What’s up with UAE’s abandoned supercars?

While other countries around the world have issues like crime and homelessness, UAE has tackled a slightly different problem. Abandoned luxury cars.

In the country of Lamborghini police cars, tallest skyscrapers, and Ferrari World, it comes as no surprise that sitting among the thousands of abandoned cars, are some of the most luxurious vehicles on the market.

Lamborghinis, Bentleys, a few limited-edition Ferraris, a plethora of rare classics. And these are just a few of the hundreds and hundreds of luxury vehicles that were abandoned and left to collect dust bunnies in scrapyards and sandy parking lots in the UAE. Approximately 2-3 thousand cars are left to rot per year in UAE, mostly in airport parking lots. And while most of these cars are regular sedans, among the mix are some of the most expensive cars in the world.

But what’s the catch?

Why would anyone abandon what some people only dream of?

It's all about the cha-ching 💸

What many don’t know, is that the main reason so many of these abandoned supercars end up in scrapyards is because their owners could no longer afford them. Many expats rush to purchase cars that they can’t afford in the face of any inkling of a financial crisis, and as soon as there’s a hitch in the country’s economy, they find themselves in trouble.

For instance, the owner of an abandoned £1 million Enzo that went viral a few years ago was an expat who not only abandoned his car, but his whole life after failing to pay for the vehicle’s outrageously expensive bills. And much like him, many owners of Ferraris, Bugattis, and McLarens fled the country as a result of their financials taking a sudden plunge due to failing careers or dwindling economies.

“Why don’t they just file for bankruptcy?” you might ask.

It’s a little more complicated than that. There’s no bankruptcy law in UAE, so if you fail to pay for a debt or a loan you can face criminal charges. So, what some expats decide to do is flee the country altogether, leaving their lives, careers, and luxurious supercars behind.

But what happens to the cars?

You might be wondering: what happens to all those high-end cars? Are they just left to rot under the searing sun?

According to the Municipality of Abu Dhabi, when a vehicle is abandoned, the owner will receive a warning. If they do not respond within 2 weeks, the car is transported to a scrapyard. There, it can either be reclaimed by the owner for a fee or auctioned off to other buyers.

So, silver lining for car lovers in UAE: you can buy a car that’s probably way, wayyyyy out of your league, at a much lower price.

And pro-tip for the rest of us: make sure to buy a car you can actually afford & insure it with us so you can save up and maybe buy your own supercar someday!

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