Quick answer: Yes. A locksmith opens your car through its own door lock, with a tool that works the lock the way your key does, so we don’t damage your car. The scratches and bent doors people worry about come from coat hangers and screwdrivers forced past the glass, and we don’t do that.
Updated 26 October 2026
It’s one of the first things people ask when they ring us from a car park with the keys sitting on the seat. Here’s how we get in, and why the car is fine afterwards.
Why does picking the lock leave no mark?
Because nothing goes where a key doesn’t. The tool goes into the keyway on the door, the same slot your key fits, and turns the lock from there. Nothing is pushed between the window and the seal, nothing pulls on the wiring inside the door, and the paint isn’t touched.
When we’re done, the lock still works with your own key. There’s nothing to fix, because nothing was forced.
What is a Lishi pick?
A Lishi is a precision locksmith tool made for car locks, and each one suits a particular type of lock. It sits in the keyway and moves the small plates inside the lock, called wafers, one at a time until the lock turns. That’s the job the cuts on your key normally do.
We use a Lishi pick on car door locks, along with other entry tools for the cars where it isn’t the right fit. That’s as far as we’ll go into how it works, for obvious reasons. What matters to you is that the lock gets opened, not broken.
Why doesn’t the coat hanger trick work any more?
Plenty of cars deadlock when you lock them. That turns off the inside handle and the door’s lock button too, so even if you hook one through a gap in the window, the door stays shut. What you usually get for your trouble is a scratched door, a torn seal or a window that won’t sit right again.
If you’re locked out right now, leave it and give us a ring. How a call out goes, start to finish, is on our car lockouts page.
Can you open a European car without damage?
Yes. We specialise in opening European cars: BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo and the rest. We open them through the lock the same way, and the alarm settles once you have your key back. What we can’t do is cut or program keys for European or Chinese cars. That’s a dealer job. Find your make on our European car lockouts page.
What happens when you call
Tell us where the car is, what it is, and whether the keys are in the cabin or the boot. You’ll know the price before we leave, because we agree it on the phone. When we get there we check your ID and proof the car belongs to you, then open it. You look it over before we go.
We’re based in Duncraig and get called to shopping centre car parks, beach car parks, driveways and the side of the road all over Perth.
Locked out, or lost the key altogether?
If the key is inside the car, it’s a lockout and we open it. If the key is gone, that’s a different job. We make new keys at the car for Toyota, Mazda, Honda and the other Japanese makes. Hyundai and Kia too, and most American cars such as Ford and Holden. See lost all your car keys, and for everything else we do for cars, our car locksmith Perth page.
Common questions
Will my alarm go off, and will it reset?
It might sound when the door opens. It stops and resets with your own key or remote once you have it back, the same as any other day.
Does it matter that my car is deadlocked?
No. We open the lock itself, so a deadlocked door is no harder for us. Deadlocking is the reason the coat hanger fails, not a problem for a locksmith.
Can you get my keys out of the boot?
Yes. On most cars a door comes first, then the boot release from inside. Where the boot is locked separately from the doors, we work on the boot lock itself.
Do I need to prove the car is mine?
Yes, every time. Photo ID and something with the car’s details on it, like the rego papers. If your ID is locked in the car as well, tell us when you call.
Can you open a BMW, Mercedes or Audi?
Yes, and without a mark on it. We open European cars, but we don’t make keys for them.
Can you make a new key on the spot if I need one?
Yes for Japanese cars, Hyundai and Kia, and most American cars. For European and Chinese cars, no. The dealer is the place for a key, and we’re happy to point you the right way.