ABU DHABI // A fleet of seemingly abandoned cars are gathering dust at parking lots in Al Reef on the outskirts of the city.
Flat tyres and sand-caked windows are proof the dozen or so vehicles have been there for months – some for years.
Al Reef is a residential community managed by Manazel Real Estate. The area is divided into clusters of villas, with architectural themes: Arabian, Desert, Mediterranean, Contemporary, and has a central Downtown area.
At the Arabian Village, a silver Audi occupies a spot in front of one of the villas on Street 11. “Help me,” says the message scrawled on the car’s filthy windscreen.
On Street 11, a black Kia Optima stands in a derelict state, without a licence plate. A passerby had scribbled “wash me” in the thick dust.
Another neglected vehicle, a red Hyundai Coupe with an Abu Dhabi number plate, is parked behind one of the buildings at Al Reef Downtown.
A thick layer of dust covers a beat-up old black Toyota Scepter 2.2 at another car park in the Downtown area.
Residents have also spotted a Dodge Charger at the Mediterranean Village, an Audi at the Contemporary Village, a Smart car and an Infiniti at the Desert Village, all dust-laden, long abandoned by their owners.
On the Al Reef Community Facebook page, people complain and post pictures of the cars, said Thomas Fiala, who has lived in Al Reef for five years.
“They take up parking spaces and become eyesores to the community,” he said. “The cars may have been there for months, or even years, believe it or not.
“They must have been owned by expats who were probably leaving, and then just abandoned them because they couldn’t be sold at the last minute.”
Dawood Gharaibeh, a telecoms engineer from Jordan who has lived in the Mediterranean Village for four years, said: “There may be some residents who may be directly affected by cars parked near their homes. But I think people have problems with boats more than abandoned cars.”
Residents have complained about boats clogging up car parks, with one suggesting owners should get stickers, just as they do for cars. “I bet many of those boats do not belong to residents of Al Reef. Give them a month, then tow the ones without stickers,” a resident posted on the Al Reef Community Facebook page.
“That probably won’t happen as I drive by several blatantly abandoned cars that security and Manazel are powerless to do anything about.”
Despite the problems, Al Reef is a great expatriate community, Mr Fiala said.
“It’s a nice diverse collection of ethnic backgrounds and cultures, which shows that many different people from many parts of the world can live together in harmony,” he said.
"We all have our maintenance, grounds, parking and community issues that pop up from time to time, as in any community development. But overall, it's a nice place away from the big city life, yet still close enough to enjoy the best of both worlds."
Manazel did not respond to requests for comment.
rruiz@thenational.ae
