

Morketh

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I have never locked my keys into my car in 30 years of living and don't plan on ever doing it!
That being said, I do not have a wife lol
Nice story, thanks for sharing!
 

charlesj

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Funny. Thanks for sharing! Yes, you are so right about other people and that they will not treat your car the way you treat it. Recently took mine in to get inspected. I had forgotten to remove the dongle thingie on my battery connections for my battery tender. The mechanic that worked on my car saw the connector on my battery posts and without asking me, just snipped it off. I get home and put the car to bed and go to plug her back in (since the connector wire was still there) and nothing registers. Pop the hood and then to my chagrin, I discover the severed umbilical cord on the battery posts. Now I need to search for a new connector or get a new tender altogether. All the guy needed to do was walk into the lobby and ask me about the cord. In situations like these though, I always think "could have been worse" and move on.
 
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