It’s not uncommon to see a supercar like a limited edition Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini, Porsche or Bentley abandoned at airport parking lots across the United Arab Emirates. Most large cities face problems like unemployment, crime, and housing issues, but Dubai has to tackle the problem of surplus luxury cars. In fact, it’s become an epidemic that has made international headlines. Approximately 3,000 cars are abandoned in Dubai every year. They are simply discarded, left by their owners to gather dust in the desert heat. So, why is this happening? Many cars belong to ex-pats, mostly British, who travel to Dubai in hopes of prestigious jobs. Once they begin to earn the big bucks, they end up buying a lot of things, with luxury cars being at the top of their list. Dubai has a legal system that’s based on Sharia law, under which non-payment of any debt is a criminal offense. United Arab Emirates has no bankruptcy laws, which means there’s no protection for those who fail to make their car payments. They go straight to prison, with no mercy shown. The ex-pats who make loans to buy these supercars end up fleeing the country to avoid prison, but on the way out, they leave their supercars at the airport……many times with the keys in the ignition. Abandoned cars that obstruct roadways or cause safety issues are impounded; otherwise, the cars just sit there for years and years.
