This has got to be karmically bad, but you still have to admire the guy. Mr. Shah, a personal trainer living in West London, had illegally parked his E39 5-Series due to a misinterpretation of the parking signs near his home. The reason for the infraction was no matter to tow truck operators, who started winching the BMW up on a flatbed in order to cart the offending vehicle off to the pound. Thinking fast, Shah hopped on the truck and snuck into his vehicle's back seat, pretending to have been sleeping in the car the whole time. Rather than pay the £250 fine, Shah refused to leave the car, and instead listened to music and ordered a sandwich from a local cafe. After a couple of hours, the standoff eventually stymied both the owner of the tow company and the police, ultimately ending in the release of the vehicle. Shah may have dodged a bullet this time, even though he's on the hook for a £60 parking ticket, but the fickle finger of fate may yet to deal his payback. [Source: Daily Mail, Photo by Scuddr | CC 2.0]
2010 Nissan Cube breaks cover in Japan
Officially Official: 2010 Ford Mustang!
2010 Ford Mustang revealed early on Ford's own website!
2009 Nissan 370Z rolls out early in So. Cal
VIDEO: 2009 Nissan 370Z revealed early in So. Cal.
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Mercedes Benz C63 AMG
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Hyundai Genesis
In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Chevrolet Traverse LT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Torrent @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:17PM
lmao. way to go.
Torrent @ Sep 24th 2008 7:13PM
ZOMG Brad. Stop posting this spam.
Michael @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:01PM
I kinda did this once. Columbus has a lot of predatory towing companies.
I was parked in a apartment complex that I did not have a pass to. I came out and the tow truck was backing up to my jeep. I ran over hopped in the drivers seat.
The tow truck drive came over and knocked on my window. I just shouted "I got all day" and reclined my seat.
He took off after about 20 minutes.
Rocketboy @ Sep 24th 2008 8:43AM
Umm, did nobody read this before they thumb'd up the above post:
"I was parked in a apartment complex that I did not have a pass to."
Ya, way to stick it to the people who actually are suppose to park there, err, I mean, the tow truck guy who was going to tow your illegally parked car.
Rocketboy @ Sep 24th 2008 4:12PM
Boo hoo, I got low ranked again. The PRIVATE parking lot where I work has a lot of people who are just running to a nearby store 'just for a few minutes'. So maybe I'm a bit touchy about people who illegally park on PRIVATE property. Then again, I think you'd be ticked if I parked on your front lawn as well. Humm, wait, as I was low ranked, I guess that everyone who thumbed-down me wouldn't mind one single bit.
Ward @ Sep 23rd 2008 3:34PM
This man is my hero.
DJFriar @ Sep 23rd 2008 4:06PM
he didn't avoid a parking ticket, he avoided a tow according to the article.
k.w.a @ Sep 23rd 2008 5:10PM
gotta love BMW drivers... true assholes! lol The thought of a guy in a BMW stubbornly sleeping in his car to avoid a towing while the honda and toyota drivers feverishly find an atm and a cab to take them to the impound lot is just hilarious to me!
Money aside, the next most irritating thing when getting your car towed is seeing the tow truck driver covered in grease and driving your car back to you! ugh!
E92Owner @ Sep 23rd 2008 6:01PM
Don't be made, it's obvious that BMW drivers are smarter than you lowly plebeians....no way I would own a honda or a toyota much less pretend to sleep in one, I'd let them tow it and do me a favor.
Big Rocket @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:09PM
@E92Owner: Please. A 3-series was just the entry-level model until the 1-series came along. A new 3-series is only about $40K, hardly that impressive nowadays. And a used one that's just a year old can be had for around $25K per Yahoo Autos. With all that, you can drop your act about having arrived in the world in your shiny BMW; otherwise, you are just reinforcing the stereotype about BMW drivers being jerks.
Torrent @ Sep 23rd 2008 8:19PM
Like you said. BMW drivers are true assholes. The guy above me, for example. That is probably the only stereotype that is true.
If it were my money, I'd buy a Mazda3 over a BMW. If it were someone else's money, I'd still take the Mazda3.
Spiel @ Sep 24th 2008 1:54PM
Love it! Love the comment about the 3 Series being the entry level up until the 1 Series came along :-) I've been saying that for so long.
I've owned two $35-$40K cars (new) back to back, and neither time did I even once give BMW a thought. Why? Because the stereotype is true, and I'd hate to be labeled as such. Not to mention, BMW makes good cars, but they're not the best, nor is that the only reason to buy a car.
London Traveler @ Sep 24th 2008 2:11PM
Hate to burst your bubble here, but in the U.K., the BMW is about as respectable a car as the Kia is here. They are a dime a dozen, any idiot can own one. They have a plethora of other car companies you've never even heard of that cost far more than the BMW (and are often better built).
They also have their own brand of asshole drivers there, they don't need to borrow any of ours.
Jon @ Sep 23rd 2008 7:40PM
Kudos to this guy. Anything to make a code-enforcing tow truck driver's life a little more miserable is okay by me.
Orlando @ Sep 23rd 2008 9:55PM
It sucks for the tow driver, if people are going to be assholes at least throw the tower SOME cash. Most guys work off commission and have to pay for fuel out of their own pocket. At least make it worth their while, I mean, you are getting out of a tow bill.
Rocketboy @ Sep 24th 2008 8:45AM
"due to a misinterpretation of the parking signs near his home"
So, he lives there, but he has no idea on how to read the signs in his own freakin neighborhood? I think it's a lot less to do with a "misinterpretation", and a lot more to do with a 'screw you' attitude.
Sonny @ Sep 24th 2008 2:29PM
Haha. Indian guys like Shah are true Heroes. I'm Indian, 26 yrs old and I drive a Mercedes GL-450 Truck and a Mercedes S500.. I'm not an a**hole.. lol.
cooper @ Sep 24th 2008 4:06PM
want to bet???
FallenCow @ Sep 24th 2008 7:14PM
I see what you did there ...Douchebag.
RON @ Sep 24th 2008 3:55PM
THE ARTICLE IS ABOUT A MAN SLEEPING IN HIS CAR. NOT ABOUT AUTOMOBILES.