Valet

[Alan]

Does anyone here leave their car with a valet?

[Jonathan]

Only if it's with a professional.

Trust me Ferris.jpg

(Seriously though, no, never, not in a million years)

[ccurzio]

Nope. I simply tell them I don't want anyone else to drive it. So far they've all respected it.

[David T]

Nope. I simply tell them I don't want anyone else to drive it. So far they've all respected it.

The few times I went were they had valet parking they allowed me to park it myself and in fact insisted it be parked RIGHT UP FRONT in the most conspicuous place possible. Just tell them it has an alarm system and you don't give out the key. If they won't let you park it just say you will tell the manager/owner that the valet is chasing away business, they never like to hear that.

[Rich_NYS]

No, I don't think I ever would.

[Ryan S.]

I have done it several times. Each time guys are very careful and usually park in front with Lambo, Ferrari, and etc...
One kid told me that it was a dream come true when he brought back my car. Yes, I checked. He didn't joy ride to LA.

[Rich]

Loving this classic movie reference! Comments below.

Only if it's with a professional.

Trust me Ferris.jpg

Same experience as Ryan for us. Often the car rates a primo location, as he says.

All of the valets we've run across know how to work a stick.

Be sure to show them where the inside door release is and, if you have one, how to get the 5-speed into reverse.

Have done it 4-5 times without a worry.

[Shep]

I haven't been to a place that requires a valet yet, but still wouldn't even if I had the opportunity to. Reason being, until I can save up enough for a more "stable" solution than K-Jet, I wouldn't trust a first-timer to start her for the life of me. It takes a tiny bit of finagling the gas pedal to get mine to catch when you cold start it. Just turning the key isn't enough, you need to give it just the right amount of gas once the starter finishes its job, which is something I've just learned to do by second nature. Hot starts (e.g. right after I fill up with gas) work fine, no gas pedal required. Something about those camshafts I guess.

My concern is more or less that the valet will either kill the battery trying or flood the engine by doing it too early, which I have actually done. Then again, I'm not sure my classic car insurance allows for valets either, I'd have to check my policy. Living by a "I'm the only driver outside of servicing" rule works far better than you'd think.

[OverlandMan]

I've not and probably never will. Same traffic for my 308. Heck, I rarely valet my wife's A5, mostly because I'm worried they won't know how to get it into reverse. Now my 4 year old Tahoe? All day long.

[Alan]

Good answers so far. I appreciate them. Sounds like there are a number of people here who use valet but not for their DeLoreans. Though there were a couple of people who do even for their DeLoreans. For those it sounds like good experiences.