Comments for Bear's Lock & Key, Akron PA

Comment on Locksmith ONLY Links by Bear

Bear — Sat, 27 Apr 2019 22:47:47 +0000

You are welcome. Happy to be able to help.

Comment on Locksmith ONLY Links by Danielediederich

Danielediederich — Sat, 28 Apr 2018 04:08:48 +0000

This good stuff! I’ve been Locksmithing a year now. I’m going around different websites trying to grab as much knowledge as I can! Thank you sir.

Comment on Locksmith ONLY Links by Donald MIlton

Donald MIlton — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 02:54:02 +0000

I like it…I like it. Lots of time, brain power and perservence to produce a mine shaft loaded with these nuggets of wisdom. Thanks.

Comment on Locksmith ONLY Links by Lou Frascella

Lou Frascella — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 05:39:41 +0000

Helpful stuff Bear! Thanks!! Lou

Comment on Locksmith ONLY Links by Solemandownunder

Solemandownunder — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 00:23:34 +0000

Thanks Bear for allowing me on board. You have a lot of useful info on here….Cheers, Ray.

Comment on Locksmith ONLY Links by Bear

Bear — Sun, 27 Nov 2016 17:23:46 +0000

Kia & Hyundai Information:
These two brands continue to pose challenges for locksmiths. We receive information regularly from both companies; the information they provide us goes into Gcode. Unfortunately, code number prefixes are changed based on model regularly. We will try to keep this list as up to date as possible.
2016 Kia Sorento – UM codes – new series – cut exactly the same as the HY18-R keys used with the C1001-3500 code series
2016 Kia Optima – may see KD prefixes, series is really D0001-3000.
2013 Kia Optima – has KE code prefix – really is a K code.
2012 Kia Sedona – M series standard type key.
2013 Kia Rio – We have heard of A and E prefixes – really a K code.
14MY Cadenza / VG – U – U0001-2500
14MY Forte / YD – D – WD1001-3500
14MY K900 / KH – U – U0001-2500
13MY Forte / TD – D – WD1001-3500
13MY Soul / AM – C – WC1001-3500
13MY Sportage / SL – E – M0001-2500 or K0001-2500
13MY Optima (Korean Built) / TF – E – K0001-2500
13MY Optima (Korean Built) / TF/HEV – E – K0001-2500
13MY Rio / UB – E – K0001-2500
14MY Sorento / XMa – G – G0001-2500
13MY Optima / (US Built) QF – E – K0001-2500
13MY Sedona / VQ – H – H0001-2500

Comment on Locksmith ONLY Links by Bear

Bear — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 02:19:37 +0000

This was posted by another company and I thought it would be good to share with you guys. The name of the company that posted this was Vehicle Programming Services. This was a copy and paste so all grammer and spelling errors are still in there.

So how many of us have had to hear the dreaded “but cant you help me out a little bit on the price” from your customers on programming? Every time some dumbass misdiagnoses a car or buys a bullshit used controller or a rebuilt or even a new unit that is no good out of the box, the shop owner seems to think somehow it is OUR fault because they took a risk or did something wrong.

Sometimes its not anyone’s fault that a new controller is no good, but the reality is…..it is most definitely NOT THE PROGRAMMERS FAULT so why should we bear 100% of the losses?

I took a minute to lay out the value of a single programming run for a guy and guess what I figured out? We dont make as much as they think we make on these visits.

Allow me to explain:

How much did it cost to get me here to program your car that you are going to make money on?
TRANSPORTATION
• Fuel 52000 miles per year/35mpgx2.00per gallon $3466.00 (2015)
• Upkeep in my vehicle $567.00 (2015)
• Insurance and License Plates $1253.00(2015)
• Drive Time
Average drive time to client is 1 hour x minimum wage $10 per service visit
Overall Cost of Computers:
• 2 Panasonic Toughbooks $$8324.00
• Internet Hotspot $1267.00 per year
• Other Diagnostic/programming Tools used on a daily basis $10,256.00

Cost to program a Chrysler product
• Yearly access to software: $4125.00 (yearly Interface Registration, and programming)
Cost of Interface:
• DRB III $5,126.00
• MicroPod II $1,449.00
• StarMobile $4,823.00
• Cables, memory cards, keys, Etc $350.00 (2015)
Total for Equipment $15,873.00
Total for Software per year $4125.00
Cost to program a GM Product
Yearly Access to Software $5,644.00
Cost of Interface:
• Tech 2 $4,127.00
• MDI 2 $1293.00
• Cables, memory Etc $253.00 (2015)
Total for Equipment $5420.00
Total for Software per year $5,644.00
Cost to program a Ford Product
• Yearly access to Ford Software $900.00
• Cost of Interface $1,675.00
• Cables, memory Cards, Etc $321.00 (2015)
Total for Equipment $2896.00
Total for Software $900.00 per year
Also consider that I have to pay taxes on my earnings just like you do which further cuts into my bottom line.
If you do the math, per service visit with an average drive time of 1 hour, the cost of overhead to flash program one single module on one car is approximately $79.00. This does not include deprecation on equipment, time spent maintaining equipment and peripheral equipment like key cutter, and yearly subscriptions on generic scan tools and programmers that must be used on some jobs and money spent to travel to and pay for update training, invoices, business cards, and other items required to do this job.
Consider this the next time that you ask me to reduce my price because your bottom line on any given job is taking a beating because you have to pay me to come out, save you the trouble of towing your vehicle to a dealership to be programmed.
If you were dealing with a dealership, you would NEVER ask them to take less for their work, PLUS you would have to pay for towing.
Keep in mind that I did not diagnose your car, build the computer you bought or make the decision to buy a rebuilt or used part from a salvage car. Those were all YOUR decisions. Why should I take less money because of your decision?
A FEW REALITIES FROM THE WORLD OF MASS PRODUCED ELECTRONIC DEVICES:
• Percentage of vehicle controllers that are bad, right out of the box from a dealership or OEM supplier: 10%
• Percentage of vehicle controllers that are bad, right out of the box that are rebuilt units from an auto parts supplier 25%
• Percentage of vehicle controllers that are inoperable, incorrect or otherwise un-usable from a salvage yard 65%

You are trying to make money to feed your family….So am I! Your loss from a bad decision or being un-lucky is YOUR cost of doing business. My equipment works EVERY SINGLE TIME! I use only OEM equipment that is the same equipment and software that is used by the manufacturer of the car you’re working on.
I came here because you asked me to, not because I was just diving by, therefore, you must pay for the service visit regardless of the outcome, if your decisions or your luck caused that outcome.

Comment on Tips & Blog by Bear

Bear — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:34:04 +0000

Weatherstripping woes,
As winter approaches and temps drop please keep in mind that old weatherstripping has a tendance to harden. When your old weatherstripping hardens your latches and deadbolts might not find proper alignment making doors harder to operate.

Comment on Tips & Blog by Bear

Bear — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:17:29 +0000

With the summer heat upon us please don’t forget kids or pets in your vehicle. Heat can build to deadly levels in just a few minutes. Please, look before you lock!

Comment on Tips & Blog by Bear

Bear — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 20:12:39 +0000

We wish everybody a Happy 4th of July! 240 years of freedom thanks to the brave souls who gave their lives so we could live free.