# Car almost got stolen...... scary incident



## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

My missus and 2 year old daughter went for tea today to Pizza Hut, when they finished and returned to the car park she noticed 3 guys hanging round our car. This is what happened;

*3 scum bags:* 'is this your car'
*Wife:* 'yes, why?' 
*3 scum bags*: 'give us the keys' 
*Wife: '*no, I don't think so'
*3 scum bags:* one of them attempted to grab my wife's handbag with the keys in, there was a struggle and some other people in the car park shouted and ran over to help, this made them run off.

The Police was called by a member of the public and they arrived within a few minutes, but they had long gone by this point. There is various CCTV cameras in the car park so police will be in touch if they find anything, they seem to be taking it very seriously which makes a nice change.

I feel so bad that I wasn't there and that people think they can get away with this kinda shvt!

My wife is really shook up and she couldn't drive home, I had to get a taxi there and drive them home. I am having mixed feelings on the car now, should I change it for something that receives a bit less attention? It's a BMW M135i.

Iain


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## Stezz (Apr 29, 2011)

It seems to me the M series BMW's are a popular choice with scumbags.

I'd worry that they target you in your own home for the keys.

Glad your wife and daughter are ok though.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Well done those people that helped out. Sadly most people just shrink back and want nothing to do with serious issues involving others.

The incident must have really unsettled the wife though. That is shocking to face that situation. 

We can't all bow down to scum when faced by them.

It is such rare incident and I can't imagine the same scenario will ever be faced again.

To most people the M135i filters in. Most car with a prestige badge are always going to pull a negative attitude.


I think you'd be best to write this off as a really horrible situation and hope it never happens again,


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Stezz said:


> It seems to me the M series BMW's are a popular choice with scumbags.
> 
> I'd worry that they target you in your own home for the keys.
> 
> Glad your wife and daughter are ok though.


Thanks bud.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Kerr said:


> Well done those people that helped out. Sadly most people just shrink back and want nothing to do with serious issues involving others.
> 
> The incident must have really unsettled the wife though. That is shocking to face that situation.
> 
> ...


It's funny you mention the negative attitude... my wife says in this current car it takes forever to get out of junctions as people are less inclined to let her out.... It probably doesn't help that the car is white too.

I went back to the scene after it happened to see if I could see anyone, I even parked up in the same car park to see if they came back.... probably a bit foolish but I was fuming.


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## nick_mcuk (Jan 4, 2008)

Glad your Mrs and kids are ok could have turned out a whole lot worse.

As others have said all these top end cars are top of the list to be nicked....personally I would be getting rid of the M135i...if its happened once its likely to happen again and what if its different circumstances and the outcome is worse than just your wife being shook up (god forbid)....remember these are proper pond life and they don't give a ****.

I couldn't live with myself....or the other option is to keep it and instruct the Mrs if it ever happens again to just give the keys over.

Easiest option is to just flog the car.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

MatrixGuy said:


> It's funny you mention the negative attitude... my wife says in this current car it takes forever to get out of junctions as people are less inclined to let her out.... It probably doesn't help that the car is white too.
> 
> I went back to the scene after it happened to see if I could see anyone, I even parked up in the same car park to see if they came back.... probably a bit foolish but I was fuming.


I've covered the aggression towards driving a BMW before.

Reading lots of car forums I've lost count of comments against usually BMW or Audi drivers being selfish arrogant gits on the road blah blah blah.

The truth is actually the opposite. As soon as a lot of people see a nice BMW or Audi they start acting aggressively. They squeeze up space and intentionally don't let you out. They are the real idiots on the road.

They behave the exact way as their small minded perception of other drivers, yet don't actually see that they are the real issue.


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## bigup (Jun 4, 2009)

Very sorry to hear about this. 

Your wife is very brave  hats off to her for standing her ground. 

Some pepper spray would of done nicely here! Damn scumbags 

Which Pizza Hut was this?


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Scary stuff, glad they are Ok though, not sure I would want my wife driving it especially with my little one on board!


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

What a horrible experience! Glad that your family was ok and that other people tried to help!

Something similar happened to my brother about 10 years ago. He went out one night, pulled over to withdraw some cash from the atm, and basically got mugged for his car keys. They made off with it!

My brother went around the area everyday for about a week with his friend driving him around, trying to find the car and luckily they saw it drive pass. They waited until they parked up and called the police.

Luckily we got the car back but the wing mirror was smashed. We was never updated from the police about the people they arrested! 

It's a sad state of affairs if you feel that you have to get rid of things just because of the fear that it might be stolen or vandalised.


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## danwel (Feb 18, 2007)

Firstly glad your family is ok as that is the main thing in incidents like these.

Unfortunatley there are certain people out there that have no respect and are general scumbags and they seem to have found your family in this case and it is a shame that incidents like these can and will have an effect on what is your ownership of a nice car.

We all work hard and like nice things and toys so it would be a shame for you to have to get rid of what you have worked hard for but i can see a very good reason to get rid of it and liek you said is that the car is desireable among these idiots and possibly as much as you don't want to get rid of it, it may well be for the best and get something a bit more "average Joe"


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

You will never really know if it will happen again, it could have been wrong place wrong time. I'd stick a 116i badge on the back  

It might be they just wanted any car, so if the wife was driving a zafira they may have done the same. Glad the wife is ok, it must have knocked her confidence a bit.

Oh and as for bmw's I'd let a m135i out but not a 320d, poxy photocopier salesmen can wait


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Like the other others have said, I am glad your wife wife and daughter are fine and well and no harm has come to them. It's easy to say that this incident should not put you off ownership of the car but these scumbags would win all the time if we got rid of these cars because of them. Keep the car fella and hope this is a one off incident. Hindsight is always a wonderfull thing and if only your wife had not approached them and instead called the Police when she saw the three blokes around the car or called security. Mabe a good idea to have a tracker fitted to your car also.


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

Glad everyone is alright - very scary for them. It looks like they knew what the car was and had specifically targeted it - why else would they have hung around where they might have been reported to security/Police? Some are brazen but I can't help thinking this was a targeted incident and it's only the passers by who saved it from getting pretty ugly.

Not trying to scare you, just looking at events as you stated them.:thumb:


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## Caledoniandream (Oct 9, 2009)

Instruct your wife next time just to hand the keys over, a car is easily replaced, your wife and kids must be a lot more value than a car can ever be worth!

She was very lucky there, as there have been people run over with their own car, trying to protect it, but the scum just don't step back for anything. 
They have nothing to loose, most times the jails here are hotels compared to the countries where they come from, or they have spend already more indoors than you will ever have hot meals (and that are only the 19 year olds) 

Yes BMW's, Audi's have a negative image, there is a reason for this:
If you look around these cars are very often given to sales people, middle management etc., people who have to be aggressive in their work, this quite often reflects in their driving style. 
Many are lease or company cars, what for many people is another reason not to care one little bit. 

If you are all honest, what do you see the most tailgating, BMW's, Audi's, Mondeo's, and at one point the big Volvo's, or................. Micra's, Hyundai's, Astra's, Fiesta's etc. 
In all the years on the road (34 years) you know very well which make of car will pull the last second in front of you out of a side road!


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## Dift (May 22, 2011)

Must have been frightening with the two year old witnessing it also.

Life is too short for me, personally the fall out from something similar or potentially worse happening again would move me to change the car.
Yes its sad that others will essentially prohibit you from having the things you worked hard for in life, but I couldn't live with anything ever happening to my family.

Peace of mind over everything for me.


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Glad the family is ok.

If you're going to keep the car there are various additions to the current alarm system that you can have coded on e.g. a panic alarm. It's a cheap mod to have done as well.


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## SarahAnn (Apr 6, 2011)

What a scary incident for your wife. Glad they weren't hurt. I must say, when I'm going back to my car in car parks, I do have a look around to make sure no-one is going to grab my keys and once I'm in the car, I lock it before I start the car before the auto locking kicks in itself. Husband thinks I'm over the top with it. 

Its a sad state of affairs when we have to consider getting rid of our cars due to scumbags. It all probably happened quite quickly and I think it's afterwards when we start to think what might have happened. 

I would say it's up to her if she wants to change it or keep it. At least if it were to happen again, you both made the choice together to keep it.

PS to the person saying all audi drivers are not the same as 'micra' drivers, since having my TT, I have never come across so many ar5eholes trying to race me or overtake me just because of the car (one the other day tried to overtake me while I slowed down to drive over a railway crossing - he was at the side of me driving over the railway lines!) so it's not always audi drivers who are prats


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## Markg2013 (Jan 24, 2013)

Stories like this is why I carry a 16x1" spring in the car as legally it not classed as a weapon but bloody hurts if you get hit round the legs with it. And before anyone starts going on I've never used it and hope to God I will never have to but when family come in to it you have to protect them, even if it mean you might get in to trouble. 
The main problem is that the laws in this country leaves you powerless in an attack if you can't defend yourself by means of body self defence and when low life scum target women because of this what are you ment to do?


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## wylie coyote (Jul 15, 2007)

Thinking about it, best advice for your wife if you decide to keep the car, just walk on by and say "not my car mate".....
Pretty sure that's what I'd have done - pretend it wasn't mine but I suppose not as easy to do if the kids pipe up..


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

This is why I put a tracker in my Mrs new Merc. If anything like that happened we'd just hand over the keys. It's insured and with a tracker they stand a good chance of getting caught.

The thing to remember about Tracker is the prices on their website are the maximum you'd pay. They've no trouble dropping prices as it's the subscription where they make their money. We got Tracker Locate for £120 supplied and fitted from them. The subs are about £150 a year after that.



Caledoniandream said:


> ... but the scum just don't step back for anything.
> they have nothing to loose, most times the jails here are hotels compared to the countries where they come from...


Strange comment to make. I'd didn't make any assumptions about whether these guys were local or not. If anything I pictured local scum in my head. You are partly right though - I had the displeasure of knowing some people through an old girlfriend who found jail time to be easier than trying to make an honest living or even living outside jail on benefits.


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

Markg2013 said:


> Stories like this is why I carry a 16x1" spring in the car as legally it not classed as a weapon but bloody hurts if you get hit round the legs with it. And before anyone starts going on I've never used it and hope to God I will never have to but when family come in to it you have to protect them, even if it mean you might get in to trouble.
> The main problem is that the laws in this country leaves you powerless in an attack if you can't defend yourself by means of body self defence and when low life scum target women because of this what are you ment to do?


Issue I have with weapons for "self defence" is that it's all to easy for it to become the weapon which puts you in hospital, or worse. 

In this case though, it would've been pretty useless being in the car anyway.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Thank you for the comments everyone. My wife is still a bit shaken up today but am sure it will take time to feel normal again. It was good job members of the public were there to help. I told her that in the situation you should always hand the keys over if things turn ugly.


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## alan hanson (May 21, 2008)

As said id sit down with your wife and see how shee feels about the car and also if it ever happens again, dont approach the car, walk past or deny its hers as peeps have said. JUst glad your family is ok and your little one is none the wiser.

agree insurance is what we have to have so its there to be used i hope had they become agressive etc she would have justhanded the keys over.

end of the day this would be far less likely to happen if penalties were a lot lot harsher plus we didnt let so many peeps from poor countries in. (thats my personal opionion i know its not just them etc..... so please dont reply with digs at my post)


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## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

alan hanson said:


> As said id sit down with your wife and see how shee feels about the car and also if it ever happens again, dont approach the car, walk past or deny its hers as peeps have said. JUst glad your family is ok and your little one is none the wiser.
> 
> agree insurance is what we have to have so its there to be used i hope had they become agressive etc she would have justhanded the keys over.
> 
> end of the day this would be far less likely to happen if penalties were a lot lot harsher plus we didnt let so many peeps from poor countries in. (thats my personal opionion i know its not just them etc..... so please dont reply with digs at my post)


Don't worry fella, no digs from me and I know what you mean.


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## Nico1970 (May 15, 2014)

Sorry to hear of the terrible experience your family and you have had.

Best wishes,


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

Its a joke when you cant own nice things because some scum think the world owes them a living . IM glad your wife and daughter were not physically harmed and i hope the get over the mental trauma of it quickly . Glad to see people stepped in


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## kermnitz (Aug 1, 2008)

Sorry to hear your wife & kid put in that situation. Don't give in to these scum. Why should you change your car because of scum walking the land ! I always tell the wife & myself to park in lite & public places,always keep my eyes open for undesirables. Chin up feeck them


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Still nothing from the police, not sure how long it takes to check CCTV?!


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## Steve (Mar 18, 2014)

MatrixGuy said:


> Still nothing from the police, not sure how long it takes to check CCTV?!


When they can be bothered , coffee to drink first


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## stevept (Nov 22, 2009)

What a scary situation to be in, I would of just given them the keys you never know how desperate they are or what they are carrying.
Hope your wife and kids are ok.
Keep every make of car has it's idiots proberly BMW drivers has the majority, most don't indicate.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Having owned a Civic Type R, and a Clio Cup in the past (at the same time), I always tried to make the sure the car was really empty whenever we were out and about, certainly with NO personally identifiable paperwork in it such as name/address etc
Not even in the glovebox.

I hope your mrs and the little one are both ok MatrixGuy.
And you mate! You'll all be worried for a while I expect.

Its easy for people to say hand the keys over its just a car, but you've worked hard for that.
But mrs MatrixGuy and MatrixGuy jr need to be safe.

Wonder how much you can buy a Taser for? 
That'll be a surprise.


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

How about getting a sticker made up to put on the windows to say there's a tracker fitted? It may just deter some potential car thieves.


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## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

kh904 said:


> How about getting a sticker made up to put on the windows to say there's a tracker fitted? It may just deter some potential car thieves.


If you have a tracker fitted you're advised not to let anyone know and certainly not to put stickers on it. Best for them to not know they're being tracked.

For a couple of hundred quid to get cheaper insurance and have the peace of mind that your car will be tracked I think it's well worth it.

If there's a sneak theft and someone steels your car without violence or forced entry you're probably not going to be covered by your insurer. i.e. if you leave your front door or a window unlocked and they get in you're screwed. Tracker FTW.


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## ferted (May 7, 2011)

Markg2013 said:


> ...this is why I carry a 16x1" spring in the car as legally it not classed as a weapon


Maybe not classed as a weapon,but the moment you use it to threaten or intimidate someone then it becomes a weapon


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## kh904 (Dec 18, 2006)

Nanoman said:


> If you have a tracker fitted you're advised not to let anyone know and certainly not to put stickers on it. Best for them to not know they're being tracked.
> 
> For a couple of hundred quid to get cheaper insurance and have the peace of mind that your car will be tracked I think it's well worth it.
> 
> If there's a sneak theft and someone steels your car without violence or forced entry you're probably not going to be covered by your insurer. i.e. if you leave your front door or a window unlocked and they get in you're screwed. Tracker FTW.


I meant that if you don't actually have a tracker installed, but just have a sticker say that you have, like you get some people who have dummy cctv or alarms and have warning signs just to make any potential scrum think twice.


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Really so sorry to hear about this terrible event. They truly are scum and hope they do get caught.

I am sure there are Police officers on this forum, and I do hope there are some good ones out there, but my personal experience of the police is a very poor one. Without doubt you will have to keep pushing and pestering them to do anything.

The main thing by far is that your family is safe and well :thumb:

Do update if this develops in terms of catching these scumbags. I would like nothing more than to have the police prove me wrong 

Ben


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## davo3587 (May 9, 2012)

Why can't we have a decoy car the same, so give them the keys then have a trigger system that blows the car up on your command, but make sure the incident is recorded so the families can see how badly they suffered. 

On a lighter note, I'm glad your wife and daughter are ok. 

This car would have gone straight to a garage and been stripped for parts before the night was over.


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

Blimey that is scary and I'd say well done to your missus for saying no. Many people would have just handed it over, made no fuss and they'd have got away with it.

These types of things are pretty rare but very scary no doubt. Glad her and the kids are all ok. :thumb:



MatrixGuy said:


> My wife is really shook up and she couldn't drive home, I had to get a taxi there and drive them home. I am having mixed feelings on the car now, should I change it for something that receives a bit less attention? It's a BMW M135i.


As for this point, definitely not. You keep your car, you enjoy it and don't let anyone else spoil that for you.

Just equip your other half with a can of Mace! :lol:


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Well police came round this afternoon.... they have the scumbags on CCTV but that's about it. They believe they are not local so probably will never catch them, great!


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

They will move on and try it elsewhere . Not suprising there was 3 of them even if it was you an you were Arnie sized what chance have you got really against 3 , why they group up knowing you wont fight back if it was 1 on 1 they know you'd fight back . I wonder if they knew it was your wife driving ?


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## litcan91 (Mar 16, 2013)

MatrixGuy said:


> Well police came round this afternoon.... they have the scumbags on CCTV but that's about it. They believe they are not local so probably will never catch them, great!


That's the norm unfortunately, even if they'd been caught there & then, you'd most probably see them walking free due unclear CCTV where faces are unidentifiable.

Sorry to hear that pal... We need to build a stronger community, where if someone is in trouble - Everyone chips in to help, surely they will be outnumbered in most cases & give up.


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## ivor (Sep 24, 2008)

shame these idiots exist and knowing they will only get a community order if court does nothing to deter them 

Have you thought about having it de badged making it harder for the average braincell to spot


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## Bulkhead (Oct 17, 2007)

ivor said:


> shame these idiots exist and knowing they will only get a community order if court does nothing to deter them
> 
> Have you thought about having it de badged making it harder for the average braincell to spot


Jeez, it's a sad day when you have to camouflage nice things so you are not targeted by scum. I'd love to hear a reasonable argument as to why these people should not be locked up for many years. Prison overcrowding - tough. Pack em in and let them suffer. So long as decent people can go about their business without fear, surely that's all that matters.


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## ivor (Sep 24, 2008)

yes it is a sad day but unfortunately it's become too much of a kid gloves society in this country, my idea of punishment involves a quarry some rocks and lots of carrying,sorry for going off topic OP


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## andy monty (Dec 29, 2007)

years ago there were hidden cameras to photo the scrotes in stolen cars but this relied on the car been recovered and the film extracted

you'd think with the tech now....

a hd camera in the dash, linked with GSM / mobile internet to upload pics onto a server,

tracker,

remote immobilizer and smoke cloak / cs gas injector in the cabin......

and a spring loaded spike under the drivers seat :driver: ---> :doublesho

wonder how long it will take this invention to get across the Atlantic


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## alan hanson (May 21, 2008)

most smart phones do this if reported stolen the take a picture when its being used without them knowing this gets sent to you and the location


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