Valet parking at airports is not as safe as it should be for your pride and joy
More Joy Riding than Parking
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Simple precaution:
When handing over your car take a quick note of your mileage and fuel status before handing over. Question any anomoly upon collection.
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Similar stories with pix featured in the Mail and other papers a few months ago (involving one particular car parking firm at Manchester Airport IIRC).
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Maybe there could be a pin number so you can lock the car into like a "limp home" mode or "Fiat Uno power" mode so you can give it to valet parkers and teenage sons and know that they won't be wheel-spinning it to death. A bit like the parental codes on Sky TV or something.
Am I full of great ideas or what?
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Maybe there could be a pin number so you can lock the car into like a "limp home" mode or "Fiat Uno power" mode so you can give it to valet parkers and teenage sons and know that they won't be wheel-spinning it to death.
The early '90's Corvette ZR-1 had a "valet key" on the dash for this reason. IIRC it reduced engine power to only... erm... 200bhp.
Yes I think a proper limp-home mode, say 20mph max speed would be more appropriate as you say..
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Simple precaution: When handing over your car take a quick note of your mileage and fuel status before handing over. Question any anomoly upon collection.
Not quite so easy - one car driven on 8 occasions well above 70MPH whne it should have been safely tucked up in bed for the week/fortnight the owner was away. It could be a write-off and the mileage . fuel guage would be irrelevant.
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No problem for me, Last time the Touran was in BCP at Gatwick, the battery went flat inside 24 hours and it was imobile.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I'll be interested to see this myself.
However I have to say that I use airport valet parking quite often and have never seen a hint of a problem. Purple Parking at Heathrow has been great as has Tudor Rose at Gatwick. The only problem I've seen is the cost.
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Not sure that this is really a surprise is it? After all it has been going on for decades. Can't you remember the parody f this - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
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Can't you remember the parody f this - Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Classic. "You guys have nothing to worry about. I'm a professional"
"A professional what?"
This isn't a new phenomenon in the UK either. I remember my uncle having 85 miles added to his 3 week old Sierra XR4i when he left it at Heathrow for a week. The company denied all responsibility, and he got nowhere.
I refuse to leave my car anywhere without locking it and taking the keys with me.
Cheers
DP
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Males Garage at Manchester Airport are (IMHO) absolutely superb.
MTC
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Males Garage at Manchester Airport are (IMHO) absolutely superb. MTC
Might be for you, as nobody would want to joyride in a 300C!!!
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Might be for you, as nobody would want to joyride in a 300C!!!
I could think of a lot more discrete cars to joyride !
BTW, my BiL had 120 miles put onto his BMW at it's last service and he found directions to a place (surprise, surprise) 58 miles away, in the rear footwell -- the dealership denied all knowledge and responsibility.
MTC
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That's the problem, if you record the mileages, and they add some miles onto it, what do you do? You can't do anything unless they decide to offer you comensation, and you'll never know how much abuse it got. If you take then to court how do you prove the original mileage, and how do you even prove the mileage when you picked it up?
With the exception of a few family members I would never trust anybody with the keys to my car! My car isn't expensive, and it's not fast, but it's still my pride and joy.
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You could prove the mileage by taking a picture of the odometer with your mobile when you drop it off, and sending it/posting it onto a Flikr type site, which will be date-stamped.
A bit of a faff, but technically do-able.
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Thing certainly come around again, It was on the news about a north west airport and it seemed like cars were being ridden around in while owners were on holiday, So whats new?
Well this was in the early 60`s and we were at school...... Taught us an early lesson, ever since, we only use the drive in long stay parking so we don`t have to hand over the keys.
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the answer is extremely simple........don't use these people....then they go bust.....
the one i used in Gatwick, well away from the airport, lets you park yourself and then you get bussed to the airport ...if you want to save a few quid and not pay the long term at the airport, what's wrong with that?
some hotels do deals, so you stay one night, leave the car for however long you need to, use their coach transfer bus and the car stays with them......that's another option
over and above the problem of your car being driven around at speed etc.... i wouldn't want some 'yoof' parking my car either, who's to say they won't dink it, bash the door when alighting etc,etc
no,no,no.... the keys stay with me
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valet parking is great when youre in a hire car in the states
in your own car here, no way no chance
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I have used BSFC Meet & Greet at Stansted on numerous occasions and found them very good. They use mature staff, not yoofs, who in my experience are polite and helpful. Mind you I do leave them with a P reg diesel Corsa! I have to say they do not look over the moon when I pull up. The last time they returned it to me, the ticket had been endorsed 'very dirty car' ! All too true I admit.
Papho
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Guy I worked with a couple of years ago used to work at one of the many Northants new car storage sites during his summer breaks from Uni. If you crashed you got sacked but anything else was mostly ignored. Apparently 'who can go the fastest in first' was a popular game with cars straight off the transporter.
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BTW, my BiL had 120 miles put onto his BMW at it's last service and he found directions to a place (surprise, surprise) 58 miles away, in the rear footwell -- the dealership denied all knowledge and responsibility. MTC
I would have sorted that. That is taking TP. (No, not Travis perkins!) Your BiL needs to get a grip.
MD
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On a similar theme I remember going on boating holidays for the week on the Norfolk Broads, you parked your car up in the car park round the back but had to leave the car keys at the boatyard, reason was in case of fire so the cars could be moved / access for fire engines etc.
Never had any issues though.
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