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I drove my Z to a friend’s wedding yesterday which was held at a fancy restaurant. As I drove up, the parking was “valet only” but I was looking for the self parking – no luck. So I drive up to the valet, reluctantly (I don’t trust these guys as I’m very protective with my Z), and this white dude in his early 20’s greets me and says that my Z looks great (it was just detailed the day before). Anyways, as he’s opening the door for me he tells me to turn off the Z, so I do as I’m getting my camera, wedding gift, and jacket with me. As I’m walking towards the restaurant the valet gets in my Z, starts it up, gives it a few hard revs (which pissed me off) before he takes off to park it. So I go into the restaurant, find the wedding, to discover its being held outside. The sun was out and very sunny, so after a few minutes, I decided to go back to my Z and get my sunglasses out. When I get to the valet parking lot, I didn’t see my Z parked! I asked another valet guy what happened to my Z and he said he didn’t know. I was getting upset now, but then I saw the guy who originally valet my Z 10 minutes ago driving up (from the street) and coming back to the valet parking. Now I was pissed! When he pulled up, you could tell he looked like he was caught. He stops the Z right in front of me, and before I even said anything, he confessed. He said that he loves a stick shift 300ZX and that he just had to drive mine a couple times around the block. He said he was very sorry and that he didn’t hurt the Z and he begged me not tell his boss because he’s a starving college student working his way through school. I was so pissed that this guy took my Z for a joyride! I could smell burnt tire rubber so I know he was driving my Z hard. All I wanted was to get my sunglasses out and now I had to deal with this punk and the “crime” he committed with my Z. He begged me again not to tell his boss and then he slips me $50 bucks. I just didn’t want to deal with this guy, so I checked over my Z to make sure it wasn’t damaged and everything looked fine. Still very pissed that this valet took the liberty to joyride in my Z, but having a wedding to attend that just started, I told him that this was his lucky day and that I wouldn’t tell his boss, but that I’m parking my Z in the “reserved” parking and that I’m taking my ignition key with me (and sunglasses). He got very happy and thanked me a million times for being cool about it. I told him if I even see him getting close to my Z, I would bust him and tell his boss. He swore and promised he wouldn’t mess with my Z and thanked me again for being cool about it. Anyways, sharing this story with the forum helps me get my frustration out. My Z is fine (thank God he didn’t crash it), but I still feel pissed somewhat because I don’t know what he was doing or how hard he was driving my Z when he went on his few minutes joyride. Bottom line – be very careful and cautious when you hand the keys of your Z to a valet. The Z is just too tempting for valets, car washers, strangers, etc., for them to take it for a joyride.
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