Only the valet knows for sure
By Amy C. Fleitas • Bankrate.com

Cameron was nauseated with anxiety. Leave his father's 1958 Ferrari GTS California in a Chicago parking garage?

Ferris hands the valet $5 and the car is gingerly driven away.

"See what a finski can do to a person's attitude?" says Ferris. "He's going to treat it like a beautiful woman."

Cameron, Ferris and Sloane spend the day dining in a fine restaurant, peering down from the Sears Tower, strolling through a museum, and end the day with a climactic rendition of "Danke Schoen" in a parade.

The Ferrari and the valets spent the day flying over the back streets and highways of Chicago while the "Star Wars" soundtrack played.

Obviously, the finski wasn't enough.

The famous scenario from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is hardly something to worry about when leaving your car with a valet. But it's enough to make anyone wonder.

What is the standard Ferrari tip? Or the tip an ordinary driver should leave to ensure a little extra care is taken with his vehicle?

We decided to poll valets in eight U.S. cities to get their take on who does and who doesn't tip. Does the car style reveal the tipping habit? From the results of our poll, it was apparent that the cliché of wealthy gentlemen passing off $20s to the help is hardly realistic.

"Sometimes the worst cars leave the best tips," says Sammy Nana, a valet in Dallas. He says his tips range from $1 to $20, but the average is about $3.

This sentiment was echoed by Pedro Gonzalez, a valet at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago.

"The nicer the car," says Gonzalez, "the cheaper the tip." He says the typical car at the Ritz is a Mercedes 320, but he sees everything in between -- from Ford Escorts to Lamborghinis.

And while the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills is frequented by celebrities and other wealthy clients, David, a Wilshire valet, says he commonly receives no tip -- although the average tip is $1 to $5.

This is not the case however in Miami, where Christina Larosa, a valet at the popular Miami hotel, The National, says that Ferraris driven by Latin businessmen are not uncommon, often leaving $50 tips. But Larosa adds that Nissans and Toyotas are more common and usually leave no tip at all.

If you are in Las Vegas, be prepared to drop big cash for your car. Las Vegas valet Charles Miles says the Mercedes SL500 is the car he sees most often, with an average tip of $10. While Mercedes are common in Las Vegas, Miles says if you're a high-roller, this year you're driving a Bentley. "Celebrities, producers, more important CEOs and presidents," says Miles. "A lot of them have Bentleys." Miles says those drivers usually leave him $20.

Seem a bit generous? "Hey, it's Vegas," says Miles.

From the eight cities surveyed, $2 to $3 seemed to be a reasonable tip.

No matter what car you drive and no matter what you tip, your car will probably be OK. Then again, you might want to think twice before stiffing your valet. In the words of Ferris: "If you had access to a car like this, would you take it back right away?" He smiles. "Neither would I."

Here's what the valets across the nation have to say about tipping in their city.

-- Posted: Oct. 1, 2002

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