What to do about valets and your car???

B

bkodama

New member
Hope this isn't off-topic, but I believe it has some relevance to maintaining the detailing and appearance of your car.



The other night I went to dinner at an upscale restaurant. The restaurant being in a peculiar location- there was no street parking anywhere nearby. This is a new car with mostly pristine paint/exterior and frequently detailed by myself (with the help of this forum). I decided, what the heck, I'll valet it (for the first time). This was a nice restaurant with very good service, and the valets are constantly shuttling lexus' and beemers all night, so I should have little to worry about... or so I thought.



The next day in full sunlight- I saw that the door lip of my driver's side was scratched with about a 3 inch scratch. Indicating that the valet must've flinged my door open onto a concrete wall or pillar upon parking the car! :grrr



So my question is, how do you people deal with these situations where there is no available parking and only a valet?? I was also with my girlfriend, essentially on a date. I wasn't about to dump her off at the curb, nor make her park the car with me and then walk 5 blocks to the restaurant. :chuckle: :cry:



It drives me nuts that the very first time I chanced it with a valet, my car gets dinged. It also looks like I got a light scratch on the inner door sill, so the guy must've grabbed the car while holding the keys to shut it. Yes, my girlfriend thinks I'm crazy (although she wants me to detail her car next week :chuckle: ) Sigh.
 
I'm lucky, my wife loves to walk and has no problem parking a ways away in a safe place. Not sure how to handle your situation though, how can you prove they did it? I just got my wifes front fender fixed from an accident and when I got the car back there were several nicks and scuffs. I'm going to call them tomorrow but doubt anything will come of it. Goodluck to you!
 
I typically park it myself, even if there is no self-parking I tell the valets that I want to park it myself and pay the fees if necessary. Never been a problem..
 
If they dont damage it they usually clear it of all loose change and other usefull stuff you might have. Sounds like you had no choice. I avoid at all costs.
 
no one ever drives my car

except when it get inspected(by the old owner and friend, I trust him!)



I don't want to explain things like the reverse lockout,

or worry about them using the nitrous oxide,

ect...
 
I only let valets whom I know touch our cars. I'll drop my wife off and go park where I know it's safe even if I have to walk a long way in bad weather. It's just one of those things I don't compromise on. My wife (and everyone else who knows me) understands and is cool with it.
 
I usually let the valet know that I'd appreciate if they park it somewhere nice and safe. Then I hand them $5 in advance. I don't tip when I get the car back. I do check it over quick when I get it back. Lucky for me my wife understands my standards and can check her side of the car herself. :D

I dont valet much, but I haven't had a problem since I started tipping in advance.
 
I work as a valet sometimes and after working w/ some of the guys that valet w/ me I will NEVER valet my car. Not all valets are car fanactics like everyone here unfortunately.
 
04LemansZ said:
I work as a valet sometimes and after working w/ some of the guys that valet w/ me I will NEVER valet my car. Not all valets are car fanactics like everyone here unfortunately.
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i work as a valet also and i agree completely... some places will have 5 of 5 valets not give a damn whatsoever, and other places the opposite... most places it's a mix of good and bad though... before i started working as a valet, i never did valet my car... got it a bunch of times from my g/f, then one time i told her fine, watch what happens... gave it to a valet at the concert, same deal as original poster... scraped bottom of the door, scratches on the handle... luckily it was my old gti and not my bimmer (if it was my bimmer someone would've been handicapped by now :chuckle: )



anyway, now it's much easier since i can park in chicago downtown for free 2-3 blocks from anywhere i'd ever want to go... i will still never valet my car



chpsk8 said:
I usually let the valet know that I'd appreciate if they park it somewhere nice and safe. Then I hand them $5 in advance. I don't tip when I get the car back. I do check it over quick when I get it back. Lucky for me my wife understands my standards and can check her side of the car herself. :D

I dont valet much, but I haven't had a problem since I started tipping in advance.
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how many times have you done that?? the reason i'm asking is because, and this might not be your situation, most of the time, $5 means nothing to a valet as far as taking care of your car... it's the gesture that counts (for me anyway and the people i work with)

if a person asks nicely to keep their car up front, i'll do it for free most of the time, if a guy comes in a ferrari and tells me to keep it there like he owns the damn place, and he gives me $5, that thing's going in the garage



i think the best thing in your case would be to get to know 1 or 2 valets at a place you go very well and be honest with them and tell them you want the car taken care of...

if you go to many places and just are wondering wether to valet the car, it's a 50/50 chance you're getting your car back banged up



anyway, sorry for the long post, just trying to help...
 
Ya keep your fingers crossed. even if you express your desires with a Hamilton or Jackson, its the guy who parks a vehicle next to your that didnt get a Hammy or Jacko.....I was at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego last night, and figured I just wasnt going to worry about it. I probably had more concerns parking at the DoubleTree where we stayed. All was fine at the end of the evening.....
 
Thanks guys for the responses and information. It's great to hear from some people with valet experience as well.



BTW I spent some time today trying to fix the scratch. The scratch looks like a clean dull white line going straight down the edge of the door lip, about 3 inches in length.



1st Attempt: QD to clean, then 3 applications of scratch-x. The weird thing was, when I'd apply the QD, the scratch would instantly disappear, and then slowly return as the QD evaporated. Anyways, the scratch-x application didn't work.



2nd Attempt: QD'd the area to clean again. Then I had a regimen of products I wanted to use to prep the surface so I could fill it with a clear coat pen I bought. I started next with AIO and suddenly the scratch disappeared for good! I skipped the clear coating and instead QD'd it again and put on some AW. Will properly seal it later when I have time to do a full detail. AIO is my miracle product, a close 2nd after clay bars. Scratch gone!



I think it's more likely now that instead of bashing my door into a concrete wall, which would have likely chipped my paint down to the metal, the valet driver probably smacked my door open ONTO SOMEBODY ELSE'S CAR.



That I got rid of this scratch, I consider my get out of jail free card. Time to ask the gf if she'd like to take a nice romantic walk to the restaurant before dinner. No more valets!
 
bkodama said:
Time to ask the gf if she'd like to take a nice romantic walk to the restaurant before dinner. No more valets!
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Glad you could get that scratch out! Damn Valets...



I like the "Romantic Walk" spin on the "Don't trust valets so that's why we're walking 5 blocks" solution. :D
 
CDTGaticaW201 said:
...I like the "Romantic Walk" spin on the "Don't trust valets so that's why we're walking 5 blocks" solution. :D
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I guess that works better than the “you need the exercise honey� method. :D





PC.
 
Sux what happened to your car. Nothing like finding surprises. I avoid valets whenever possible, but would trust them better than i would a public parking area. I recently traded in my 2004 Maxima and always parked it the farthest out in every parking lot (drove my wife nuts). FOr the last month i had it, I wasnt as careful and got one HUGE ding (more like dents) on both sides of the car. Now, my wife

supports me into parking our new car away from other cars whenever possible. But, as much as we try to avoid our cars getting scratched or dented, we end up doing it ourselves! Its inevitable.
 
One word: Beater



If you guys don't have one, get one, this may turn out to be one of your favorite cars. I'm super anal when it comes to keeping my cars nice. There are tons of situations you don't want to drive your pride and joy to. Valet parking is just one of them. I picked up a car from a fleet auction, 58k miles, frosty AC, runs like a champ, looks like hell. $400. Now I go to wal-mart, downtown, down dirt roads, kids to get ice cream, dog to wherever, parts runs, etc and not a worry. If it blows up , time to go to the auction again.



Added bonus is the look of confidence you have when some asshat tries to make it into your lane.
 
I know what you mean about beaters Yakky. My main two cars are Benzes that I'm super-anal about...and it just sucks demoting them to Wal-mart duty, so I usually turn to our craptastic Toyota Previa (minivan)



But even with the beater, it still won't resolve the valet issue. I mean, if you're going to a place with a valet, it's obviously a upscale place or a special reason...like your anniversary, or you got a date with a hot girl from the bar. Why would you want to bring out the beater? I'm all for keeping cars in pristine condition, but that just almost seems counter-intuitive in a valet situation.
 
lecchilo said:
how many times have you done that?? the reason i'm asking is because, and this might not be your situation, most of the time, $5 means nothing to a valet as far as taking care of your car... it's the gesture that counts (for me anyway and the people i work with)

if a person asks nicely to keep their car up front, i'll do it for free most of the time, if a guy comes in a ferrari and tells me to keep it there like he owns the damn place, and he gives me $5, that thing's going in the garage
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I've probably done it less than 20 times in the last two years. $5 for valet tip around here is about average. One thing I think is that tipping up front might lead the guy to think he's getting more when he comes back with a ding free car. Probably can't pull that too many times at the same place. :D

I think the key is the attitude. I try to be polite and respect the guy doing the job. I'm not driving a Ferrari, but I'm also not driving a riced out Honda. Respect is everything.

Over Labor Day I valeted my car in Chicago at the Westin for 3 days. The guy that took it was drooling over the car and I just asked him politely to find a nice home for it for the next three days. When I picked it up three days later it was just how I left it. He said he had kept it in it's own VIP spot at the top of the ramp. If he was BSing me or not I can't be sure, but the car was unharmed, so I gave him $20 tip.
 
Heh heh, the only car I ever kept perfect is the now-deered S8 :o and right before the deer incident a rock got tossed up by a school bus that dented the hood, chipped the windshield, and scratched the trunk lid beyond repair. I'm almost ready to accept that some damage is inevitable if you actually use the car :(



When we go out for the evening we usually take one of the good cars, I don't want to use the beaters for such occasions. I agree with getting to know the valets and/or giving them motivation to take care of the car. While (as I posted previously) I generally just won't turn my good cars over to valets I don't know, I'm very generous with the guys at places we frequent regularly; they appreciate both the tip and the way I keep the cars so they do take good care of them. For me, a few bucks (generally $10) is nothing compared to irreparable paint damage.



In situations like chpsk8 mentioned where there aren't many options, I do exactly what he did- it's money well-spent. When we took the XJS on our honeymoon it survived with no problems at all...I can't remember how much money I spent on the valet tips, but I do remember that the car didn't get damaged. Those guys never saw me before or since, but I made sure they were motivated to keep it safe.
 
Brace1 said:
I typically park it myself, even if there is no self-parking I tell the valets that I want to park it myself and pay the fees if necessary. Never been a problem..
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Ditto. I always park it myself and toss the valet a tip, I also carry a set of those magnetic protective strips and place them on the car if need be.
 
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