Madh Island is known as ‘Mumbai’s mini Goa’. Situated in Northern Mumbai, the place is known for its fishing villages and farmlands. It has the Arabian Sea to the west, and Malad Creek to the east. You would find forts and beaches here. All these would give you Goan vibes to some extent. However, if you’ve visited the place recently, you’d have seen a lot ( and we mean A LOT) of expensive cars and SUVs rotting away in the open! The island seems to be turning into the graveyard of expensive cars. What’s going on? We try to explain…
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The Context
You would find these vehicles parked by the road, covered in dust and debris, and fully or partially dismantled. Many videos of the same have surfaced. These show expensive old cars ( which could add up to over 5Cr in value back in their days ) like Land Rover Free Lander 2, BMW 5 Series (F10), Skoda Superb, Audi Q3, Q5, two W221 S Class sedans, etc. Scarring the hearts of every enthusiast, you can even find an R230 Mercedes SL500 and an SLK getting junked!
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Another video shows even more cars. You can see an Audi A6, BMW X1, E30 BMW, Ford Endeavour, Mitsubishi Challenger (!), Mercedes Benz B Class and Jaguar XJL rotting.
Internet Reacts
These videos have already amassed tens of thousands of views. People have been flooding comment boxes with diverse comments and concerns. Many are clueless about the real story behind these ‘left to die’ cars. Some blame the owners of these cars to be scammers and claim that these have been seized. But the reality here is entirely different!
What’s The Real Story Behind These Cars?
Someone finally sheds light on the real story behind these cars in the comments. Nikhil Miranda, an Instagram user, confirms that these are ‘part cars’ used by luxury car workshops nearby. He says that he lives near Marve Beach and has a clear clue about the situation. He says that many roadside workshops (garages) existed on the link road by encroachment. After Covid, lockdown and sometime in 2021, these shifted to Madh Island, renting out vacant plots there. Now, these garages operate from there.
These workshops cater to high-end, luxury and sports cars and SUVs. The vehicles shown in these videos are ‘part cars’ used by these workshops to source parts for their client cars. Most of these came to Madh from the Delhi-NCR region after the 10-year rule came into existence. Some might have met with accidents or crashes as well. The healthy parts from crashed vehicles can also be used on live ones.
Used/ Junk Parts Industry Is Huge!
Some of you might be surprised by this parts-sourcing game. But my friend, the used/junk parts industry is huge and highly potent. These are many a time the go-to resorts for people who own luxury cars out of their desire/passion for them, and for people who find it hard to source certain key components for their prized possessions.
Many parts of India have huge businesses running on scrap car parts. Mayapuri is one well-known name. Even in Mumbai, there are a lot of such businesses and marketplaces. The Indian automotive recycling market generated a revenue of USD 8,992.9 million in 2023. Yes, the major share of this would be from proper recycling of steel and other metals. But revenue brought in by used/junked car parts is also counted.
