Increase of Abandoned Cars in Dubai

Abandoned Cars in Dubai

A Honda NSX, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Nissan Skylines, BMW, Audi, Volvo, Bentleys and even a limited edition Ferrari Enzo.  Are some of the several thousand ultimate luxury super-cars left to rot in car parks and airports across the UAE every year.Many large cities have to tackle problems like crime, housing issues and unemployment, but Dubai’s surplus of abandoned ultra luxury cars has become such an epidemic that it has made international headlines across the world.

According to the report by Gulf News, 2,000 to 3,000 cars are abandoned every year in Dubai, simply discarded and left by their owners itself to gather dust in the desert heat. Pictures of these cars, including that £1 million Ferrari Enzo, have sparked fury on social media, many assumed that the wealthy citizens of Dubai are so rich &  numb to the value of the things that they own, simply leave the car when they are bored and buy another.

One of the main reasons that so many luxury cars end up abandoned is due to Dubai’s struggle of the global financial crisis, along with the plunging oil rates. Many cars belong to foreign expats, among them British, who came to cities like Dubai in search of high-phi careers but then started to struggle when the UAE had hard times.

In the case of the Enzo owner, a British expat who abandoned not just his car, but the entire life in Dubai after defaulting on the supercar finance payments & fleeing the city to avoid imprisonment. In the past five to six years, luxury cars including pricey BMWs, Koenigseggs and Ferraris have all been abandoned as their owners flee bankruptcy coz of financial crises.

Non payment of debt is a criminal offense under Sharia law in UAE. There is no protection for those who fail to pay their car repayments, pay off their credit cards even accidentally as UAE has no bankruptcy laws.

If there is one good thing about abandoned car epidemic in UAE, is that the car lovers can some some phenomenal machines at discount rates. Owners of these abandoned luxury cars impounded by police have 15 days to come and claim their cars, before it is auctioned off.

Most of the cars are sold by the authorities for low prices, and thousands of cars are auctioned off every year there is at least an opportunity to get yourself a serious bargain. Make sure you can afford the repayments. Expats and UAE nationals play a dangerous game in attempting to maintain the country’s hyper-luxury lifestyle, which ultimately can prove to be a destructive one. Here in the West, it’s hard to imagine anybody thinking that a person should go to prison for struggling to keep up with their debts.

But then, you also have to wonder about the destructive impact of a system that makes it so easy for people to get into that much debt in the first place.