Is There An Exotic Car Heaven (Or Hell?)

Where Do Exotic Cars Go After They’re Smashed Up?

FATE NUMBER ONE: They are shipped off to some foreign land with lower standards than America. I see this happen a lot. There are many cars that get in accidents where Carfax reports relatively minor damage, and then they’re immediately sent off to Russia, or Southeast Asia, or West Africa, or South America, or the Middle East. It is amazing to me — truly amazing — how many early- to mid-2000s Rolls-Royce Phantoms that were originally sold in America are now Hong Kong or the United Arab Emirates. 

Here’s why: in places like South America, they didn’t get very many Phantoms or SLRs or Ferrari F430s back when those cars were new. Hell, that’s even true of Dubai, which was entirely constructed during four warm December nights in 2006. So what they do is, they buy them off Americans when we’re done with them. 

More importantly, in places like South America and Dubai, they don’t have Carfax. So a damaged 430 that was then repaired relatively well is, to those folks, just as good as a regular used one. It’s not like there’s going to be a Caracas Concours d’Elegance where you’ll park your 430 next to nine others and judges will try to assess if the panel fitment was done correctly.

Here’s the other reason why this happens: because a LOT of high-end sports cars came to America, and so we can be picky about which ones we want. So while a Venezuelan may be all over a heavily discounted accident-repaired Ferrari F430, Americans will pass in favor of one of the dozens of other 430s currently for sale on Autotrader or eBay.

FATE NUMBER TWO: If there’s serious damage, these things are parted out. It’s hard for some car enthusiasts to hear, or to believe, but a lot of high-end enthusiast cars really do get dismantled and cut up for parts if their accidents are severe enough. This is especially true if a mid-engine car faces severe front-end damage, or a front-engine car gets severe rear-end damage. At that point, the smashed up hulk’s value is almost entirely tied up in its engine and transmission.

I discovered this a few sad months ago, when I was reminiscing about my old cars. Bored on Thanksgiving weekend with my family, I entered the VIN of my old Cadillac CTS-V Wagon into Google. I knew that this car had been in a serious accident only a few weeks after I sold it, but what I was shocked to find was the engine—just the engine, with no car in sight—listed on eBay in South Carolina. Even an enterprising Venezuelan will never be able to make that car whole again.

(Jalopnik.com)