Keys locked in a hire car

Call the hire company first

This is not red tape. Almost all of them include roadside assistance in the contract, and it very often covers exactly this. If they send somebody, it costs you nothing.

And there is a better reason. The car is theirs, and some contracts say plainly that any handling by a third party is at your expense and can even void cover. If you get it opened without telling them and any damage turns up later — even damage you did not cause — you have an argument you do not want.

If they are slow or it is not covered

Then calling a locksmith makes sense. A car is opened without forcing the lock and without touching the electronics: with the right tools the door frame is separated by a fraction and the interior handle or the button is reached from inside. It leaves no mark and nothing in the system is altered.

Tell the hire company you are doing it, even by message. Having the time and the reason on record protects you.

What to say when you message

Make, model and year. There is a world between a 2010 hatchback and a 2024 electric, and knowing beforehand is the difference between one trip and two.

Say it is a hire car. It changes the order of the steps, not the price.

And where it is: a street is not an underground car park with a barrier, where the real problem is sometimes getting in at all.

The case a locksmith cannot fix

If the key is genuinely lost — not inside the car, gone — that is no longer an opening. A new key for a modern car carries a transponder and has to be programmed against the vehicle, and on a hire car that is done by the brand or by the company. A locksmith is not the answer there, and being told so on WhatsApp saves you the callout.

Common questions

Can it be opened without damaging the car?

Yes, and that is the normal outcome. If somebody suggests breaking a window as the first option on a car that is not even yours, do not let them.

The car is in an airport car park.

It can be done, but say so beforehand: some car parks require advance notice or a security escort, and that has to be counted into the time. It is information, not a problem.

Will the hire company charge me for it later?

It depends on the contract. That is why the first step is talking to them: if it is covered you pay nothing, and if it is not, at least you know who pays what before you hand the car back.

What we do about this

• Car lockout