hawk20

How insecure do you have to be to worry about what the valets think? Jeezz.

Wehrmacht_benz

i think he was saying that the valets park the older models farther away from the entrance so it could be a bother for some people. anyway i think i am going to retire from this discussion as i will be keeping my current cl regardless because it is a great machine. by the way here she is i have never posted pictures of it yet might as well do it here.

CLFREAK

After spending $100K plus on your car, would you like it if you had to wait 15 minutes standing in line like a slob while the valet gives the VIP teatment to the newest and most expensive cars? That's outright discrimination. Obviously you don't live in a town where any decent joint you frequent is valet only. You work your *** off to get where you're at. You want to be treated accordingly. Since it doesn't matter to you, then you don't value the prestige the car should give you without effort. One should drive a Yugo then.

Vegas must be the only place on the planet that places so much emphasis on materialistic gain and shallow public image that it is perceived that unless your ride is parked out in the top valet spot, you're just an average schmuck.

CLFREAK

Hey, man, you're only 20? Good Lord, I was driving a Pinto at your age. My argument was so overkill! You're the man driving a Benz at your age, let alone a CL!!!! Be happy. Be very happy. And go and get laid a ton as well while you're at it!

hawk20

Yes, well said CLFreak. I was riding a push-bike 12 miles each way to University at that age. Love your ride Blahzayblah.

You're right, of course CLFreak I would hate being kept waiting while others were unfairly given preference. Whoever runs the joint should stop it happening in my ideal world. Today's average schmuck is tommorrows CL owner. And even if he's not, all customers should be treated fairly and with respect. Unless they own a beemer of course!

Odd how things vary from place to place. I honestly believe you could turn up at the Savoy or Dorchester in London in a vintage Merc and you would be treated as well as any. In Vegas it seems not. To me that is sad.

Bouncer

No, I would be 1% smarter than the problem I have to solve and either tip the Valet going in, or, have the waiter, maître d', or concierge call and have my car brought around a few minutes before I planned on leaving. That's the difference between waiting on your car, and not.

I still don't care whether or not I impress someone making, well, whatever it is valets make. And Ironically, I think that if they do think about it much, they probably appreciate a car that the owner cares about, even if it is older, more than they do an obvious mid-life crises vehicle thats straight off the showroom floor. Your mileage may vary.

Regards,
-Bouncer-

CLFREAK

Here's one for yah: So I have to pre-pay the tip for my CL600 to be parked out in front, meanwhile a guy with a 360 spyder pulls up to the top spot ahead of me, doesn't even tip the valet - and the valet doesn't even flinch. I asked my buddy who was with me at the time, WTF is up with this??? He says - he drives a $250K car and yours is only half! Also - I think there's a HIDDEN AGENDA amongst the valets in that they're told by their managers to always give the ultra-VIP parking spot to the Ferraris, Bentleys, RRs, Lambos without hesitation. A Benz under $300K cannot compete, sorry! Now, if it's a slow night, and there's no "heavy metal" in the house, you can pretty much call the shots. Is that BS, er what! It's not about impressing as it is about prestige. Talk about discrimination. Oh, and the guy with an OLDER Bentley or RR worth about $75K tops, mind you, gets preferential treatment over me as well? It really pisses me off that I would have to pre-grease these guys at least $20 just to compete with the newer, the more exotic, the more expensive. I see other Mercs put at the end of the line as well with the exception of the Maybachs and SLRs. So, I guess in cities where a nice, but UNDER $300k Mercedes Benz is a common everday site, it isn't considered exotic or VIP enough any longer, and is cursed to be valeted with the rest of them.

The bottom line is that I shouldn't have to pre-grease for a valet, but in this town, it's an unwritten little law. Unfortunately, an under $300K Merc is viewed as a 2nd Tier exotic.

CLFREAK

It's funny how you can glean a whole lot about the culture and people in it by the way the valets respond to you and your ride.

hawk20

Indeed you can. It sounds just awful. It has always been said over here that we in the UK respect queues but in the US people don't. Sounds like that's part of the problem but aided and abetted by the staff/valets etc. What would happen if some of you complained to the manager and demanded fair treatment regardless of ride. If enough said it and threatened never to come back maybe the culture would change. But from a UK perspective it sounds like my view of hell on earth. Do you all have to wear pimpy diamond encrusted watches as well?

CLFREAK

Complaining to the management? Huh. They'll just send you back to the valets saying it's all up to them. Valets are to cars as bouncers in a fancy club are to the patrons waiting to get in. Valets could care less what you wear; it's all about having one of three things in order to get the true VIP treatment: 1) pay a bigger than average pre-paid tip, or 2) be the head of some major casino in town or celebrity, or 3) the car you drive up better make a bold statement and be exotic. In a club, the first two apply, the third would be the same but you'd substitute "you" instead of " the car". Now, if you can get your ride in plain view of the bouncers, you get two VIP schmoozings for the price of one and maybe a hot babe to boot!

This is getting more off-topic, but you know it's funny; the majority of women in this town have exactly the same requirements in order to date them. I wonder who corrupted who first, the valets or the women? Actually, it's neither. It's the way of today's culture that is based around one central issue: money. Vegas never used to be like that.

ruykava

this discussion is really funny and interesting, from the perspective of someone in asia :p

because of taxes usually only the older guys get to have fancy cars, so the real bigshots get their drivers to drop them off at the door, then wait on them when they're done with whatever thing it was. i've personally never heard of or experienced any valet service at all, although i'm sure they exist. i tend to park my car myself and walk =)

anyway on the new CL itself - i think it does look good, but it didn't blow me away. the front is nice, especially with the lights on (there is a certain resemblance to the B in that the hood is raised - but i think that's rather nice). the back is, to my eyes, slightly uninspired.

i DO like the profile a lot - i never realised how "squashed" the old CL looked (in comparison). longer rear windows really makes a world of difference. which is also why i think the LWB W221 looks better than the SWB. the interior looks gorgeous too.

still, the proof of the pudding occurs when you see and feel it with your own senses - i can hardly wait!

Nevada Jack

It is also funny to some of us in the US...

I don't know what the big thing about valet parking is...you pull up, get the ticket and do what you came to do. Who cares where they park it...just so it is in one piece when they bring it to you to drive home.

The only time my car was parked "up front" was in Atlantic City...it was a new '77 Cadillac Seville. The next morning when I went to get it I found out why it was parked "up front"...it was stolen during the night...so enough status seeking for me. Park it yourself and walk or take your chances with a valet and his driving skills (or lack thereof... Save the $20 pre tip for the machines...

Wehrmacht_benz

^^ Especially with all the recent reports of valets abusing cars and stealing from them. But I guess this is nothing new anyway.

hawk20

I want my car cleaned, please.

TA-9FF

I agree with you 100% Jack.

1.) Why buy a car if all you care about is what other people think.
2.) The car you buy should, ultimately, be for your personal enjoyment, not for everyone else's enjoyment.

All this debate about valet's is tiresome and silly.

CLFREAK

Well, I guess you don't mind waiting forever to get your car out of valet then. You live here and should know what I'm talking about if you frequent the big casinos.

CLFREAK

You obviously don't relish the act of others' admiration for something that represents your success and who you are, and in this town, you are what you drive! It's an added bonus (on top of the obvious personal enjoyment) to have the prestige and admiration from others. It makes it all worth the hassle. I eat it up. Just my way. If you really don't care and want to remain low-profile, then drive a Yugo!

CLFREAK

If you want these babes to wash your car as pictured, you better have it valeted where it can be a spectacle!

Nevada Jack

I detect in all of your posts this need and desire to be unique and have others admire what you drive. Nothing wrong with that but it has never been my way. I go about life more quietly and let my success (and failures) speak for me to those who really care.

I like my car to be admired and as you can tell from my posts I am not one to not post images whenever and wherever I can. But having a valet park my car "up front" is not one of my thrills for the day. I have pre-tipped to get into some of these places when there is a special event (and no spaces available) which works most of the time...but I have no idea where the car ends up being parked. Also if I am in a hurry...a five spot with the ticket to the guy in the booth will get me to the head of the line for pickup. But I am not what I drive and I am past the point of competing for babes to wash my car...

CLFREAK

I was meaning that for hawk20, actually.

I'm sick; sometimes I would just sit in front of where my car was valeted in the "top spot" and pretend it's not mine, admiring it like a stranger for lengths of time and get off on catching all the comments and looks of admiration from the crowds. It makes the work and vision I put into the car worth it. I just would totally get off on that. It's the only time I got to really admire the car. It's different when you're alone plus the lighting and the surreal reflections of various shades of neon in the casino valet seems to flatter the paint jobs of the cars more than my garage.

You have to realize that every car I've owned I have customized to the extreme and given it my unique look; some people love them, some abhor them - they're that intense. No car I've ever owned has been 100% stock/factory, although yours is a real beauty in its clean unadulterated lines. Each one of mine is my separate vision and creation that tens of thousands of dollars went into and countless hours, sometimes months, of custom work, not to mention a deep and almost obsessive passion to see it through to the finished look. So, since I rarely enter my cars in shows any longer, I do the "freebie" ones so to speak.

My car is my canvas, the valet and the casino backdrop is the art gallery. As with any artist's work, my car is huge component of expressing myself and I crave how it moves others in the same way an artist would with his painting or sculpture. I'll never grow too old for that.

To me, any car I own that I buy for the style and performance has to be a basic work of art before I put my look on it and carry it to the next level of individuality; then, it will hopefully turn out to be a masterpiece and cause a stir from the public. I could go and on about this, but I'll leave it at that. My cars are never just a mode of transportation. I have a $900 "beater" for that.

We're all enthusiasts here, otherwise we wouldn't be on this thing; my enthusiasm borders on fetishism!

Both the new S and the upcoming CL have tons of potential for my next creation. I think the new CL is going to have an awesome look once we see it on the streets - probably create the same affect as the CLS, although it'll be less common, unlike the CLS, which many can afford. Unfortunately, circumstances dictate that I must wait a while before I'll be back in the game. I don't mind taking a break from the last one, as it always takes a toll to create these things!

vraa

I love you CLFREAK.

Nevada Jack

I wouldn't go so far as Ricky...:-))) But extremely well stated and almost lyrical like your customized cars CL...will be anxious to see your next creation when you get inspired to take it on...

hawk20

Wow that is so beautiful, so poetic. At last I understand.