Hey guys,

Check out this article -

Confessions of a Parking Valet- Yahoo! Autos Article Page

Our cars are mentioned

BTW, anyone have any horror stories about valeting your Crossfire???

 

I never let anyone valet anything, other than my ranger... THey mess that up I'm not too worried.

Besides, all a valet says about a person is they are too damn lazy to park their own car... or too fat to make the walk back.

 

I valet all the time. As it turns out I'm lazy and fat. I valet to keep my car safe. I don't have to worry about door dings or some kiddie toter winding up parked next to me. Paying 5 bucks to a valet don't break the bank and the guys doing the work can use the money.

 

Admittiedly, some Valets are youngsters with no apprecition for the property of others.

That said, the only thing they have at risk is their job.

What does a minivan mom and her kids have at risk if they bump you car?

We had half of level 5 occupied with Crossfires last month. Somebody with an SUV high bumper put a nice kiss on Crumpys hood badge. After which they left and it is on us to get it fixed.

Had it happened in the valet lot, the Casino would be picking up the tab.

Ain't no such thing as a "safe" place to park. That's a given but I'll trust the valet over the minivan mom or the "A" personality driving an Escalade.


franc

 

I spent 18 years in Las Vegas where Valet is king.
I have many friends who are valet parkers. In Vegas it is a well-paying profession and most of them have held their job for many, many years. Unlike the hinterlands, these guys are professional and you take care of them and they take care of you.

As part of my job I visited many casinos daily and got to be known by hundreds of valet parkers. I tip decently and got great service. These guys make good money and wouldn't do anything to jepordize their job unless you really pissed them off and they thought they could get away with it.

They park the really nice cars up front for everyone to see; Ferraris, Lambo, Porsches, sometimes Vetts and always Crossfires.

 

Most people don't even know how to get our cars (6 speeds) in reverse. It really bothers me when I see someone inside my car trying to jam it into reverse. It never fails.... those kids at the dealership as so quick to jump in the car and have no idea how to even drive it. It is painfull to watch. So the answer is... NOBODY DRIVES MY CAR EXCEPT ME.

 

The last time I took my car in to have the tires rotated, I parked my car facing downhill a little. The technician went out to get my car, sat in it for about 2 minutes, then came back in and told me he felt uncomfortable backing up my car. He was afraid that he would let it roll forward and bump the curb. I think he couldn't figure out how to put it in reverse, so I was very happy to back up the car and pull it into the garage bay for him...

 

I didn't realize our cars were good drifters! I thought the you-can't-quite-turn-it-off traction control prevented that.

 

I live in the "boonies" so I don't have to worry about needing valet parking much. But I really don't like anyone else driving the roadster and have simply explained to garages and tire stores that it is in "perfect condition and, no offense, but I would prefer to drive it for you -- get in". Have done the same at hotel lots and they usually shrug and let me park it. The Dearborn Doubletree used to let me park in the security spot in front of the hotel -- their security car would even move to make space when I arrived. I stayed there 2-4 nights a week for three years. Just about anywhere else I park 10 cars away from anyone and keep my fingers crossed. If I know it's going to be a crowd, I take my wife's Mercury Milan.

 

The sales guy at the dealership where I bought mine sure didn't - I had to tell him before we could back up to get out of the lot.

 

C'mon guys. Go easy.

I get in Crumpy's SRT and half the time I can't get it into reverse.

Damm *** will not pull up.

And to confuse me further, the clutch pedal is missing.


roadster with a stick

 

The only time I have had my Crossfire parked by a valet was when I was in Manhattan visiting my cousin. It was an underground parking garage at the Hilton, so I expected for it to be taken care of. The next day when I went to pick it up, it came back with scratches on the rear bumper under the marker light. No...they were more like gouges by backing into a brick wall. They would not refund my money and would not even recognize me when I spoke to them. All they said was that their boss would call me tomorrow...which never happened of course. I called my credit card company and finally got the amount I paid the garage back, which will not even cover the cost of paint.

 

Let me start by saying that I loath having my car valet parked. Whether I'm driving the crossfire, my wifes car, or an old beater I've picked up for the winter, doesn't matter. I don't like letting anyone drive my car.


I don't know about down near you, but up here in NNJ it's sometimes near to impossible to park your own car at event locations such as a country club. I don't mind walking, but to say that EVERYONE valeting their car is lazy or fat just isn't right, guy.

 

You would be surprised. With my rear tires the way they are, semi-wet pavement can be a lot of fun. These cars can be amazingly easy to handle while drifting.

As for the comment about some people not knowing how to shift it into reverse, I've had that happen. I do love when one of them either takes the time to come ask me or actually sits and thinks about what that little "R" off of the main tree diagram really means. I watched one guy who was a little too embarrassed to come ask figure it out fairly quickly after looking at it for a second and then lifting it. I was proud of him.

Speaking of valets, took my car to the car wash today (don't worry, it's a rather nice one; the service I question now). I had the interior cleaned, which is a separate part of the wash. With the wash, you drive your car yourself. With the interior cleaning part, they drive it for you onto a conveyor platform, which on a good day they'll actually use, so it doesn't require them to drive it much.

Anyways, today I was watching them as they finished up and were about to move it. I had three of them hanging around the driver's seat talking and one got in the car. I have no idea why he would ever think it was a good idea (I was watching them, and they could see me watching them), but I guess his coworkers who where talking to him at the time convinced him he should try to drive stick when he didn't know how. Needless to say, I watched the kid look at the shifter for a second, look at his coworker and shrug. He was about to get out, but they told him how to put it in gear. I'm sure you know what happens next. He forgets to take the handbrake off and stalls the car rather painfully, at which point I stepped out of the waiting room and "politely" told him "If you don't know how to drive manual, don't get in a manual car. This is why I ask if you guys know how to drive stick shift. You're going to ruin my transmission."

That being said, I'm never letting them drive my car again. They do a good job there for a good price... I'm just not willing to let them fool around with my Ava and damage something.

Sorry that was a long post. In regards to the main topic, I've seen some pretty bad things happen to one of my family member's Mercedes in a garage owned by the condo in which they live. I've never let a valet park my car unless I had no other choice. There's enough horror stories to go around.

 

Most kids today don't know how to drive a stick (now that most autos today have shifters). They say years from now even less people will know how to drive a stick. A couple weeks ago they were talking about the increase of stolen vehicles in Texas near the border (drug wars). They said don't drive an SUV or truck in certain areas because you will get car jacked.... unless it is a stick shifter because most of the theives don't like sticks and can't drive them.

 

That and the prevalence of more and more high performance cars using flappy-paddle gearboxes, I'm glad I drive a stick shift. Less people know how to steal my car, and with the tow alarm, it makes it even more safe. Although, when's the last time you actually paid attention to a car alarm going off (other than wanting it to shut up)?

 

I agree that given a choice I will always park my own car (Prius or SRT). However, sometimes you don't have a choice at the nicer, more trendy spots from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami Beach.

In these cases fat or lazy has nothing to do with it.

 

I've never let anyone valet mine and I never will after seeing first hand a new bmw 335i coupe being driven as fast as possible in a parking garage down the rows, around turns, and even over speed bumps at the bohemian hotel I was staying at.

 

"When one of the valets pulled the door open [on a 2005 Mustang convertible], we heard a horrible crunching noise and the door wouldn't move. What the owner had neglected to tell anyone was that he had a 'Lambo' door conversion kit on the car, and that the door didn't open as normal."

 

This part confuses me.

Wouldn't they realize it when they parked the car? Or received it? Maybe make a note of it?

They're both at fault - for not telling then valet about the doors when picking it up (assuming it's the next morning or something) and the Valet company for not remembering / writing down.