I took my car in to the dealership for the infamous 3rd gear grind and had the transmission replaced. It took them about 2 days, but the service was great. I got a new clutch pedal too - I dont know why.

Anyways as I was heading to lunch, I opened the little coin box located next to the shifter and discovered that all my freakin loose change was missing. ALL of it. They/someone didnt take a few coins but all the coins. It was filled to the brim with change and I must have had at least $5.

No big deal to lose $5 but dont trust your cars to anyone.

 

thats annoying...

 

Which dealer serviced your car?

 

trust noone! I got an mp3 I burned stolen out of my head unit when my car was in the bodyshop for a week!

 

I dont want to mention the dealership's name because I dont think it was their fault and they dont deserve a bad rap after a small incident like this. In fact, they offered to reimburse me but I declined.

They blamed their "porter" service as a possible culprit because of a string of thefts after they hired a new crew.

 

I thought it was worse. Glad to know you only lost $5.

 

$%&(, that sucks!

How's the new transmission?

 

I always used to keep $100 secret cash hidden in my car incase of emergencies.

With the frequent service trips, I don't want to risk anything, so I just keep a $5 bill in the car.

 

Same happened to me in my durango. They took the change, a cheap pocket knife I left in the ashtray, and 2 cds.

When I told the service manager I could see the pain on his face. It had obviously happened before. But he pointed at the sign (not responsible for items left in .....) and said there was nothing he could do.

Because of his attitude I raped him on the customer satisfaction survey big time. I was planning on changing dealers for service anyway (this was not their first screw up with me).

 

My first job was in a car wash. On a busy saturday, you would be vacuming the cars so fast, you wouldn't even really look. There were many times I would stuff the vacume hose into the ashtray only to hear the customers change clanging down the hose. No one ever complained, but I wonder how many people thought we were stealing their money.

I doubt a mechanic would steal loose change, but the detail guys (that are probably getting minimum wage) have pretty sharp eyes for that kind of thing.

 

I never suspected the mechanics. I suspected the minimum waqge guys they hire to move the cars and do errands. Some of these guys looked and acted pretty dicey.

 

sometimes it gets you wondering besides taking loose change, what else could they be doing with your car.

 

Five bucks? That's just plain cheesy. If you are going to steal, at least do it with some style.

 

Beware of Valet Parking too. They did a series of articles on the local news here in L.A. last year about that. They had a hidden camera in the car and valet parked it at various places. They caught a bunch of valets on tape taking money and other items from the ash tray, glove box, etc. Must be a common thing.

Think of how many people are unwittingly handing out tips to a valet who was stealing from them earlier.

 

Don’t get me started on valets…. Went to a conference in Atlanta a couple of years ago and stayed at a downtown hotel. Atlanta is crazy for valets for some reason. There were a couple restaurants I couldn’t get in to because I wouldn’t let them valet my car. I had a 3rd floor room right across from the hotel garage.

I skipped one day of the conference just so I could stay in my room and watch the valets play. Very entertaining. Backwards races, peel out contests, and if you’ve got a minivan, it’s kind of like their playroom. They eat in there, sleep, smoke, read the paper. Who knows what goes on at night.