Muchavista is a long beach: 3.3 kilometres of fine sand, running south until it blends into Playa de San Juan. Long beaches mean cars parked a long way from the towel, and arriving with a cool box, an umbrella and children makes it easy to put the keys down on a seat and shut the door.
Plenty of cars lock themselves as well: when the boot is closed with the keys inside, or a minute after the doors shut.
Check before anything else
- Every door, the boot and the tailgate. One is often unlocked even when the car looks shut.
- A spare key at home, in the flat, or with someone who can bring it on the tram or by car.
- Your insurance policy or the card in your wallet: roadside assistance often covers lockouts, and may send someone itself.
- If it is a hire car, read the agreement: some companies want to send their own assistance.
If there is a child or a pet inside
Call 112 straight away. On a summer afternoon a closed car heats up fast, and the emergency services are the ones to deal with it. Explain where the car is parked and what is inside.
Ways in that cost more than the lockout
- Coat hangers and wedges. Modern door seals, side airbags and wiring run exactly where a hanger goes. The repair can cost far more than the lockout.
- Breaking a window. Unless someone inside is in danger, it is the most expensive way in, and you then have a car that cannot be locked.
- A screwdriver in the lock or the door frame. A bent frame lets in water and wind for the life of the car, and a damaged lock still has to be opened afterwards.
Ready for when the van pulls up
- Where the car is, as exactly as you can: the street behind the beach, the nearest tram stop, or a pin on WhatsApp.
- Make, model and year, which decide how the door is opened.
- Something showing the car is yours: documents in your name, or the rental agreement. If they are inside the car, they are checked once it is open, before anyone drives away.
How long it takes
Getting the door open is usually quick once someone is there; the waiting is mostly the journey. You get an estimate on the phone for your spot, and the price is agreed at the car before any tool goes near the door.
If the keys have gone for good rather than being locked in, the house may be the next problem: off the last tram at Coveta Fumà with no keys covers what to do about the front door. Hosts whose guests drive in for the beach may find check-in notes for guests arriving by tram useful too.