Abandoned Supercars in Dubai: Beautiful Machines Sold for Car Parts

A £1 million limited edition Ferrari, sold and then abandoned. An exclusive Enzo, one of only 399 made in the world, sold and then abandoned. Top of the range Porches, Land Rovers and Mercedes, all sold and then all abandoned, but why?

Dubai; known for its rich cultural heritage, thriving business community and decadent lifestyles of the super-rich, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Emiratis also have a strong love for flash cars.

Residents and foreigners have been taking out loans to cover costs of such luxurious supercars in order to live up to the luxurious lifestyles they want to lead. However, Dubai has recently been through a ‘boom and bust’ period which has left many successful businessmen with personal debts stacking up. But without any protection against rising debts due to strict Islamic laws, people are panicking when they can no longer meet payments as they know that in Dubai, the harsh consequence is being arrested and imprisoned.

As soon as the owners of these supercars are chased for defaulting on payments, the cars mysteriously turn up, found abandoned and covered in dust on street sides, car parks and most commonly airports. Owners are discarding them just before they flee the country, as they see this as the only option left to escape imprisonment from UAE officers.

As Dubai is regarded as one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world, with over 200 nationalities living together in one place, the foreign ‘criminals’ who are defaulting on car payments appear to simply return home when things get out of hand. This common behaviour has a detrimental effect on Dubai’s economy as it’s being used for its luxurious offerings and then dumped, just like the cars, when the going gets tough.

So, what is the fate of all these beautifully, sought after cars that people would clearly give anything to get their hands on? Well unfortunately most of the time it is police impoundment or the cars are scrubbed up and polished ready to be re-auctioned again. The cars are also commonly stripped for their car parts – as they are understandably high in demand due to their top of the range parts- and sold on to new owners and car dealers. So on a positive note, out of this calamity of irresponsible car ownership, Dubai now has a thriving market for used car parts.

But for those cars being auctioned off again, 6 months after the abandonment as Dubai laws state, what’s to say the same won’t happen again and the whole thing will become a viscous cycle? Well, people who want to bid in the auction will now have to leave a deposit of Dhs50, 000 (equivalent to £8,500) prior to the sale and even those who want to watch the auction will have to pay an entry fee of Dhs110 (£20).

So, there are now measures, albeit small ones, in place to help avoid these high-end, sports supercars from being left to collect dust in the desert that is Dubai. But if there are any morals to be learnt from this, then it is to live within your means and be sensible about the choices you make, but by all means aspire to those indulgent items like supercars and you never know, one day you might just be able to afford one!

 

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