Valet damage ?

[ElectricTundra]

When I washed my car last night I noticed some damage on my left rear rim. This wasn't there on Tue. The only driving we've done since was to a restaurant in a hotel that requires valet parking and to take our son & DIL to the airport. I don't remember any incident while driving that would have done it.

What might have caused this? Seems like it was hard rubber of some sort to have gotten in there like that.

I've always shied away from using valet's. The only other known incident I've had was a few years ago there was something on my steering wheel after valet had returned it. A couple of days later I noticed something on the headliner. We finally tracked it down to a valet driver using oil in his hair and had gotten it on his hands before driving my car. The hotel denied it until someone else complained and then to their credit called me to let me know what had happened. The paranoid side of me sometimes wonders what other damage has been done that I've not noticed at the time.

 

[MsElectric]

We absolutely go out of our way to ensure a valet does not touch our cars.

When it is unavoidable when they come with the car, I make it a point to go around the car and look over closely before accepting my keys back. This after a valet had damaged one of our cars a while back and tried to deny responsibility.

Sorry to hear about your experience but when you get your car back from a valet, take a minute to always go around the car and check for damage.

 

[msnow]

We absolutely go out of our way to ensure a valet does not touch our cars.

When it is unavoidable when they come with the car, I make it a point to go around the car and look over closely before accepting my keys back. This after a valet had damaged one of our cars a while back and tried to deny responsibility.

Sorry to hear about your experience but when you get your car back from a valet, take a minute to always go around the car and check for damage.

Agree but it's very difficult to see rim rash, slight dings and scratches in the dark. Not only that but i hate having to worry about it. Unfortunately sometimes there is no choice but to take the risk.

 

[MsElectric]

You know something that would really alleviate this concern altogether?

A "Smart Valet" mode. Basically when the car is in Valet Mode if any obstacles gets more than a couple of inches from the car, when you get it the car the car can remind you to look over that area. This way you can focus your attention on any areas that might need closer attention. With the ultrasonic sensors constantly monitoring the car why not have them alert you if a valet might have damaged the car because after all the ultrasonics and the car would know!

You are right though about rim rash, dings and wheel damage. Those would be very hard to detect but at the least I want to make sure there is no obvious damage when we pick the car.

 

[ElectricTundra]

A "Smart Valet" mode. Basically when the car is in Valet Mode if any obstacles gets more than a couple of inches from the car, when you get it the car the car can remind you to look over that area. This way you can focus your attention on any areas that might need closer attention.

Not a bad idea. Unfortunately the sensors as they are don't do a very good job of seeing things unless they are quite large.

More cameras and recording could certainly help too. Besides basic front (perhaps with a standard and wide angle mode), side rear-view cameras would pick up a lot of potential problems including whatever damaged my rims (and when exactly the damage occurred).

 

[sorka]

Three words: Dual channel BlackVue.

 

[scottm]

Looks like a wheel rash caused by another car's tires rolling over yours.

Lucky the damage was limited to wheel, and didn't hit your body in the area.

 

[sorka]

When I washed my car last night I noticed some damage on my left rear rim. This wasn't there on Tue. The only driving we've done since was to a restaurant in a hotel that requires valet parking and to take our son & DIL to the airport. I don't remember any incident while driving that would have done it.

What might have caused this? Seems like it was hard rubber of some sort to have gotten in there like that.

I've always shied away from using valet's. The only other known incident I've had was a few years ago there was something on my steering wheel after valet had returned it. A couple of days later I noticed something on the headliner. We finally tracked it down to a valet driver using oil in his hair and had gotten it on his hands before driving my car. The hotel denied it until someone else complained and then to their credit called me to let me know what had happened. The paranoid side of me sometimes wonders what other damage has been done that I've not noticed at the time.

View attachment 112016

I agree, there's no way they could have curbed the inside like that. Totally another tire driving over it.

Have you take a liquid rubbing compound to it yet? It might all come out.

 

[MsElectric]

Three words: Dual channel BlackVue.

Wouldn't you need 4 cameras to also know what is going on with the sides of the car? :wink:

 

[sorka]

Wouldn't you need 4 cameras to also know what is going on with the sides of the car? :wink:

Not if you could hear scraping sound from the audio. Also the front and rear cameras are 120 degrees, so unless someone sneaks up from the side and then leaves the same way, you're probably going to have them on camera just like this guy who key scratched this car:

 

[Dbitter1]

Ferris Buller's day off ruined valet parking for me forever. I don't care if it was a beat up Yugo with 400K miles (lol, like that could happen) I don't think I could ever voluntarily hand the keys over.

My last house (in urban Chicago) had free parking on my street, and the local valets would park there... they'd hit stuff parallel parking, get parking tickets and not tell the owners, and many more such things. Not enough road to get airborne, but if I were a 24 yr old and was handed a P90DL... I'd probably try.

Sorry for your marks... at least they weren't to the body proper.

 

[StreetGuardian]

When I washed my car last night I noticed some damage on my left rear rim. This wasn't there on Tue. The only driving we've done since was to a restaurant in a hotel that requires valet parking and to take our son & DIL to the airport. I don't remember any incident while driving that would have done it.

What might have caused this? Seems like it was hard rubber of some sort to have gotten in there like that.

I've always shied away from using valet's. The only other known incident I've had was a few years ago there was something on my steering wheel after valet had returned it. A couple of days later I noticed something on the headliner. We finally tracked it down to a valet driver using oil in his hair and had gotten it on his hands before driving my car. The hotel denied it until someone else complained and then to their credit called me to let me know what had happened. The paranoid side of me sometimes wonders what other damage has been done that I've not noticed at the time.

View attachment 112016

You need a dashcam, hardwired with parking mode. I can't imagine driving let alone parking in public without one these days.

 

[ElectricTundra]

Agree but it's very difficult to see rim rash, slight dings and scratches in the dark. Not only that but i hate having to worry about it. Unfortunately sometimes there is no choice but to take the risk.

I've not typically been too over the top about avoiding valet's though I often would when possible. It seems I've heard increasing numbers of stories from people over the past year or two of minor damage like that above though so have become increasingly wary.

I've also become increasingly vocal to hotels and restaurants that I'd much prefer convenient self parking (particularly for charging) due to the risk of damage by valets and on more than a few occasions recently have told them that we've not stayed or eaten there due to valet requirements. Some have gotten the message and now provide better options including at least one hotel who said that they were looking at either moving their charging stations to some place convenient for self parking or adding additional stations there due to complaints from Tesla owners.

 

[garygid]

The best way to avoid valet damage, inside and out, is just say "No thanks, please just show me where to park.".
Or, if necessary, ask to talk to the manager, and tell them politely why they are losing your business.

 

[DCGOO]

Just ask if all their employees have the EV endorsement on their license.

 

[msnow]

Just ask if all their employees have the EV endorsement on their license.

A what?

 

[efusco]

I don't valet often, but that's more a factor of lack of such services where I live. When I do, I put the car in valet mode, make sure to go through the driving procedure with the valet, and hand over the fob.
I've had "damage" one time...an ink pen mark on the leather driver's seat. I was able to clean it up myself with the help of some products I was pointed to on this forum, but the hotel had insurance for the valet and they even covered the cost of that.

So, are there times where I would not trust a valet...absolutely, but those are very rare. It's a freaking car..the valet service has insurance (usually), I have insurance (always), and it's just not worth being that OCD and uptight about such things..esp. with the valet mode option which limits how much abuse they can do.

I do, also, have my dashcam, so if any questions arise as to what happened, I should have evidence.

 

[ElectricTundra]

So, are there times where I would not trust a valet...absolutely, but those are very rare. It's a freaking car..the valet service has insurance (usually), I have insurance (always), and it's just not worth being that OCD and uptight about such things..esp. with the valet mode option which limits how much abuse they can do.

I'd normally agree with you but there are two issues you didn't mention. First is that unless you catch it immediately you're likely to have a bit of a battle on your hands to get the valet service (or hotel, restaurant, etc.) to cover it (though your camera's would likely help and are now on my list of things to do). For most damage that would be done by a valet I'd likely not go to my insurance (unless a rear quarter or something) so it'd be an out-of-pocket expense.

Second, aside from the expense can be wasted time and PITA spent doing the work myself, arranging for and driving somewhere else to have it done, or other stuff needing to be dealt with. The folks that got hair gel on my steering wheel and headliner did cover the costs but it still involved a bit of time for me taking to the place that cleaned it, driving a loaner for a day, going back to pick it up, and then after all of that it wasn't like it was before. The shop said that to put it back to prior condition would require a new steering wheel and new headliner.

Now I've got a damaged rim and a restaurant that refuses to pay since I didn't point it out immediately when I picked the car up. I may be able to get much of it off but the areas that are scratched and not just surface will require a bit more so not just out of my pocket cost but time to find someone to do the work, time to deliver it, etc. All in all much greater PITA than working with places to let me self park.