Oakland's night-and-day locksmith, with the rate locked in on the call.

The citywide average is 24 minutes. Downtown and Jack London Square usually see the van in 15, Lake Merritt in 16, West Oakland, Temescal and Piedmont Avenue in 18, Rockridge and Fruitvale in 20, and Laurel and Dimond in 22. Montclair and the streets above Hwy 13 run closer to 28 because of the grades and switchbacks. A Bay Bridge backup or a stalled lane on I-880 can add to any of those, and the window given on the call reflects the traffic at that moment.

The full amount for the job you described: the $89 service call, the work itself and any evening or overnight surcharge, all read from the published list and stated as one total. That total is what the card is charged. It changes only if you ask for something extra once the technician is there, such as a rekey after a lockout, and that addition is quoted and approved as its own line before it starts.

Weekends and holidays are billed at weekday rates. Arrivals between 8pm and midnight add $35 and arrivals between midnight and 7am add $70. Both are folded into the total on the call, so a $105 house lockout is $140 in the evening and $175 overnight, and nothing further is added when the van pulls up.

Not unless you agree to it. Residential deadbolts, apartment cylinders, most storefront locks and most car doors open with picks, decoders, bypass tools or air wedges, and the hardware keeps working afterward. When a lock is damaged, high-security or seized to the point where picking fails, the technician explains the drilling option and the replacement cost before touching anything, and the rate for that stays inside what was locked on the call.

For a home or apartment, a photo ID with the address, or ID plus a lease, a utility account or mail on your phone if the address on the ID is different. For a car, ID plus registration or an insurance card, which can be digital. For a business, ID plus a lease, a business license or a call from the owner or property manager. Without one of those, the door stays closed.

Rekeying swaps the pins inside the existing cylinders so old keys stop working, at $21 to $36 per cylinder plus the $89 service call. Unit door, deadbolt, mailbox and any storage locker can be keyed alike so the incoming tenant gets one key, and a building master can be kept working if you already run one. The itemized receipt lists each cylinder by door, which is what most property files and management software want.

Usually. Mortise and rim locks from the 1910s and 1920s can be rekeyed, cleaned and re-sprung on site, and worn parts are often replaceable from the van. When a case is cracked or the parts no longer exist, a modern mortise body or a period-style replacement is fitted to the original door cut so the trim and plates stay put. Which route makes sense is discussed at the door, and the rate is set before any work starts.

Yes. Car lockouts, key replacement and fob programming are done in the OAK economy and daily lots, the Coliseum and Arena lots, and BART parking at Coliseum, Fruitvale, MacArthur, Rockridge, West Oakland and Lake Merritt. Tell the call which lot and roughly where the car is parked, and expect the technician to ask for registration before the door is opened. Lot entry fees, where they exist, are shown on the receipt at cost.