Abandoned cars are the dumped mattresses of the UAE.

An economic problem “solved” by property owners who simply walk away from their former investment … a solution that cannot be swept up in the morning.

The National reported this week that Abu Dhabi Municipality has impounded 3,000 vehicles of some 4,300 abandoned on the streets of the capital (and its environs) in the past year.

I can vouch for this as a significant problem.

Just outside the tower in which we live, a snazzy little Mini Cooper has occupied the same parking spot for at least half a year — and probably more than a year.

The car is covered in dust, and the tires are beginning to go flat.

At least one other car in the same not-very-big outdoor lot also appears to be abandoned.

Abandoned cars seem to be an issue in the UAE; in recent years The National also has done stories on abandoned vehicles in the emirates of Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah.

These recent stories should not be confused with the luxury cars said to have been abandoned in Dubai, particularly at the airport, during the global recession. Those were typically thought to be relatively new cars given up by debt-plagued investors who were escaping possible jail time.

The more humdrum issue is old or broken-down cars that cannot be sold because the municipality will not provide registration for them, or the lower-end cars departing expats don’t get around to selling.

Those seem to account for most of the cars gathering dust — those who cannot be made street-legal without expensive repairs, and those of minimal value left behind by expats who don’t intend to return to the UAE.

In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, especially, it is rare to see a car much older than six or seven years old. Many of us wonder where aging cars go.

A potential solution to the problem is engaging the companies (like this one) who take cars off the hands of owners, probably not for much (if any) money, but at least the junkers would be off the streets and out of sight.