Dubai is famous for its abandoned supercar phenomenon. According to Gulf News, the number of abandoned cars in Dubai is no shorter than 2,000 to 3,000 yearly. These cars are simply ditched by their owners on the street, in parking lots, or in the desert.
Eventually, these abandoned cars are towed and taken into the scrapyard. With supercars and luxury cars often abandoned, they made Dubai one of the world’s wealthiest scrapyards. You would find multiple Mercedes-AMGs, Porsches, Ferraris, and even Bentleys just left by their owners, which is pretty common. In fact, someone even ditched his 1 of 400 Ferrari Enzo and left it to rot in the dust.
As heartbreaking as it sounds, the biggest question you may have is, how and why are people who live in the richest Middle Eastern city keep discarding their stunning supercars? We will have all the answers below, including who abandoned these supercars and, more interestingly, how you can buy one.
How Dubai Runs its City
To understand the root of the issue, it’s essential to know how this city operates. Dubai is the largest city in terms of population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reaching almost 3.4 million people in 2019. In addition, Dubai is also known for its modern architecture. Fun fact, this city even houses the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
All of those made Dubai one of the most attractive places for people to do business. That’s especially true for oil and gas resource businesses, making them the largest source of wealth for the country. Coincidentally, Dubai is also located on the Persian Gulf coast of the UAE, making it a key trading spot and a booming commerce hub. Moreover, by adding no-income-tax perks to this convenience, Dubai has been full of attractive business opportunities for the last 20 years.
These opportunities don’t only attract locals but also foreigners. Hence, by 2018, expatriates and immigrants made up 88.52% of Dubai’s population. Meanwhile, the local Emiratis only made up the remaining 11.48%, making Dubai’s economy dependent on workers who have expatriated from other countries.
The Lavish Lifestyle of Dubai
Besides modern architecture and attractive business opportunities, Dubai is also famous for its luxurious lifestyle. When salaries are not taxed, people with high-income jobs, such as investors, bankers, hedge fund managers, and more, cannot help but become excessively wealthy. As a result, many people have a ton of money to burn on expensive clothes, watches, jewelry, properties, and, most obviously, cars.
Owning and daily driving supercars is a way of life in Dubai. Although economy cars and compact crossovers are still present, casually driving a Rolls Royce to a supermarket is very common. This exotic car ownership is a lifestyle to adopt as an expression to show off wealth. Exclusivity is key here, and having a bespoke supercar no one has is a serious flex.
Who Ditches these Supercars there?
When owning supercars became a lifestyle, people may find themselves having to achieve a certain standard. Although not necessary, some people would take an easy loan to buy supercars to boost their social status or impress their peers. However, it was all fun and games until unfortunate financial circumstances arrived.
Due to various reasons, not everyone can maintain their lavish lifestyle. Most of the time, it has to do with a poor economic situation, such as getting fired or being on the edge of bankruptcy. Especially back in 2007-2008, during the global financial crisis, many people lost their jobs, and sole source of income, which made supercar loans more of a liability— and this is also where the UAE Legal System cracks on these loan takers.
UAE Legal System
Being a Muslim country, the UAE Legal System is heavily influenced by Islamic law, known as Sharia law, which approaches criminality differently from Western law, with much stricter rules and consequences.
Just like in any other country, stealing is illegal. However, according to Sharia law, being late on a payment is akin to theft, and the punishment may include jail time. Therefore, failing to pay a credit card debt, or any loans for that matter, could send someone to serve jail time immediately.
Fleeing VS. Jail Time
When someone’s unable to make the next loan payment, they only have a few options. They can either serve jail time or borrow money from a third party to keep paying the loan… or there is also a tempting third option—leaving the country.
Most broke expatriates in Dubai probably have a home country to return to, and some take the chance to fly out of the country to avoid jail time, partially explaining the abandonment of many supercars in this city.
These people left their beloved supercars in parking garages or just ditched them on the side of the road. Some of them even left in a panic that they left their keys in the ignition.
What Happens to the Unclaimed Supercars?
Often, people who fled the country left not only their cars but also their whole life there. Hence, it is evident that they are not coming back to claim their cars. However, these cars would sit in the same place for quite a while, and the local laws slow down the process of moving them away.
Once an abandoned car has been impounded, the law gives 15 days for owners to claim it after paying a fine. Exceeding the 15-day deadline would send the car to auction at a bargain. Sometimes, Dubai Police Force would also take the liberty to claim these supercars and convert them into police cruisers/patrol cars.
How to Buy an Abandonned Supercar
If there is anything less horrid about this phenomenon, there are currently a lot of abandoned supercars available for purchase on auction sites for a fraction of the original cost. Auction sites such as Copart Middle East and Emirates Auction have tons of auctioned scrapped cars where you can place your bid and buy one.
However, they are not exactly sold in mint condition. Most have enough damages to make you want to pass on the deal. Therefore, you need to do some research beforehand.
There is also an option of going with companies that focuses solely on buying and restoring abandoned supercars and delivering them to you, such as Carrera Garage and HushHush. But the price won’t probably be at a bargain rate anymore.
Where to Buy Abandoned Cars in Dubai?
The police frequently auction abandoned cars in Dubai. However, as a foreigner, you can only bid by registering with some of the auction agents. Once you register, go to their website, look through the cars on offer, and prepare for the live auction.
As an Emirates citizen, you can try to register directly. Still, these are invitation-only events, which won’t be simple, even for a native. There are also no guarantees or warranties when buying these vehicles, so it’s a good idea to do a background check first. Still, the range of options is quite diverse as there are around 3000 cars abandoned every year in Dubai. On the other hand, keep in mind that having your new supercar shipped to the US might not be cheap — but if you have the budget for a Ferrari or a Lambo, shipping costs might be the least of your worries.
Final Words
The story behind the abandoned supercars of Dubai may have been interesting, but it’s worth noting that nowadays, Dubai has renewed its laws and is giving negotiation rights for late debt payments risking jail time. Laws passed in 2016 now protect people in the event of bankruptcy. But even so, dumping cars in the desert and fleeing from the country still seems to be a thing.
If you decide to buy one of those abandoned cars, do your research, as auctioned cars often have unknown or sketchy past stories—otherwise, they wouldn’t have been abandoned in the first place, right?
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So how can I view & buy one of these cars at a bargain price please?