Do you use valet parking ? Beware if you do !

[bake]

I am not an M5 owner (maybe one day I'll go for it), but I have driven what I consider premium vehicles for the last 15 years. I also worked as a valet for about 3 years on the east end of Long Island (including the Hamptons) while I was in college. I agree the OP offered up way too much information and went about it totally wrong. For anyone in this situation, I would suggest simply pulling up and saying to the valet "Mind if I park myself"? while putting a $20 in his hand. As a valet I would have been insulted by someone asking for a favor and then offering up $10. Especially when that someone was driving an expensive vehicle. I haven't been a valet for almost 20 years, and even back then $20 was the minimum at a high end establishment if you were expecting a favor and were driving a $100k car. Just my $0.02. And for the record, I don't let valets park my car either, because I know first hand what happens when the owners are inside. That job is the reason I got so good at driving manual transmission cars.

[stealth.pilot]

I really struggle with this too. In Miami I never valeted and it was fine because I could always find self parking.

Since I moved to Atlanta it's impossible to avoid valet. Valet is pervasive and self park lots are rare. Unless you are planning to dine in the suburbs. It's almost insulting. For instance the new 5 story Restoration Hardware store has a multi storey lot but it is still valet only. They say it's an insurance liability to allow someone to self park in a valet lot.

I find the whole thing abhorrent. It irks me that there are probably a hundred thousand people employed in the job of parking cars in this city! What does this say about society. To me it says most Americans are a bunch of lazy idiots and there are so many of them with low skills that they are willing to do such a worthless job.

Anyway solutions:
1) I always offer to pay extra for a spot up front and ask if I can park myself. 20-30% of the time they let me.
2) Backup strategy is I tip the guy $20 up front on top of the valet fee and ask him to take good care of the car.

A couple other things.
1) let them see your friendly unpretentious side. I am careful with the words and accent I use to come across as a working car enthusiast and not a toff. I engage the valet in small talk before handing over the key to make sure they know me - the human.
2) Help them appreciate the specialness of the car. The Frozen Grey M5 car is distinctive. The valet drivers just LOVE it. They are always gushing over it. So I always answer their questions, point out some details they might like such as the Carbon Fiber M Performance Exhaust. I find that if they appreciate the specialness of the car they will look after it (especially having been tipped a $20 up front). The Jag also has a similar effect at least now while they are super rare.
3) The hidden stick. I have a GPS tracker in the car and I have it setup to text me every time the car moves. So if it moves again after being parked, I will know immediately and look what's happening. If I see it left the lot then I will go out there.

[rocky]

good advise Stealth pilot

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by elitex

I will never use a valet again. Hyatt hotel in New Orleans scraped my wheel and blamed it on me.

Piss poor customer service to say the least. Oh and get this, they wanted me to pay the $30 a day valet fee and additional $100 per day if I wanted to park upfront.

Okay but what do you do if you go somewhere like Woodfire Grill, Canoe, Aria, Eugene. These places are valet only.

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by rocky

good advise Stealth pilot

Btw those harsh remarks a couple of people made toward you were ridiculous and I reported them to the mods for warnings.

[rocky]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

Btw those harsh remarks a couple of people made toward you were ridiculous and I reported them to the mods for warnings.

well the way i see it, we all have the right to voice our opinions and we are all human and all deserve a break now and then...the authors of the harsh comments im sure didnt mean anything personal, it just how they felt "in the moment" as well perhaps. Thanks again Stealth Pilot, your a class act.

[rocky]

In the future when i go to a valet-only parking hotel/restaurant location, i will inquire if i may self park and/or ask if there are alternative nearby locations to park...if none, than i may have to suck it up and hope for the best.... and definitely tip the valet up front handsomely so he takes extra care of the car. In the end... getting home safely and waking up for another day of blessings is what really matters.

[bake]

If there is no alternative, tip generously up front and mention you are a little OCD about your car and ask if they can park it close and stand outside and watch them park it. Once they see how concerned you are, they will be extra careful and since it is parked up front within sight, it won't be taken for a joy ride. The ones that get taken for joy rides are the ones parked out of sight.

[teazr1]

Sometimes it's worth a drive by the restaurant on another weekend to see what type of cars are in the lot. If you drive by and the lot is full of Ferrari's, Lambo's, Bentley's, etc, then your $100K M5 isn't anything special and you're not going to get parking up front. I know we all love our M5's but a new Cadillac Escalade is also $100K. I always consider parking and walking or just taking a cab/uber.

[GarbageMan]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

I really struggle with this too. In Miami I never valeted and it was fine because I could always find self parking.

Since I moved to Atlanta it's impossible to avoid valet. Valet is pervasive and self park lots are rare. Unless you are planning to dine in the suburbs. It's almost insulting. For instance the new 5 story Restoration Hardware store has a multi storey lot but it is still valet only. They say it's an insurance liability to allow someone to self park in a valet lot.

I find the whole thing abhorrent. It irks me that there are probably a hundred thousand people employed in the job of parking cars in this city! What does this say about society. To me it says most Americans are a bunch of lazy idiots and there are so many of them with low skills that they are willing to do such a worthless job.

Anyway solutions:
1) I always offer to pay extra for a spot up front and ask if I can park myself. 20-30% of the time they let me.
2) Backup strategy is I tip the guy $20 up front on top of the valet fee and ask him to take good care of the car.

A couple other things.
1) let them see your friendly unpretentious side. I am careful with the words and accent I use to come across as a working car enthusiast and not a toff. I engage the valet in small talk before handing over the key to make sure they know me - the human.
2) Help them appreciate the specialness of the car. The Frozen Grey M5 car is distinctive. The valet drivers just LOVE it. They are always gushing over it. So I always answer their questions, point out some details they might like such as the Carbon Fiber M Performance Exhaust. I find that if they appreciate the specialness of the car they will look after it (especially having been tipped a $20 up front). The Jag also has a similar effect at least now while they are super rare.
3) The hidden stick. I have a GPS tracker in the car and I have it setup to text me every time the car moves. So if it moves again after being parked, I will know immediately and look what's happening. If I see it left the lot then I will go out there.

Stealth-

You probably just distilled the reasons I seldom drive "into the city" on weekends... If I do, I manipulate the circumstance to not eat at the "valet restaurant", or drive something I'm not worried about if I do... It is a shame I know, but I don't need the grief. While generalizing, this is where low profile "tire/wheel destroying pot holes" and tiny parking spots tend to prevail as well...
No, I don't feel deprived by this practice.

[PhilT3]

Originally Posted by rocky

i have read all the replies to my original message and have the following response:

I appreciate and respect this forum and it's members so much and acknowledge the high degree of knowledge and insight its members have on the M5. Your help guys has helped me tremendously in getting and learning abt this wonderful vehicle. Moreover, I've noticed this forum has quite a following with a diverse backgrounds from around the world with different, temperaments,backgrounds, ideological opinions, attitudes and manners upon which we all respond to each others comments and concerns. One axiom we all share is our love for our cars and passion for the BMW M5. We can shake hands on that. Some of you have been an M5 owner for years, others have not. Some, like me are first time buyers and its probably safe to say we all have different degrees of passion and possessiveness for our cars and as we get older we often can view our possessions a little differently in the priority of our life. I am well into my adult life with a lovely wife and two adult children and worked hard over the years in my profession to save a few pennies to get the car of my dreams. I'm still giddy and in wonder everytime i get behind the wheel...I'm sure some, if not most of you share this sentiment. Having said all that, when i went to the restaurant and had valet service offered i was admittedly perhaps perceived as unreasonable, especially at a high end establishment that deals with expensive cars on a daily basis...yes i do humbly admit it. Having never owned a vehicle like this before and seeing how this vehicle is revered as such a class vehicle and in a special class by itself I guess i am like the mother bear carrying the baby cub and not really concerned what anybody at the valet service thinks of my over protectiveness proclivities. When i posted my experience the other day i must say i was a bit surprised by some of your harsh remarks. Im pretty thick skinned but some comments were over board. I know i could have handled it a little better but as i said i was in the moment and was pretty concerned abt someone i didn't know drive my car. Ive seen and heard horror stories of accidents caused by valet drivers. We all handle circumstances differently and i trust we all can be a bit more understanding and insightful in our comments and responses to each other's posts. In the end we all learn from each other, be better fathers, citizens of our communities and safer drivers with respectful toward each other so that others will not be afraid to post their posts and comments. I thank you all for your understanding and vast knowledge in helping us all with our passion. bless you all.

[elitex]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

Okay but what do you do if you go somewhere like Woodfire Grill, Canoe, Aria, Eugene. These places are valet only.

Ever since having kids, we really don't go to the fancy restaurants.

We did go to Carnevino in Vegas with kids and that wasn't fun at all.

unfortunately, my 1 year old won't stay with a baby sitter.

[sealionbeast]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

Btw those harsh remarks a couple of people made toward you were ridiculous and I reported them to the mods for warnings.

Agreed!!

[jeff4598]

OP, you passed on invite because you would have to park a whole block away?! In NYC we've been known to walk jeez 5 or 10 blocks after parking.

[rocky]

Originally Posted by jeff4598

OP, you passed on invite because you would have to park a whole block away?! In NYC we've been known to walk jeez 5 or 10 blocks after parking.

you're so right....just spoiled out here on the west coast. Ill remember that next time. thanks.

[GarbageMan]

Originally Posted by jeff4598

OP, you passed on invite because you would have to park a whole block away?! In NYC we've been known to walk jeez 5 or 10 blocks after parking.

Shoot, I wouldn't take this scenario if it were melted and poured on my head. There are too many alternatives for this kind of obstacle course to be tolerated. Regardless, the saying "different strokes for different folks" applies, and NY isn't Texas & vice-versa. I sure as heck don't have an issue (none of my business) if someone wants to go to this kind of effort. When I do meet friends for dinner, I want to have fun and relax. Worrying who parked the car or where they did it, etc. hopfully isn't a part of that equation.

Stealth, I've been to Canoe while traveling for business in ATL. It is a nice restaurant!

[ARKONE]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

I really struggle with this too. In Miami I never valeted and it was fine because I could always find self parking.

Since I moved to Atlanta it's impossible to avoid valet. Valet is pervasive and self park lots are rare. Unless you are planning to dine in the suburbs. It's almost insulting. For instance the new 5 story Restoration Hardware store has a multi storey lot but it is still valet only. They say it's an insurance liability to allow someone to self park in a valet lot.

I find the whole thing abhorrent. It irks me that there are probably a hundred thousand people employed in the job of parking cars in this city! What does this say about society. To me it says most Americans are a bunch of lazy idiots and there are so many of them with low skills that they are willing to do such a worthless job.

Anyway solutions:
1) I always offer to pay extra for a spot up front and ask if I can park myself. 20-30% of the time they let me.
2) Backup strategy is I tip the guy $20 up front on top of the valet fee and ask him to take good care of the car.

A couple other things.
1) let them see your friendly unpretentious side. I am careful with the words and accent I use to come across as a working car enthusiast and not a toff. I engage the valet in small talk before handing over the key to make sure they know me - the human.
2) Help them appreciate the specialness of the car. The Frozen Grey M5 car is distinctive. The valet drivers just LOVE it. They are always gushing over it. So I always answer their questions, point out some details they might like such as the Carbon Fiber M Performance Exhaust. I find that if they appreciate the specialness of the car they will look after it (especially having been tipped a $20 up front). The Jag also has a similar effect at least now while they are super rare.
3) The hidden stick. I have a GPS tracker in the car and I have it setup to text me every time the car moves. So if it moves again after being parked, I will know immediately and look what's happening. If I see it left the lot then I will go out there.

Link to your GPS tracker? I want one as well.

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by Karney5

Link to your GPS tracker? I want one as well.

Zubie

[q8kamikaze]

Couple weeks ago in Kuwait a valet parking guy took a 14 porsche carrera into a wall you should be careful gents .

[q8kamikaze]

Poor porsche

[6spdterror]

Im not that stringent but im very careful when it comes to valet. What i do especially in Manhattan, i go to the parking garage and pay for the parking spot and tell them to move whatever car is parked in the front and park my car in that spot and i give the guy a $20 tip. Then i either park it myself or stand there until its parked. I also find out until what time that valet guy is working and tell him hes soley responsible and i dont want anyone else with access to my keys. My wife thinks im crazy but knock on wood, ive never had any issues.

[NlckyBlack]

Originally Posted by GNALUZU

Wow, all I can say is wow. If you don't want to park there, fine. But to throw in a childish line about how expensive your car is? Really? Did you expect them to then beg you for your business?

Sounds like the restaurant is better off for not having to deal with a customer like you.

As an owner of a restaurant i deal with people like this every day. A prima donna with your 100k car is putting it lightly...... Your not the only one buddy, people park more expensive cars than our 5 series. You did the first restaurant a favor.

and for the record i try to avoid valets as well, because they are a bunch of young kids just trying to make a buck with no regard for your car, but i don't give them the bs story either. Tip them well and it will get you a much better treatment for you car.