Car key programming ??????

[holly12345]

Been car key programming now for just over a year and didn't really spend a fortune like most of you do on here ie only purchased Bianchi 884 and keyscan and miracle a5 plus keys ect probally in the region of 7000.

Now im doubting if was worth it and I could have spent my money on something else with a bigger return, I probably make profit £60 per key up here and only £ 40 profit on cloning which really after fuel too is a lot of keys to go through just to break even, and obviously you carry on spending because of updates, and im guessing in another 5 years a lot of cars will be keyless entry. I don't see how you guys who pay over 20 grand for equipment and make a steady profit or is it just me?

[grahamparker]

No, you are not alone.

 

Why do you think so many are selling up. You need constant investment a lot of money re-invested in advertising

and be willing to travel.

 

A friend of mine who started about 5 years ago has now spent well over £50,000 on equipment and travels to three

counties to find work. It isn't easy at all.

[holly12345]

Speaking to the electrician who did a job on our house says he paid a roughly 5 grand on his course 6 years ago which hes domestic and commercial electrician and says he cant keep up with the demand he could easily do 7 days if he wanted too he has even bought his son a van and sent him on a course to help him out. He reckons hes taking in a grand a week after tax with very little advertising.

Fair enough maybe longer hours but the return his great and security of getting work everyday I think this applies to the plumbers too.

[Michael]

From what I hear, all building related trades are massively on the up. So much so that people are turning work away because they can't keep up with it!!

[Kris Polan]

Indeed making the keys to the car is less profitable for the last five years ... and the line still goes down

[lockdecoders]

The problem you have now is that people are doing it for Beer money and they drive the market down and then they sell up or go out of business because there is not enough money at the low prices to keep up and the price has been driven down by these short sighted people and it is difficult to put the price up.

[Kris Polan]

Nearest alarm installer found that He could programm keys (for beer money) so I have to learn alarms...

Our suppliers (keys, devices for programming) still think that We have great prosperity and They keeping prices as 5 years ago...

[holly12345]

Probally my poorest purchase has been the bianchi 884, if you don't have a shop then its a waste of time theres nothing to be made on the them for the price of the tk heads and blades im lucky to get £50 plus fuel for one cloned key, because of shops like timpsons ect who are doing it next to nothing. I do try to offer a spare if im out on the job lost keys or locked keys in car but most don't want to pay anymore then they need to.

[Andy G7]

The problem you have now is that people are doing it for Beer money and they drive the market down and then they sell up or go out of business because there is not enough money at the low prices to keep up and the price has been driven down by these short sighted people and it is difficult to put the price up.

 

Yeah! Nail on the head.

 

On another scenario, had a car sales place baulk at my price for a non-remote spare for a 2005 Golf. Apparently they had a quote of £25 all in..............hhmmm bull I reckon but another person wanting a job that costs a lot of ££ to do, for nowt.

 

Unfortunately with car keys we have gone from 1 man under the tree waiting for apples to 15 now waiting for apples.

[Andy G7]

I do try to offer a spare if im out on the job lost keys or locked keys in car but most don't want to pay anymore then they need to.

 

Yeah I get this a lot. Oh I will call next month when it cost more???? Righto.....

 

Even had one loose the new key I made, and thought I was out of order not going back to them and doing another for free as they had already paid. Yes 2 months ago....

 

Or people that find the lost key and want there money back as they don't need mine anymore?

 

Or people that find the lost key, and it doesn't work as its programmed out. Expect you to come out for free and re-program?

[holly12345]

My biggest problem at moment is the keyscan at the moment, I get a few calls for lost Vauxhall keys and the keyscan cant get the pincode so telling them they might have to wait uptil 48hours for me to get code off dealers, ive purchased the codes then they call back "cancal that order ive got somebody who can do it now" That's me in the minus unless I get a deposit off them, My fault for having a shit machine.

[ponsaloti]

Your fault for not taking a deposit mate

[simong]

Hi

just who advised you to buy keyscan when starting out ? there are really some top people on here to ask like warren and martin and Allen and Terry Allen even had me down at his workshop to see first hand what they use which is mvp pro, abritus , truecode , zedfull orange and tango and key diy skp900 ,lishi picks and a futura . you must go to the shows to get the big discounts and save yourself a lot of money , you should have started with truecode does what it says ,great start up tool .

[holly12345]

I think truecode seems good for money, yeah I only wanted to pay little that's why I went for keyscan just a extra onto my locksmith work already, and thought if it goes well then add on, cant justify mvp though and arbrites how much profit are you actually making? It must be at least 12 months before you break even and after that has I said what happens to the car industy say in another couple of years down the line , will there be need for these machines when car keys might not exist with things turning keyless.

Why is people coming on here selling the ad s and mvps? Personally they want to get some money back before they are worthless in the near future!

[holly12345]

Hi

just who advised you to buy keyscan when starting out ? there are really some top people on here to ask like warren and martin and Allen and Terry Allen even had me down at his workshop to see first hand what they use which is mvp pro, abritus , truecode , zedfull orange and tango and key diy skp900 ,lishi picks and a futura . you must go to the shows to get the big discounts and save yourself a lot of money , you should have started with truecode does what it says ,great start up tool .

But how much has all this equipment cost them and what return?

[Auto Key Wizard]

Unfortunately with car keys we have gone from 1 man under the tree waiting for apples to 15 now waiting for apples.

I picked all the fruit, then chopped the bloody tree down... \:D/

[holly12345]

Ok you say £7000 is laughable, so how much should you spend to get a good return on it ! I personally would not want to wait over 18 months to just break even.

All im saying is it worth it for how much you spend? And in another 5-10 years is your machines going to be worth anything or an use at all with keyless entry coming into lost of new vehicles.

[k4mrc]

Ok you say £7000 is laughable, so how much should you spend to get a good return on it ! I personally would not want to wait over 18 months to just break even.

All im saying is it worth it for how much you spend? And in another 5-10 years is your machines going to be worth anything or an use at all with keyless entry coming into lost of new vehicles.

 

From what I have seen with key programming is not just the money but time commitment

for example I got 'fed-up' when I found myself finishing around 8pm after starting my normal day at 8am and sometimes later but most weeks more than one evening a week!

money wise, as much as you have got is the best answer - I have watched/admired Tel200 with his lot and can only think he is close to £100K in his possession of key cloning and programming then you add the stock!

To me this is worth the investment as I can see the results he gets, but I value my time more and just play with it 'Cherry pick' as Tel tells me (always laughing)

Also know of other 'auto' guys, and they all seem the same - yes they gets the money but have to put in the time, ask when you will get the calls to go out?

So go and invest - but your main decision is time

[rapidlocks]

in 5 to 10 years most machines become outdated and cease to be an asset unless kept up to date with updates and add ons , new technology means new software updates and more investment , welcome to the world of auto keys , no machine is future proof and all machines cost continously to keep up to date .

Also in my experience 1 or even 2 machines isnt enough to guarantee the job gets done 1st visit , multiple options are required , the more options you have the higher the success rate , good choices are of course ;

 

AD100 pro

Abrites

Truecode

main dealer tools

 

avoid token based systems if you can afford to as make can make you non competative especially against the beer money boys .

 

what most auto locksmiths have in equipment and stock is the cost of a house and more , personally i have in excess of 100k invested at new prices with 40k of that being stock , is it worth it , for me yes for a new start probably not as i was lucky enough to have bought and built up my kit in better times .

bread and butter jobs that were the majority of jobs in past were once plentiful , most auto lockies made enough on these jobs to reinvest in better kit , increased stock and updated kit , the decline in rates and the decline in the easy jobs due to the sheer volume of people now offering the simple jobs for beer money has reduced the reinvestment pots of many , where the new start could realisticly look at recovering investment , reinvesting from profit for future is much harder now with increased competition and far lower rates , so face an uphill struggle from the outset.

made harder by the fact that the established guys whose kit is all paid for and up to date being able to kill their price if token based .

price cutters , beer money lockies setting up with clones and cheap kit and killing rates to get a job has all contributed to making a payback scenario far harder for a serious new start .

 

my own advice is to invest in other areas these days , even to my own son , im pushing him in other directions as ive no confidence in the market for his future it will see my time out but i doubt his too .

 

with technology changes imminent again , the future technology isnt going to be cheap and is rumoured to be the death of most current machines on new vehicles , though this has been said before , but what ever way it goes the one thing we know is it wont be cheap to keep up .

 

spend 100k today and in a few years it will be worth at resale less than 50% of what you paid , buy a house at 100k today and in a few years its worth more plus you have rental income , the secret is making the kit turn a profit before it is worthless paying to keep it up to date and current by saving a reinvestment pot from profits and for this the key ingrediants are as has been mentioned ;

 

1) adequate skill and knowledge

2) adequate stock and equipment

3) adequate investment

 

add to this the most valuable ingredient once stocked and equipped

 

1) business skills

2) effective advertising

3) effective sales skills

4) have a good business plan

 

then as we all do you rely on a little luck too , a good area without too many beer money boys killing rates to unsustainable levels .

 

oh and be prepared to have no life as out all hours covering alot of miles , no gain without alot of pain .

 

forget spare key and clone market unless shop based as no profit in it if mobile .

 

car keys for many these days are an add on line to an existing business , just another line of many , to make a good living on car keys alone is still possible but far harder to achieve and far more expensive than many think.

 

your realistic choices are reinvest and take a chance , or tick along offering what you can as an add on line to other income streams .