A Northamptonshire teenager who was pulled out of her car last Saturday night must have thought it would take hours of police investigations and an expensive motor insurance claim before she'd stand any chance of getting back behind the wheel.
But in fact, the thief never made it more than five metres down the road.
The attack took place on the Banbury Road outside Bloxham when a youth appeared beside the parked Volkswagon Polo, opened the driver's-side door and demanded she get out.
When the 18-year-old owner refused, she was pulled out of her seat and dumped onto the verge. Her attacker jumped into the car and drove off, leaving the young woman stranded and badly shaken, but uninjured. Her young driver car insurance policy was about all she had left - and the details for that were probably still in the car.
But the would-be joyrider didn't get very far. Heading the advice of a nearby friend, he abandoned the Polo and ran off - but not before neatly reversing it back to the spot in front of his victim.
The lads, both in their teens, escaped into the grounds of nearby Bloxham school.
Mike Page, spokesperson for the young driver car insurance champions at Hoot, said "This girl was spared the inconvenience of a carjacking but she still experienced all the trauma.
"It's not often you see thieves developing a conscience mid -way through a robbery. Maybe the thought of extortionate car insurance quotes following a highjack conviction scared the youth into backing up."