Dubai: Not all old cars are considered classics worth keeping for posterity.
In fact, many old or abandoned cars that land in the impound yards of Dubai authorities find their way into the market for second-hand spare parts.
Salah Amiri, assistant director general for Environmental and Public Health Services Sector at Dubai Municipality, told Gulf News that they do not export waste to other emirates, and closely adhere to their policy of reusing and recycling waste.
“Impounded cars are sold for scrap and we keep re-selling it until it is purchased. Anybody can buy the cars, whether they are individuals or businesses,” he said.
Abandoned cars are on the municipality’s radar, as they hinders the appearance of the city and contribute to environmental pollution.
To prevent residents from abandoning their cars, municipality inspectors keep a look-out for dusty and unused cars.
Inspectors first issue a notice and place it under the car’s windscreen wipers to inform vehicle owners they need to remove their cars from the side of the road. If the car is not removed after 15 days, the municipality then confiscates the vehicle and takes it to the impound at Al Ghusais.
“If the vehicles have not been claimed by the owner more than a year after it has been impounded, they are then sold at auction,” Amiri said.
Ebrahim Yaqoub, head of the Specialised Cleaning Section, Waste Management Department at Dubai Municipality, said: “We hold an auction every six months at the impound in Al Ghusais and they are sold in lots made up of at least 10 cars. But the unsold lots are still kept in the parking spaces for the next auction, and we keep them there until they get sold.”
According to recent statistics, the number of impounded cars jumped from 1,019 in 2012 to 1,956 in 2013. Abandoned vehicles are commonly found at the industrial areas of Ras Al Khor, Umm Ramool and Al Quoz.
“There are many businesses who want to reuse the metal and rubber from the scrapped cars, because there is a big demand for it in the auto market. But there are many foreigners who visit the market with the intention of reselling them abroad,” said Yaqoub.
Garage manager Shehab, whose workshop is located in Umm Ramool, explained that customers have the option of either buying new spare parts from his shop or second-hand spare parts, which his employees will assemble for them.
“There are no garage shops in Dubai that sell second-hand spare parts. The place where customers can find these are in Sharjah, and there are many second-hand auto parts in the industrial area,” he said.
Another owner of an auto workshop in Ras Al Khor said that there a handful of customers per month who buy their brake pads and tyres from second-hand shops in Sharjah, as they are at least half the price of new spare parts.
A total of 1,948 impounded vehicles have been put up for auction since 2011.
