BOC finally auctioning off smuggled sports cars

Smuggled cars to get a new lease on life from crushing to auctioning

Governments like to crush, burn, or destroy smuggled things. That's normal because any government anywhere in the world want to show that they're serious and need to show resolve.

Sometimes it may be counterproductive, particularly in the case of expensive automobiles. Why not hold an auction instead and turn the smuggled property into funds that can be used for other more practical purposes for the public?

That seems to be the new direction of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as they have just announced that they will be auctioning off some cars that they have seized. And guess what: included in the auction is the now infamous 2008 Ferrari F430 Scuderia allegedly owned by a Korean national who earlier presented himself in a now-deleted social video.

Earlier today the BOC published a notice of auction for 5 cars that were seized upon entry at the Port of Manila:

2001 Porsche Boxster

2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK350

2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK55

2011 Mercedes-Benz E220

2008 Ferrari F430 Scuderia

The BOC stated that there will be a new Inter-Agency Auction Committee (IAAC?) that will be formed to handle said public sale auction of the vehicles. The auction will take place at 10:00AM on December 13, 2021 at the Bureau of the Treasury's Ayuntamiento building in Intramuros. Prior to the auction, interested parties may inspect the “merchandise” on December 9 and 10 at the PUC Grounds at the South Harbor.

But here's the thing: if you're thinking this is a way to possibly get a luxury car for less, think again because the floor prices are rather high. The 20-year old Boxster has a floor price of almost PHP 1.8 million. Many examples being sold on the market are less than that and probably haven't been sitting in the port area for several months.

Even the Ferrari is very expensive: the floor price is PHP 23.2 million. And judging by the photos we saw before of the white F430 Scuderia, the emblem on the fenders and the center caps appear to have been removed. It's not going to be the pristine Ferrari of your dreams.

Perhaps that's why the BOC is making it clear that any sale will be on an AS IS WHERE IS BASIS. And in all caps.

Below is the notice published by the Bureau of Customs.