No soup for you, no valet for me! - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

gsfent · 9th June 2006, 01:12

Just got the car back after two weeks. No more valet!!
Went to a well known hotel in the south Miami area. Been there many time before. Check in at 3 pm, valet the car. Attend fund raiser at night, breakfast early the next morning and go to check out and pick up car around 10 am. Seems to take forever, a couple of trips to the manager. After 30 minutes, wife, who is outside, advises car arrives. As I approach I can see heat shimmers. Hmmm. As I get closer I smell what is either burnt clutch or burnt brakes. Since I have BBK, not a good sign. I go check my gauges, and oil temp around 200, water at 12 o'clock. IMMEDIATELY call over supervisor and tell them to get manager. Explain no way car can be this hot in the 50 yards from the parking lot. After about 15 minutes, I decide to move car. Won't go into gear!. Now we know for sure.

Cost to hotel> $2500 for new clutch and flywheel at stealer pricing (not my problem, and no, I didn't let them use my BMW CCA discount) as well as two weeks of loaner car (Hyundai Sonata really not a bad car, LOL).

Bright side is they destroyed the clutch, if just ruined/slipping, would have been tough to prove they were on a joy ride or they caused it. Hotel staff was pretty professional, they decided pretty quickly something was not right. Only time I almost lost it was early on when they said the only problem was that the "couldn't find the keys". I explained they couldn't find them, because one of their employees had taken my car without my permission (we call that theft around these parts, pardner) and that it was done while in their care custody and control and clearly with their lack of proper supervision!

The other amusing part was when the valet company (technically a separate entity) tried to negotiate and pay half. I advised them and the hotel manager not acceptable, and if we had to file suit to get it squared away, we would be holding a press conference with "Name of hotel" ruins customers exotic car". 30 minutes later, they agreed to pay full amount!!

So, to celebrate return, put on new shoes, Goodyears GSD3's thanks to Luke,(PS2's on intergalactic backorder). Only downside is breaking in the clutch for the next 1000 miles or so....

Valet?

Nay!!!

Regards,
Jerry

lestat832 · 9th June 2006, 01:20

wow...glad you were able to have them pay for everything

enjoy your new clutch

MCarRacr07 · 9th June 2006, 01:23

what a disgrace!!!.....as I use a Valet service at times for my establishment I make the rules very clear from the get-go......also I inform them that I have my parking lot under security surveilance(cameras) so I don;t need to check on them.....I will review the tape. I get alot of high end metal and thats the LAST thing I need..Glad they did the right thing with only slight persuasion.......on a lighter note: How do you like the Goodyears???..I just ordered a set from Luke not 15minutes ago (am going 18x9.5 all around) He says they offer better ride quality and better wet grip than the PS2s and are only marginally less grippy in dry.
Regards
MCar

Richard in NC · 9th June 2006, 01:31

Glad they 'fessed up' and paid in full. I'm always hesitant to valet the car. I did it once when raining. A funny story on the side, years ago at a downtown Atlanta hotel, I decided to park instead of a $20 per day valet charge. They suggested a garage 1 block away for $5 daily. Later that evening with friends, one guy needed something from my car. As we walked in the garage, the other friends spotted their car that had been valet, right next to mine!

PS: I just got the GSD3s as well. So far so good. I'll learn their limits quickly with one track session last week and an autocross this weekend. At the track, I liked them better than the PS2s. Bad news is I got them overheated and probably toasted 1000 miles off them in 20 minutes.

Mattkins99 · 9th June 2006, 01:37

my work is going to start offering valet parking at my building tomorrow (very bad parking here) and NO WAY IN HELL, I'm going to let them touch my car.

expensive and FAST car.... kid making $7.50 an hour. NOT a good combination.

cosioboy · 9th June 2006, 01:48

Well, glad to hear this pretty bad development finished with the hotel/valet company absorbing the full damage, Jerry. Now what if you had an aftermarket clutch and lightened flywheel, I wonder how willing they would have been to pay that price (I could have faxed you my receipt of the Dinan one

)?

With the risk of looking 'cheap' to any of my friends (who by now know my concern is not the vallet charge but the preservance of my baby), I never ever, give my car to a valet. The last time I 'had' to do it was in front of a lavish NJ club which technically had it's doors closed for the night. All my friends were inside celebrating a mate's b-day and the bouncer said the only way I am getting in is right now, on the spot, which meant getting the car valleyed. A couple of hours later the car came with loads of mud on it around the fender area (there was nearby construction but not near the garage)! Luckily clutch and everything else was working, so a good lesson learned without paying the price... No more valleys, including (and perhaps especially) the bikini girls on high heels that are running this valet service in Southern Cali...

gsfent · 9th June 2006, 01:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by MCarRacr07

.......on a lighter note: How do you like the Goodyears???..I just ordered a set from Luke not 15minutes ago (am going 18x9.5 all around) He says they offer better ride quality and better wet grip than the PS2s and are only marginally less grippy in dry.
Regards
MCar

This is my second set of Goodyears, only this time 18x9.5's all around. I am very happy with them, but I was going to try the PS2's just so I could compare. They are back ordered, unless you want to pay a ridiculous price. Wasn't worth it to me, and now that I have 9.5's all around, I can rotate the tires, reducing the disadvantage of the unidirectional Goodyears over the PS2's.
Regards,
Jerry

gsfent · 9th June 2006, 01:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattkins99

my work is going to start offering valet parking at my building tomorrow (very bad parking here) and NO WAY IN HELL, I'm going to let them touch my car.

expensive and FAST car.... kid making $7.50 an hour. NOT a good combination.

If I have to valet, and I think there is a problem, I either try to get them to park it up front while I watch, or I tell them to park it and return the key. Since I had been to this first class hotel before, and it sees way more exotic cars than mine, I wasn't too concerned.
Regards,
Jerry

gsfent · 9th June 2006, 01:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosioboy

Well, glad to hear this pretty bad development finished with the hotel/valet company absorbing the full damage, Jerry. Now what if you had an aftermarket clutch and lightened flywheel, I wonder how willing they would have been to pay that price (I could have faxed you my receipt of the Dinan one

)?

:

Well, I am a reasonable guy. I told them since they never checked the car in, there were lots of fresh looking nicks and scrapes that might be theirs. But I said all I want fixed is what you broke, nothing more, nothing less. If it had been a Dinan set up or a UUC setup, I would have demanded the same as replacement.

I did have the SA check the tranny, but all is good. And I am sure the hotel/valet company has insurance. The valet manager said it had NEVER happened in the 10 years he had been there. Today, by coincidence, another car buddy stopped by. I relayed my story, and said the same thing happened to a customers Ferrari at the same hotel just recently!!!! Hmm, wonder if these guys are trained by used car salesman!

Regards,
Jerry

ard · 9th June 2006, 02:46

Glad it worked out Jerry- as you point out, lucky they totally destroyed it or you might not have been able to prove a thing. I never valet- I'll pay $20 to park it in front and keep my keys.

A