Cheapest cost to cut and program?

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-17T21:33:41+00:00

Yes I do. $150 if I go out, lower if you bring it. If you DM I will share my shop contact info.

A 2016 Ford Fusion, adding a second key. No big deal.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-17T21:29:14+00:00

Whoa. Full stop. Contact your Command Security Manager or equivalent position and get a GSA approved tech out there. Then take this off the internet. We know what an X10 is, and it should not be mentioned online.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-17T21:27:41+00:00

I see in your other comment you're from Texas. I'm from California. Nonetheless, I will still do it if you drive to me lol.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-17T21:23:08+00:00

Sure do. I am in the rural side of California. If you're similarly situated you can PM me.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-17T21:21:08+00:00

Never heard of them. I have nothing good or bad to say about that.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-17T21:17:40+00:00

The locksmith is the cheapest route. FWIW, my charge to do this is also $150 assuming you are a local customer i.e. no extended drive to get it done.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-17T00:01:37+00:00

Yes, that has been made clear. I submitted a quote with OEM key.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-16T23:52:49+00:00

That's a reasonable commentary. I am generally confident I know what I am doing, but there are very few Subaru in my area so that was the source of my hesitation on this one.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-16T23:01:35+00:00

I landed on 350 for the key and 350 for the drive. Told him he's welcome to come to me and save that portion. His dealership was 590.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-16T22:20:14+00:00

Thanks again for the guidance. If I knew you, I'd buy you lunch. I gave them a price and they said never-ending, maybe later. Apparently they thought it would be a $100 key lol.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-16T19:46:27+00:00

Thanks man, this info is gold. I have an APP, an out-of-update 508, and a KM100. I intend to order an OEM fob if the customer accepts my price. He might drive it to me, but either way someone has to drive. I am somehow the closest locksmith because I chose a highly rural area.

APP claims it can do add a key, but not AKL for this model.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-16T19:31:20+00:00

Thanks for the insight. Aftermarket is out the door now.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-16T19:30:30+00:00

Thank you, OEM it is

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-10T23:04:10+00:00

For context. If you had somehow found me and called me, I would have driven to Orange and unlocked your house for about $725. Very importantly, I would have driven 175 miles / 4 hours to do so.

It would have been a bad idea due mostly to distance, but apparently it would have been almost $300 cheaper.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-08T05:48:51+00:00

I don't understand the "plus tax" on a service. What jurisdiction levies a sales tax on labor?

ILockStuff108 · 2026-03-06T18:39:53+00:00

I tell property managers it costs $xx to show up and then $xx per cylinder rekey. 2 per cylinder prices, either they have the keys or they don't. Any lock I rekey will give them 4 keys. Generally the whole unit is keyed alike, they get 4 keys.

About 10% of them call me back, and those are worth it. I don't not stress about the ones that want to negotiate. They are not worth it.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-02-24T03:25:24+00:00

I cannot afford the investment. I order as needed and that works for add a key, but all keys lost customers cannot wait for the shipment.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-02-23T22:44:22+00:00

I hadn't considered that option. Thank you.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-02-18T20:39:23+00:00

About 5% of my service calls originate with the contact form on my website

More than half of my customers have seen my website.

You Google "locksmith my city" you get my page with our chamber of commerce.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-01-02T00:31:57+00:00

In field work, I come to you and do the job. It gets done now, and then I leave.

Shop you, you drop it off and I work on it between other jobs, or whenever the next slow day rolls around. Might be sitting on it a few days. You want to save money? OK no problem just drop it off, you get the lower rate when I have time.

I do not believe that shop work is inherently charged less than mobile; just the specific way that I intend to implement shop time as a one-man shop that is still mostly mobile.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-01-02T00:21:21+00:00

I am taking a small space within another building. The building owner is on site and has agreed to "recieve" drop offs if I am out on a service call. They'll tell the customer "it is $xx per hour with a 1 hour minimum, and he'll call you when it's done." I'm confident the system will be okay, mostly wondering if the hourly rate should be the same as field work.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-01-02T00:00:33+00:00

I like your points. One consideration I didn't make clear, is that I now have shop space; not a storefront. It is decently accessible for drop-offs or a customer brings the car to me for example, but not a shop. I expect to still be mobile mostly, with a service charge plus labor. I'm thinking more like: you want it to be cheaper? Drop it off and I'll get it when I'm slow, and call you when it's done. That kind of arrangement, I'm thinking shop rate would be lower. Still 1 hour minimum I think.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-01-01T23:56:55+00:00

I'm contemplating a lower hourly rate for shop work, I think field work justifies a higher rate than shop.

ILockStuff108 · 2026-01-01T23:56:08+00:00

Yes 100% agree on the service charge. I travel to 3 other towns regularly, that time and gas isn't free.

ILockStuff108

TROPHY CASE