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ONLY at upper end resturants and depending on the valet, and I still don't like anyone driving my BMW, but myself and my girlfriend, (as long as Im in the car with her and she's not drunk, LOL)

Eddie

 

i valet myself. I tell them no one drives this car but me. I hold out the money and tell them if I dont get to park my own car and keep my own keys, I'll park it elsewhere. 9 out of 10 times they lemme park.

 

never have put the e60 through valet.

 

Never. Did it two times. For the 2nd time, they gave me a new car with a scratched bumper and didn't tell me. It was in a hotel in Switzerland. That's 50% chance your car gets damaged + the guy farts in it. Never.

 

I valet. The trick is to tip the valet person in advance. As a matter of fact, I will be attending a conference in Boston in a couple of hours and the only way to get a reasonable parking spot is to valet. I'll be sure to tip the guy a 10 spot in advance and he will practically guard the car with his life.

 

 

I never valet. I'll drop my wife off and drive around looking for an end spot. Also, I never ever take up two spots cause that's just asking to get keyed. IMHO

 

As a former Valet, I would not recommend it at all. It was 10-12 years ago - I'd take sweet cars out for a quick joy ride, come back 10 minutes later (or less) and park it "up front" where the guy told me to...AFTER he tipped me 10-20 for the upfront parking. I used to valet at the mall, so there was less chance of them coming out to check up on it unlike at a restaurant or something. I once needed a new remote for my disc changer and found a car with the same one, so yup....i snagged it. Sometimes people forget they have money in the car, or are in a rush and dont realize whats out in the open or easily accessible. During the holiday season rush, the valet/mall area was insane. It was too easy to swipe a few bucks here and there. I would never take change cuz thas lame, but any greenbacks were mine. When the person comes back to get the car, a different guy would pull it back up. No one would remember who parked what anyway. The easiest way to keep valets from going through your car is:
A) Just dont valet.
If you must valet, always keep a nice clean car with things in order and in place. Thats almost a valet rule. A clean car means the person will notice if anything has been touched, moved, etc.
C) If you must valet, just let the guy know that you know every inch of the vehicle inside and out and tell em he looks like a nice guy but you dont know about the rest of em. Tell him you want only HIM to handle it, and then tip em well. That way he's accountable.
D) If you must valet, ALWAYS leave it up front for a higher charge. Well worth it.

Thats my two cents.

Cars I've thoroughly enjoyed at the valet: Tons of vette's, NSX, 911's (even if it was around the parking lot), Cobras, and basically anything that was cool/hadpower,looked fun.

 

I use taxis. No need to even think about valets.

 

First off, I think za3879 pilfering is morally irreprehensible. When I wAs 16yo I worked as a valet and did from time to time took the long way to park. I was young and had Porsche posters on my wall. Needless to say when a 911 pulled up, I took it for a test drive. I know it wasn't the professional thing to do, but Porsche fever got the best of me.
Will