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When you take your car to a garage to be serviced or repaired do you assume that the contents of your car will be safe left where they are, or do you remove any of the contents beforehand just to be on the safe side? If the latter, what do you remove? I've never had any contents stolen so this is just a hypothetical question.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Mon 12 Jul 10 at 12:59
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I assume they're safe. I've never had anything go missing. But I wouldn't leave anything stupid in, say a camera, phone, pc etc.
JH
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I never leave anything valuable in the car (except sometimes my Sat Nav remains which is now available from £50).
I also need to hand them over my key! So, if they want, they can take the whole car :)
Of course, if I'm broken down while on a driving holiday, I may be forced to leave some more goods inside car.
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I don't leave anything of value in the car except when away from home, although it is at less risk in a garage (although one crashed my car) than in a car park or parked on the street.
An easily traceable employee would have to be desperate to risk their job for a bit of kit probably worth less than a weeks pay
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Had a slightly nervous moment a few weeks back. Dropped off the other halfs car for a new back box at a new local garage - its a real back street place, with propoer mechanics, but they will usually be the same or cheaper for exhausts and the kwik fit type stuff.
Anyway, dropped the car in and walked home - just as I was leaving to pick it up the Mrs asks me if I saw the £50 she left in the door pocket - yes one of her friends who owed her the moeny had given her the cash and she had left it in the car door......
I was relieved and quite pleased to see the cash still sat in the door when I picked it up - quite obviously on display. Women eh.
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If i didn't trust them with my car and it's contents i wouldn't be using the place.
Ironically the way things are now in the job market a customers goods are probably at their safest of recent years, and a light fingered one might well find himself in severe doodoo with his colleagues.
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Every guy working in a garage, seeing valuables or cash in a car, must assume its an honesty plant or a sting surely?
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I always clear any car I take in of all the bits and pieces and put them in a carboard box - I feel it's courtesy to keep them out of the way of the mechanic and especially the valeter.
It's also a good opportunity to clear all the rubbish out of the car - especially the girls cars!
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Mon 12 Jul 10 at 20:23
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Learned the hard way that whenever my car's going to be out of my care, take some photos (EDIT: takes less than a min to scoot round with the camera phone) of condition inside and out in whoever's carpark it is before i handover the keys.
Had an alloy wheel chipped by a main dealer and what a fight i had trying to get them to pay for it to be repaired.
Last edited by: CraigP on Mon 12 Jul 10 at 20:42
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>> If i didn't trust them with my car and it's contents i wouldn't be using
>> the place.
Same here!
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Never had anything worse than car returned with radio tuned to some off the wall music station.
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The main problem is not normally the staff other than that they will leave vehicles parked anywhere and everywhere whilst waiting to be worked on or after being attended to, with the keyss still in the ignition and the cars open to all and sundry.
Exactly the same thing applies to workmen in your home - almost invariably they will go in and out of the property without ensuring that the front door is open or closed as necessary whilst they are undertaking any jobs.
Last edited by: Stuartli on Mon 12 Jul 10 at 23:44
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Friend of mine noticed some of his sweet stash had been eaten after he had his car serviced. Next time it went in for servicing he swapped them for joke sweets - the type that give you wind, a blue mouth, etc.
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I keep my loose change in a wee leather pouch which lives in the door pocket of my car. It has been there, in various cars of course, for 30 odd years. It's my parking and fag fund. It has never been stolen by anyone working on my car and even if it was one day I imagine I'd not bother to report it. I'd just not go back to that garage again. So far though, it has not been a problem. Most people are honest. I mean, would you steal loose change ? I wouldn't, despite having known the true meaning of skint from time to time !
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I prefer not to leave temptation in the way of others...
Aprt from wrongly tuned radio stations, I have inherited 2 spanners, one oil filler cover left off, and one radiator cap lost.. (really).
And a torch missing..
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But.......hand on heart, did you return the two spanners:)
Pat
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I returned the metal oilcan and screwdriver I found under the bonnet after a service. I can't remember if they had topped up the SU carb or not though.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 13 Jul 10 at 09:16
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Ours are serviced by a family friend, so no worries there. Although I did return the remote control for the MOT brake test machine which he'd left on the passenger seat after the last MOT :-)
Cheers
DP
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I find money all the time when cleaning cars. Often under front seats but it never occurs to me to keep it. I tend to put any coins I find in a visable place on the centre console and on the rare occsion I find a note, that I trap in a slightly open ashtray clearly visable and also tell them its there and where I found it.
I found £20 in a Jag XK8 the other day, well under the front seat and when I told her, it was clear she had no idea it was there, so I could have had it for myself, I mean, the job was only £15 tidy up and I dont see her often anyway, but theres a principle at stake.
Plus, she knows many of my other customers and people like it when they get cast iron proof your honest. It gives you a gloss in the trust stakes - and thats worth more than £20.
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>>> Jag XK8 the other day..... only £15 tidy up
Stu there's something wrong with your charging structure!
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>>Stu there's something wrong with your charging structure!<<
Any cheaper and Im better off staying at home.
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Remind me what an SU carb is. I vaguely remember people talking about carbs when I were nobbut a lad!
;-)
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There's one on your mower ;-)
JH
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>> The main problem is not normally the staff other than that they will leave vehicles
>> parked anywhere and everywhere whilst waiting to be worked on or after being attended to,
>> with the keyss still in the ignition and the cars open to all and sundry.
I cannot understand why they can't lock car and give you the key back with service book and bill at the service reception. My local Vauxhall dealer leaves cars unlocked with keys in ignition and the service desk that overlooks the parking compound is often unmanned.
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>> >> The main problem is not normally the staff other than that they will leave
>> vehicles
>> >> parked anywhere and everywhere whilst waiting to be worked on or after being attended
>> to,
>> >> with the keyss still in the ignition and the cars open to all and
>> sundry.
I once dropped off a car for service (independent small place with customers cars parked directly outside and also in the street) and duly locked up the car and handed keys to mechanic - - - who asked me to put the keys back in the car saying " We've never lost a car yet - but we have often lost the keys!"
J
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I'd remove cash, cameras, etc. It's not a matter of just trusting the people working on the vehicle - there're others who might poke about.
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I tend not to leave any valuables in the car. I trust my service people, but there's always the possibility of the passing opportunist spotting an unlocked car.
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Do you trust service/repair employees? - Tooslow
