Change Locks in Oxnard, CA

What does it mean to change locks: rekey or replace?

When people ask us to change locks, they usually mean one thing: somebody else might still have a working key, and they want that to stop. There are two honest ways to get there. Rekeying keeps your existing lock hardware and changes the inside of the cylinder so the old keys no longer turn it. Replacement takes the lock off the door and puts a different one on. Either way, you end up with keys that nobody else holds. The difference is in what else you get and what the job involves.

Rekeying is covered in detail on our lock rekey page, and replacement has its own page for lock replacement in Oxnard. This page is for the step before both: working out which one your doors actually need. You don't have to know the answer when you call. Describing the doors and the hardware is enough, and we'll talk it through with you.

A lock change is also often a mix. It's perfectly normal to rekey the front and back doors, replace a worn deadbolt on the garage entry, and swap out one handleset whose finish is peeling. We look at each door separately, because each door has its own history.

Why change locks after buying a house or moving in?

Nobody can tell you how many keys exist for a home you just bought. The previous owners had them. So may have a listing agent, a contractor, a cleaning service, a relative, or the neighbor who watered the plants. Most of those people are honest, and some of those keys were lost years ago anyway. The point is that you can't know, and nothing about a sale or a lease hands those keys back to you.

The same applies when you move into a rental or an apartment. You don't know when the locks were last changed or how many former tenants and visitors kept a copy. If you rent, check your lease and talk to your landlord first, since the lock may be their property. Owners who manage rentals can read about locksmith services for landlords, which covers turnover between tenants.

If you're looking for a locksmith for a new house, think about every way in, not just the front door. That means the back door, side gate or side door, the door from the garage into the house, any sliding door latch, and the garage keypad or opener code. A lock change that skips one of those is only partly done. Plenty of new owners call us the day they get the keys, and some call late at night because the move ran long. We answer 24 hours a day, so a late call isn't a problem.

How does a lock change work with us, step by step?

Here is how a typical lock change goes when you call Wilshire Lock & Key for a house or apartment in Oxnard.

1. You call (213) 577-1366. We ask how many exterior doors you have, what kind of locks are on them, whether you know the brand, and whether you're moving in or already living there. Photos of the hardware help if you can send them.
2. We tell you plainly what we think the job will be: rekey, replace, or a mix. We also explain what will drive the cost before anyone drives out to you.
3. A technician comes in one of our mobile service vans. Oxnard is about 58 miles from our Westwood storefront, so we'll talk through the trip with you on the phone rather than leave you guessing.
4. On site, we inspect each lock in person. We check that it turns smoothly, that the latch and strike line up, and that the hardware is sound enough to be worth rekeying. If what we see differs from what we expected, we explain before changing the plan.
5. We do the work. For rekeying, that means re-pinning the cylinders and cutting new keys. For replacement, we install the new lock and set it up correctly in the door. If you want several doors to work with one key, we set that up at this point.
6. We test every lock with every new key, operate the doors open and closed, and confirm the bolts fully extend and retract.
7. We hand over the keys, explain which key does what, and tell you how to order extra copies later. If you need more keys, key duplication is something we can usually take care of at the same visit.

How do you decide whether to rekey or replace locks?

We try to be straightforward here, because the right answer is sometimes the less exciting one. Rekeying usually costs less than replacing, but it only changes who holds a working key. It does not make a weak lock stronger. A rekeyed builder-grade deadbolt is still a builder-grade deadbolt.

• Rekeying makes sense when the lock is in good mechanical shape, you like how it looks, and the main goal is to cut off old keys. This is the usual route for a newer home where the hardware is still tight and smooth.
• Replacing makes sense when a lock feels gritty, wobbles in the door, sticks, shows pitting or corrosion, or has a finish that is coming off.
• Replacing also makes sense when you want a real upgrade, such as a better-grade deadbolt, a restricted-key system, or a keypad or smart lock. If a door has no deadbolt at all, deadbolt installation is the right conversation. If you're curious about electronic options, our smart lock installation page explains what's involved.
• Some locks can't be rekeyed in the ordinary way, or the parts needed for that particular model aren't practical to source. In that case replacement is the straightforward path, and we'll tell you so.
• Mixed hardware is another reason to replace. If the front door has one brand, the back door has another, and the garage door has a third, you may end up carrying three different keys. Replacing or rekeying them to match can simplify daily life.

What affects the cost of changing locks in Oxnard?

We don't quote numbers on a web page, because the honest answer depends on your doors. Here is what actually moves the cost, so you can see why a quote makes sense for one home and not another.

• How many locks are involved. Two exterior doors is a different job from six, and a house with a garage entry, side door and slider latch adds up.
• Rekey versus replace. Rekeying is usually the more economical route when the hardware is good. Replacing adds the cost of the new hardware itself.
• The grade, brand and finish of any new hardware. A basic deadbolt, a heavier-duty one, and a full handleset in a specialty finish are priced very differently.
• Key type. Standard keys are simple. Restricted or high-security keyways, and keypad or smart hardware, change the parts and the setup work.
• Extra keys. A couple of keys is routine, but a large family or a rental with many users needs more cutting.
• Door and frame condition. A lock that doesn't line up with a worn strike plate or a warped door may need that fixed for the new lock to work properly.
• The hour of the call and the travel. A call in the middle of the night is different from a weekday visit, and Oxnard is a drive from our Westwood base.
• We give you the factors up front on the phone and confirm the details when we see the doors. If something turns up that changes the job, we explain it before doing anything.

What's different about changing locks in Oxnard?

Oxnard's housing is varied enough that a lock change looks different from one street to the next. Near downtown, the Henry T. Oxnard Historic District has early-1900s bungalows, and older doors and older hardware tend to need a closer look. The wear can be on the door, the frame or the old lock, not just the cylinder. Across the city, broad postwar single-family tracts often still have the hardware they were built with, and after decades that hardware is frequently worth replacing rather than rekeying.

Up north, RiverPark is a 2000s master-planned community. A common request there is rekeying a newer home after a sale or move-in, and that's often the more economical and sensible route, because the hardware is newer and usually in good condition. Whether the address is in 93030, 93033, 93035 or 93036, we ask the same questions: how many doors, what hardware, how old, and what condition.

Oxnard also has a lot of apartment stock, and security doors are common in older, denser neighborhoods. When you move into one of those, the question is whether you're allowed to change the lock and who holds the master or building keys. Check with your landlord first. Lockouts around the Oxnard College area or along Saviers Road are a separate kind of call from a planned lock change, and we handle both.

Salt air, beach homes and harbor gates: what the coast does to your locks

Oxnard sits directly on the coast, with a persistent marine layer, cool damp mornings and salt-laden air. That is hard on exterior hardware. Deadbolts, handlesets and gate hardware near the beach and the harbor corrode noticeably faster than they do inland, and they often need lubrication or replacement sooner than owners expect.

That matters when you change locks. If you've just bought a beach house at Oxnard Shores or a home in Mandalay Bay, the front door deadbolt and handleset have probably been exposed to salt air for years. Before we agree to rekey, we check whether the key turns smoothly, whether the finish is pitting, and whether the spring and latch move freely. If the lock is corroded, rekeying it only gives you new keys to a failing lock, so we usually recommend replacing the exterior hardware and rekeying the interior doors that haven't been exposed to the weather.

Around Seabridge and the Channel Islands Harbor area, many properties have private docks and HOA gates. Your own front door is yours to change, but a shared gate or dock access point may be controlled by the association, so check with them before anything is changed. For gate hardware that needs attention, our gate lock repair page covers what we can do.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a lock change?

We've been in business since 1987, and we serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, Oxnard included. We run a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood and send out mobile service vans, so you're dealing with one company. There's no call center that hands your job to whichever outside contractor happens to be free. The person who answers the phone at (213) 577-1366 works for the same company that sends the van.

David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work. That matters on a lock change, because the judgment call about whether a lock is worth keeping is the heart of the job. We would rather tell you that a lock is fine and just needs rekeying than sell you hardware you don't need, and we'll tell you just as plainly when a lock should go.

One more thing worth knowing: California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license. Whoever you hire, to change your locks or for anything else, ask to see it. It's a reasonable thing to ask, and a legitimate company won't mind the question.

What to have ready when you call about changing locks

You don't need to prepare much, but a few details help us give you a more accurate picture over the phone.

• How many exterior doors you want done, and whether that includes the garage entry, side door, slider or gates.
• What the existing locks look like, and a photo if you can send one. The brand is helpful but not required.
• Whether the locks are working well or are stiff, loose, sticky or corroded.
• Whether you want everything on a single key.
• Whether you're an owner, a tenant, or a manager, and whether anyone else needs to approve the change.
• Whether you're locked out right now. If so, tell us first, because that changes the order of the job.

More locksmith help in Oxnard

• Deadbolt Installation in Oxnard
• Gate Lock Repair in Oxnard
• High Security Locks in Oxnard
• Key Duplication in Oxnard
• Lock Installation in Oxnard
• Lock Rekey in Oxnard
• All services in Oxnard

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