Pricing and estimates.

For mobile work, ask how the service visit is priced and whether a travel charge applies to the address. Oakland, a nearby East Bay destination and a trip beyond the Caldecott corridor shouldn't be assumed to have identical arrangements. Availability and any relevant travel charge need a check for the actual request.

Then identify the labor being proposed. An opening is different from a repair after entry. Changing which keys work is different from replacing the handles. Our service guide helps separate these jobs before you compare estimates.

A blank or fob case can be only one piece of a working key. Depending on the vehicle, the work may involve cutting, programming and separate remote functions. Ask whether the proposed key will open the door, start the engine and provide the buttons you want.

Say whether another working key remains. An all-keys-lost job isn't automatically the same as a spare. If you bought a part yourself, establish its suitability and acceptance before arranging work. The supplied-key guide explains why a low online parts price doesn't settle the complete cost.

List the doors and locks you want included. A door with a separate deadbolt and handle may have more than one keyed part. A common building entrance may be outside your authority to change, even if you use it every day.

Ask how many new copies are included and whether existing hardware can stay. Rekeying can change access on suitable locks, but it won't correct a worn latch or poor door fit. Those faults may need their own assessment and estimate.

Sometimes the first description doesn't reveal the whole fault. The useful next step is an explanation: what has been found, which additional work is proposed and how the price changes. Agree to that change before it proceeds.

Don't feel you need to name a replacement part to have that conversation. Describe the problem and ask why the proposed option fits it. Keep an itemized record of the work and parts, so you know what was supplied.

At the end, check the agreed result. Try the new keys, the car functions included or the door's normal opening and closing movement. A key that turns once isn't the same test as a complete working entrance.

Keep any instructions supplied with new hardware and decide where a spare will stay. Those details are part of making the work useful after the visit, even though they aren't a separate item on a price list.