Murray Lock & Security

First they were supposed to get back to me to confirm a Monday appt and never did. So we set up a confirmed appt for Tuesday…
They never showed up and never called. Nice on the phone, but no follow through – what a waste of time.

I went to Murray Lock & Security on a quest to get my car key copied. Apparently, it’s not so easy to find a place in the area that can copy chip keys, which are electronically programmed for security reasons.
You can imagine my delight when I called Murray and found out that they could make a copy of my key for only $ 35, chip key and all. Strosniders quoted me between $ 75-​$ 100. Let’s not even entertain the dealership’s pricing.
Murray’s is tucked away in the shopping center right in between Georgia Avenue and Veirs Mill Rd, in the heart of Wheaton. The people working at the shop are very nice and helpful and told me that I would be able to get my key copied but that I would have to follow six steps to start the car up.
I thought he was playing with me.
He was not.
He said you have to complete six steps, like turn the ignition on and off 5x with the window down and then open and close the driver doors 5x etc etc to activate the chip. What a bizarre ritual. I must have looked straight OCD in the parking lot.
Shocker. It didn’t work, but when I returned he had no problem reimbursing me immediately, even though I was unable to make it back to the shop for a week.
All in all, it was a failed mission but at least I’ve established a trust and familiarity with the business and would return here in the future.

I don’t know which of the murray lock and security branches was called for me when I locked myself out at 9pm, but I had a great experience with them. He showed up fast, was very nice, tried for a good while to pick my lock before resorting to a drill. Then replaced by ruined doorknob and gave me a new key and a spare. It cost me $ 140 — sounded like a lot to me, but when I locked myself out again a few months later and made the mistake of calling someone else (24 hour locksmith in dc), the guy tried to charge me $ 280 and the new doorknob wasn’t included.