Common sense or common courtesy?

Ok, I work for a local Volkswagen dealership in Hampton Roads and on Friday we had a customer bring his vehicle in for some maintenance. During a interior filter replacement my co-worker found a Walther sitting on the floor board(in its case) at which time they notified the manager to get the customer. The customer comes out (OCing another Walther) and retrieves the the handgun and proceeds to remove the shotgun from the back seat and place it all in the trunk. Now my question to you is. . . would you have left your weapons out in the open or have placed them in trunk prior to getting your work done?

VASR9 said:

my co-worker found a Walther sitting on the floor board(in its case) at which time they notified the manager to get the customer.

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Did it bite?:lol:

Probably wouldn't have left any in the open... especially if I weren't watching, but not for the sake of anybody that was working in my car.

Leaving them unattended like that is tantamount to saying "Steal Me!"

Extreme lack of good judgment IMO.

Yata hey

If he deliberately decided to leave them there, I'm thinking it would be bad judgement--too open to theft.

Of course, maybe it was the car-dealer loophole! Maybe he was planning to transfer stolen guns to his underworld contact in the service department. And the service writer assigned the work to the wrong guy! Call the ATF!! Whoever was supposed to work on the car probably is a direct pipeline to NYC!

I spent the last three years working as a mechanic, and I will tell you; NEVER leave anything of value or importance in your vehicle when you take it to be serviced. I was lucky enough to work with mostly honest guys, but even they tended to, at the every least, "check out" anything of interest that was found in a vehicle. However, most of the other guys had, at one time or another, know or worked with "that guy" who would swipe stuff from cars in the shop.

It definitely isn't an issue of courtesy. The life of a mechanic can become monotonous and boring rather quickly, and playing "what can I find in this car" is often a way to keep things interesting. Common sense should tell you that leaving a gun in your car is a really bad idea in this case (as it is in most cases).

During my time in the business, I came across only one actual firearm in a customer's car. It was a cased shotgun in the trunk. There was also one regular customer who would leave his ID, cuffs, empty holster, and two loaded mags in his car when he brought it in for maintenance. I believe his ID said he was a "Special Agent" with H.U.D.

Bottom line: Don't feed the trolls, and don't temp mechanics.

In the Army we never let an issue weapon further than arm's reach unless your buddy will sling it for you for a short while.

Its a habit I keep to this day. If its not on my hip, its locked up, but it (whatever "it" may be) is never left unsupervised, thats just irresponsible.

Andrew

Just a bad idea.

I have known to many mechanics to trust any. I don't even like leaving change in the ashtray much less a firearm EVEN locked in the trunk.

ElevenBravo said:

In the Army we never let an issue

weapon further than arm's reach unless your buddy will sling it for you for a short while.

Its a habit I keep to this day. If its not on my hip, its locked up, but it (whatever "it" may be) is never left unsupervised, thats just irresponsible.

Andrew

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That is how it was in the USAF as well.

When I take my car in for service I make damn sure I am doing nothing that would endanger the service techs.

Who would, in their right mind, leave a firearm they own out of their sight in a public place?

Grapeshot said:

Leaving them unattended like that is tantamount to saying "Steal Me!"

Extreme lack of good judgment IMO.

Yata hey

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+1

VASR9 said:

.. . . would you have left your weapons out in the open or have placed them in trunk prior to getting your work done?

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You can't assume that your mechanic is familiar with the manual of arms for whatever shotgun, pistol, revolver, etc you have in your vehicle. Also, I imagine there will be all kinds of traffic of workers crossing in front of the line of sight of the barrels of either firearm while working on the vehicle, I find it more than irresponsible to leave ANY firearm in a vehicle to be worked on unless you know the mechanic well, have notified them of the weapon and it's condition, and KNOW they are familiar with the operation of that particular weapon...basically I'd never do it. It the same as leaving a loaded firearm lying about for the general public to come across and start messing with.

just saying

Reading this thread makes me feel a bit better. Last year I had to leave my car for a two days to get work done and took my gun safe out with me before I left. It is locked/strapped down so it wouldn't have been easy to walk away with but some wire cutters could easily free it. If I am waiting for the vehicle I will leave it in but having to leave it overnight made me uneasy.

I did feel a bit stupid walking out of the garage holding a gun safe though. If I had known ahead of time I would have removed it before taking it in.

I guess it would depend. The guy who works on my truck has done so since he was hired by the guy who worked on my mother's and grandfather's vehicles when he retired when I was young. I'm sure its atypical to know your mechanic that well, or have that much history. I will leave firearms in the truck with him.

As for a dealership or cityfolk shop? uh, no.

I would not leave a weapon in the car. It is hard to find a mechanic you trust, if you have one and leave stuff in the car thats up to you. But leaving a weapon in the car is just not good common sense.

My wife was upset with me for leaving the wind deflector in her convertible when I took it to the dealership for some work. I told her I was wearing the glock and pissed when I dropped it off, I am pretty sure everyone remembered me and it was safe.

That being said I didn't know anyone else had actually carried a handgun to a VW dealership (no, I didn't buy one, but my wife did test drive an EOS). I don't think anyone else except my wife noticed the gun though.

You don't work at the dealership on Military in Chesapeake do you?

You have no control over who or what goes on in your vehicle when it is in for service. The trunk is not safe from people holding your keys in their hands. This rose above "stupid" to the level of "Damned Stupid". Theft or misuse if far too easy in this scenario. At the service center my handgun is on my person or has been left at home secured.

tcmech said:

You don't work at the dealership on Military in Chesapeake do you?

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Yes I do work at that one.

Well, it seems everyone kinda feels the same. As it stands now, my boss/service director is considering placing a no weapons sign outside our door. I did advise him that sign may drive away customers as well. We have had this happen a few times with different customers. No one panics, we just don't want anyone saying we stole their weapon.

VASR9 said:

Well, it seems everyone kinda feels the same. As it stands now, my boss/service director is considering placing a no weapons sign outside our door. I did advise him that sign may drive away customers as well. We have had this happen a few times with different customers. No one panics, we just don't want anyone saying we stole their weapon.

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A sign that says "We are not responsible for valuables left in vehicles" is broader and more appropriate.

This kind of makes me want to pick up a couple "Adult Toys" to leave under the seat just to see how the staff reacts!!! Would make for a good chuckle to help with the boredom of sitting in the waiting area for them to finish the work.

Toad said:

This kind of makes me want to pick up a couple "Adult Toys" to leave under the seat just to see how the staff reacts!!! Would make for a good chuckle to help with the boredom of sitting in the waiting area for them to finish the work.

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Better I think to be responsible and not precipitate unnecessary situations.

I would never consider playing games or joking about/with guns. We are here to educate people and demonstrate that we take the rights entrusted to us very seriously.

If you are bored, go for a walk, catch up on your phone calls, make a stranger into a friend, but do not use guns for your personal amusement.

Seriously.

Toad said:

This kind of makes me want to pick up a couple "Adult Toys" to leave under the seat just to see how the staff reacts!!! Would make for a good chuckle to help with the boredom of sitting in the waiting area for them to finish the work.

Grapeshot said:

Better I think to be responsible and not precipitate unnecessary situations.

I would never consider playing games or joking about/with guns. We are here to educate people and demonstrate that we take the rights entrusted to us very seriously.

If you are bored, go for a walk, catch up on your phone calls, make a stranger into a friend, but do not use guns for your personal amusement.

Seriously.

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I don't think he's thinking about the same kind of "adult toy" that you are thinking about...

:shocker:



TFred