Keys not worth the hassle UK

[Jimmy07]

What cars and vans are hard work or should be avoided as they’re more hassle than they’re worth?

Which ones should be avoided altogether?

Which ones can simply not be done ?

Still green and just learning and looking to start with OBD work and cloning only until I get more experienced

All input would be greatly appreciated

[rapidlocksmiths]

again , only a question you can answer , the answer depends on ;

1) your knowledge and ability and willingness to learn and train

2) your investment in equipment and the coverage you have with the equipment .

3) what service do you aim to offer , professional auto locksmith , shop based low cost clones and repairs or a messer mopping up easy work cheap for beer tokens ?

if your advertising as a professional auto locksmith then no job is too much hassle or not worth doing , the markets full of messers taking on and undercutting the simpler jobs and this is killing rates for all , in fact due to this its these simple jobs that are becoming too much hassle to bother with as too many doing them for beer money so no profit in them. so its the jobs the messers cant do that are most worth doing as command the better rates .

id say in the early days with limited knowledge , limited coverage then on obd avoid mercedes , volvo , bmw , vag after 2008 , toyota , later mitsubishi , alot after 2014 , the right cloner will fill some gaps for spares , it all depends what kit you have and what coverage you have , also what friends you have locally that will be willing to dig you out of the crap if worst happens as dont want to be at the mercy of the dealers , so keeping the locals on side that can help you will help.

your only limited by your knowledge , ability , investment and your equipment .

so my advice would be proper research in your area of prices and most common vehicles , your competition , what your investment budget will buy , and then formulate a workable business plan , identify what training you might need and take this . id not advise setting up on a wing and a prayer buying kit blind and grabbing some prices out of the air , as its a business at end of day that your rates will need to cover costs , future investment to keep up or expand , a wage , advertising , insurances , an amount for call backs and faults etc etc etc

once you have your kit , you will have a better idea of what it can cover , ie with AD kit you have IQ which is very clear on what you can and cant do , the info is their , you just need to look it up.

[drugowaz]

Theres no easy way.
How you get experience if you avoid some cars?
Before you must brick bunch of cars,to know how to bring them to life again and that this job is not easy.

[p1et]

Martin I'm amazed how you produce yourself to answer his questions...

Because those are the questions you can't answer clearly. Too mcuh theory in that. And he can't even push 'thanks' button for your effort - im not talking about only this thread.

Start doing what you want doing, try it at your best and with time maybe you will have so many customers and you will be able to tell yourself - better not hassle with this one, I got plenty of another 'easy' job...

[Jimmy07]

Hello All

Thanks again for replys. I’m defo not doing this for beer tokens as have invested a lot of time and money to date. Like anything need to walk before I can run and build up to the more complicated work. Just trying to draw on some experience from men that have been there and have the tshirt.

Guess it’s time to get on the road and get going at it. Like anything new it’s going to be daunting at the beginning but time to grab it by the balls and get it started.

P1et I always thank everyone on here who posts advice. On my mobile and new to DK didn’t k ow there was a thank you button

Thanks again to everyone who took time out to reply

J

[rapidlocksmiths]

every job has the potential to not be worth the hassle , simple jobs can become head scratchers , wait till you get your first ford with a chip taped to the barrel , and you get your first low voltage issues , aftermarket radio issues and vehicle faults that have been wastes of time as wrongly diagnosed by recovery as a key fault , you will learn that even the simplest of jobs can be not worth the hassle sometimes.

though the experience you get from these failed jobs and head scratchers does teach you to ask the right questions on the phone especially for certain models and creates the odd profitable sideline earners such as carrying and fitting crank sensors on certain vehicles and investing in decent diag to fix mismatch and corruption issues caused by low voltage .

beware of the calls where the recovery man just said "key has lost its coding and needs reprogramming " a common one of these is a renault trafic , vauxhall vivaro , nissan primstar , vehicle will be non start and recovery will almost always diagnose a key fault , your first question will be ;

" whats the red light on the dash doing when you put the key in the ignition and switch the ignition on " it will either ;
1) come on and stay on all the time
2) flash on an off quickly and continuously
3) come on stay on for a few seconds then go off and stay off

there answer can save you time , as only if flashing on and off continuously will it have the potential to be a key issue can still be ecu issue or ariel ring issue but is only state that could be a key issue , the other 2 answers will not be a key issue .

always carry a battery support unit and always work with good voltage to battery . while new to you do plenty of research on the job you are going to and turn up with a plan of action.

[Jimmy07]

Yes again this all makes sense. Been there with my previous career an hour job can go tits up and your there for hours.

Have a the IQ app for mobile along with other info for various cars.

Your right about voltage I have a battery stabiliser and a heavy set of jump leads on the van

Thanks for your advice as always 👍🏻

[sleepyrz]

OMG so many times a day i get the

them: yea hi i need you to come reprogram my key

me: uhhhhh........yea thats not a thing



i have had it happen twice that reprogramming the key worked though


they were both on ford explorers



weird

although for all i know i was getting lied to and the key they handed me was not the previously programmed key



thats another thing

some customers will purposefully not tell you things about the car

[rapidlocksmiths]

if like our uk fords , it probably needed a parameter reset , key coding will fix this too on these

with the trafic and its derivitives its normally crank sensor but have had cam sensor and mass air flow meter too as well as sheered wheel in the fuel pump and corroded wiring under the air flow system on head, all wrongly diagnosed as a key fault . on renault based vehicles that red light is your friend .

i now carry crank sensors for these , so i get paid for attending and fixing the problem , as because the god that is The AA or RAC patrol man said its key so must be the key , so prove its not , fit the new sensor and get paid.

[Jimmy07]

You’d think the AA would run a diagnostic check to see if it was the key ?

Good advice as always from rapidlocksmiths cheers 🍻

[super jumbe]

Jimmy07 for beginees the only cars you need to avoid is BMW and MERC because any thing going wrong you will have to get hold of that heart of yours, you don’t need investment if you can figure out now you can buy KEYDIY remotes, B01 TO BO14, you can programme from Alfa to VW, Zastafa.
Then you buy NB11 remotes all integrated Honda ID46 vehicles.
PCF7961 ID46 PCB.
NB02 support car list:
Peugeot 206, 307, 408
Citroen C2, C4 ,C5
Honda Civic
New CRV Fit
Renault,Opel,and others
Only remotes you will ever have to buy is smart remotes, and keyless remotes, you can do all for less then £999.00....

[Jimmy07]

Hope I’ll not have to grab at my dodgy ticker too much 😬

Yes planning on steering clear of Mercs, BM and even Volvo as heard they can be a nightmare.

Just raring to get going now but with caution so not to f@@k any ones car

Thanks for advice it’s much appreciated and I’ve taken everything on board.

I have Keydiy 900 and x2, handy baby with assist, MVP pro along with a mountain of other gear so hopefully should get through basic jobs with gear I have.

I’ll leave the more modern high end keys until later when I’ve mastered the basics and Lishi

Thanks again 👍🏻