OK bit of a long one, but it did worry me at the time and since!
I've just come back from a week in Scotland with the wife, last Thursday we had driven to a coastal village with a car park just on the outskirts of the village to do a 5 hours coastal walk. As I entered the car park the first half was busy with SUV's, estates and a lot of dog walkers, so I went to the second half and parked next to a brand new Zafira, which was the only other car parked there.
We did the walk and as we came back into the car park the first half was almost empty, we walked towards where I had parked and I could see my car as the Zafira had gone. As we got closer I noticed that there was a VW Passat parked close on the other side of me, my first thoughts were "WTF has he parked so close and out of the way when the entire car park is almost empty?". As we got closer I noticed that there was a very dodgy looking bloke slumped down in the drivers seat! As soon as he saw us he looked a bit shocked, sat upright, picked up his mobile and called someone!!! Straight away I had a bad feeling, so I gave the rucksack to my wife and told her to stay where she was. I went to the back of the car and changed out of my walking boots and into my trainers, all the time watching this guy who in turn was watching me whilst he was still on the phone! I got in the car and drove over to where my wife was, I told her to throw the rucksack on the back seat and get in quick and not to bother taking her boots off.
As we were leaving the car park a BMW with two blokes inside turned into the car park and looked straight at us, again I felt uneasy and even my wife picked up on what was going on. Less than a mile up the road the BMW came blasting up behind me, I slowed down to give him the option to pass, he didn't, he just sat back about 50 yards from me! When I accelerated he did, when I slowed down he did, but always staying 50 yards behind! I waited until we got behind another car and just sat there waiting for the right time, as soon as I saw a sign saying bendy road for 2 mile I booted it past the car in front (last straight before the first bend) knowing that the BMW (if following me) didn't have time to catch up and pass before the first bend. I then continued to drive briskly through the bends and back to where we were staying. I didn't see the BMW again, but it got me that paranoid thinking about what had happened that I pulled over before going back to the cottage and checked under the wheel arches and under the car to make sure no tracking device had been stuck on!
With a new car no matter what you get you always have the worry of where you park in case it gets damaged etc. but with a high performance car you also have the added worry of it being stolen! I'm not so much worried about the car, as it's fully covered with GAP etc. and I can look after myself if something had kicked off. My main concern which I keep thinking about is my wife, I'd hate for her to get hurt for the sake of owning a fast car. To be honest the experience has put me off getting another sports car a bit, I'm thinking maybe going for something more run of the mill/practical and less attractive to the wrong sorts. I know this may have just been all innocent, but the sequence of events just didn't feel right and it keeps going around in my head....especially the question "What if we had got back 5 minutes later and all three blokes were there trying to take the car?!?!".
I've just come back from a week in Scotland with the wife, last Thursday we had driven to a coastal village with a car park just on the outskirts of the village to do a 5 hours coastal walk. As I entered the car park the first half was busy with SUV's, estates and a lot of dog walkers, so I went to the second half and parked next to a brand new Zafira, which was the only other car parked there.
We did the walk and as we came back into the car park the first half was almost empty, we walked towards where I had parked and I could see my car as the Zafira had gone. As we got closer I noticed that there was a VW Passat parked close on the other side of me, my first thoughts were "WTF has he parked so close and out of the way when the entire car park is almost empty?". As we got closer I noticed that there was a very dodgy looking bloke slumped down in the drivers seat! As soon as he saw us he looked a bit shocked, sat upright, picked up his mobile and called someone!!! Straight away I had a bad feeling, so I gave the rucksack to my wife and told her to stay where she was. I went to the back of the car and changed out of my walking boots and into my trainers, all the time watching this guy who in turn was watching me whilst he was still on the phone! I got in the car and drove over to where my wife was, I told her to throw the rucksack on the back seat and get in quick and not to bother taking her boots off.
As we were leaving the car park a BMW with two blokes inside turned into the car park and looked straight at us, again I felt uneasy and even my wife picked up on what was going on. Less than a mile up the road the BMW came blasting up behind me, I slowed down to give him the option to pass, he didn't, he just sat back about 50 yards from me! When I accelerated he did, when I slowed down he did, but always staying 50 yards behind! I waited until we got behind another car and just sat there waiting for the right time, as soon as I saw a sign saying bendy road for 2 mile I booted it past the car in front (last straight before the first bend) knowing that the BMW (if following me) didn't have time to catch up and pass before the first bend. I then continued to drive briskly through the bends and back to where we were staying. I didn't see the BMW again, but it got me that paranoid thinking about what had happened that I pulled over before going back to the cottage and checked under the wheel arches and under the car to make sure no tracking device had been stuck on!
With a new car no matter what you get you always have the worry of where you park in case it gets damaged etc. but with a high performance car you also have the added worry of it being stolen! I'm not so much worried about the car, as it's fully covered with GAP etc. and I can look after myself if something had kicked off. My main concern which I keep thinking about is my wife, I'd hate for her to get hurt for the sake of owning a fast car. To be honest the experience has put me off getting another sports car a bit, I'm thinking maybe going for something more run of the mill/practical and less attractive to the wrong sorts. I know this may have just been all innocent, but the sequence of events just didn't feel right and it keeps going around in my head....especially the question "What if we had got back 5 minutes later and all three blokes were there trying to take the car?!?!".
