VIA| When daydreaming about how we’d spend the Lottery Jackpot that we’re probably never gonna win, pretty high up the bucket list is: buy a ridiculous car. A seriously f*cking fancy supermobile.
But while some cities have a litter problem, some suffer from high crime rates and others might have a lack of housing. Then you have Dubai, which for the last several years has been facing the unusual problem of high end sports cars being abandoned and left to gather thick layers of dust at airport car parks.
The United Arab Emirates is one of richest countries in the Middle East. However, like any other modern country, the UAE has its problems. These range from the typical (poverty, high price of living) to the totally bizarre.
One of their bizarre problems, specifically in Dubai, is the problem of high-end, luxury cars being abandoned in local airports. Why would someone abandon a perfectly good luxury car?…
This is a familiar sight when walking around the country’s airport parking lots.
Dusty sports cars, long abandoned, clog up parking spaces.
According to the BBC, a Ferrari Enzo, worth more than $1 million, was once abandoned in a Dubai airport parking lot.
The answer is actually relatively simple: Sharia law.
The UAE observes Sharia law. Under Sharia law, not paying your debts is a criminal offence.
If you fall behind on your car payments, bounce a cheque, stop paying your credit card, or default on your mortgage, you go to prison. There is no bankruptcy protection in the UAE.
This means that all those fancy whips gathering dust in airport parking lots across the UAE were abandoned by owners who chose to escape the country instead of going to prison.
Both locals and foreigners are being blamed for abandoning their expensive cars.
Most impounded vehicles are never claimed by their owners.
Police then auction off the cars, usually for pennies on the dollar.
