There’s more to automotive locksmithing than making keys.
New and used vehicles are in short supply with record-high prices, so people are keeping their vehicles on the road longer. Older vehicles that might have been retired a few years ago are staying on the road, particularly the more fuel-efficient models. Automobile crimes also are on the rise. All of this creates an ongoing demand for car lock repairs to keep those vehicles safe and secure.
Before 1980, lock service parts were easily available only for U.S. models, even though by that time import brands, such as Volkswagen, Toyota and others, were entrenched in the market. Import models also were sold by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, and they used locks and parts that were different from their mainstream U.S. models. ASP was founded in 1980 to supply parts for imports that weren’t available through the channels that existed at that time.
Through the years, ASP continued to expand coverage. In 1995, ASP partnered with Hurd Lock to supply original lock service parts for several U.S. Ford models that were exclusive to Hurd. Hurd had been an OEM supplier to Ford since the 1940s and had no presence in the locksmith market since the 1960s. This partnership expanded to ASP managing the Lockcraft product range after Hurd purchased that company in 2008. Although Hurd and Lockcraft now are out of business, ASP works with some of their component suppliers to continue to offer as many of their products as possible.
With almost 3,000 part numbers in the complete range, cataloging everything for easy reference is a challenge. In 2020, it was decided that the most efficient way to do this was on the ASP website, www.carlocks.com. Compared with paper catalogs, the online catalog is much easier to keep updated so you always have access to the most complete and accurate information.
Although we fully support our locksmith distributors for ease of ordering and efficient delivery of the parts, we suggest that you use the ASP catalog information from the website to determine which part you want for a particular job. Some distributors have provided a link to the ASP website on their own websites. Some also listed parts on their own websites, but we can’t guarantee full accuracy of their descriptions. The best way is to use the ASP-produced information to determine which parts you want and then provide your distributor with the part numbers for ordering.
Help your distributor sales personnel and don’t expect them to be your instant information source. Distributors work with tens of thousands of items, so they have to know a little bit about everything, but they can’t be experts on everything. The ASP catalog information is organized so you can find the part number that you want easily. An extra feature is that if ASP doesn’t have the parts that you want, the ASP catalog will tell you who does.
Some locksmiths believe that automotive lock repairs are a relic of the past and that the future is only making keys and remotes. But there still are many opportunities in lock repairs, particularly with the condition of the economy today. And remember that a car lock repair job will create a satisfied customer who likely will continue to use you for their other locksmith and security service requirements.
