Some celebrities have invested serious time and money in their car collections with the likes of American chat show host Jay Leno having a collection of around approximately 200 vehicles. Jerry Seinfeld is rumoured to have around 46 porches and with Chris Evans recently buying the most expensive car ever sold at auction, the economic downturn does not seem to be affecting the amount of money that celebrities are willing to spend on their toys. Having the money to buy these cars doesn’t always guarantee that you have the ability to drive them and there seems to be constant reports of celebrities crashing and damaging these dream machines. Whilst some of these crashes are extremely serious some are also just plain embarrassing and avoidable.
Most Avoidable Accident Now technically Paris Hilton was not driving at the time of the crash- it was her Greek shipping heir boyfriend Stavros Niarchos but the $200,000 Bentley Continental GT he was driving was hers. After exiting a club in the early hours of the morning in November 2009 in L.A, and being pursued by paparazzi, Stavros got into the driving seat of the Bentley. To hide from the paparazzi he put his jacket over his face (this, as we all know, is the best way to drive your top of the range sports car) and drove forward wedging the Bentley underneath a parked lorry leaving large gorge marks in the bonnet of the vehicle, what a wally! Paris is no better when she gets behind the wheel herself; there are videos of her reversing into a parked Honda Accord.
Not Again George Michael, where to start with this one. In the last six years George Michael has been investigated seven times by police for his involvement in car accidents. His most recent accident happened on the morning of the 6th July 2010 when he ‘whammed’ into a snappy snaps shop in his £80,000 Range Rover. Following the incident Michael was sentenced to time in prison and received a five year driving ban, meaning there will be a vacancy for a driver of his range rover and £150,000 Ferrari Enzo – I’m free!
Oooh Nasty! Suleyman Kerimov may not be a name that is familiar with you but he is a member of parliament in Russia and has been listed at number 72 on the Forbes list of the world’s richest individuals. Mr Kerimov was driving his highly customized, black Ferrari Enzo which is valued at approximately one million dollars in the south of France in 2006. According to reports, Kerimov lost control of his vehicle in the rain, suggesting he may have been speeding at the time; the vehicle struck the curb and hit a tree. The car ended up in two halves following the accident and the fuel tank exploded on impact. It’s enough to bring a tear to your eye.
End of a Career Tiger Woods had built a reputation as a wholesome family man and a great golfer however; this all changed recently when the story of his many affairs broke. This all came out following an accident he had outside his home in Florida where he hit a fire hydrant and tree in his Cadillac Escalade. General Motors confirmed following the incident that the vehicle belonged to them and that it would eventually be repaired and put to auction. Several sites are claiming that the car is worth more with the damage on it, just like the bullets in the Bonnie and Clyde car. A new morbid visitor’s attraction is born.
On to the next car On the morning of 8th January 2009, Ronaldo collided with a barrier in a tunnel near Manchester Airport when on his way to a training session for Manchester United. He was driving his £200,000 Ferrari 599 GTB at the time and managed to walk away unharmed after the incident. Unlike most other people who would need to wait for a recovery agent to come and collect the vehicle before getting a taxi back home to ring their insurance Ronaldo managed to avoid this. Travelling through the tunnel at the same time as Ronaldo was Man United’s goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar in his own Bentley, giving Ronaldo a lift to his training session. Whilst Ronaldo was playing reports state that friends brought his own Bentley to him allowing him to travel home in style. This alone was a difficult decision as Ronaldo’s garage is reported to also include a Rolls Royce Phantom, Two Porche Cayennes, a BMW M6 and a Porche 911. It would only have taken two weeks of his wages at Man United to replace the Farrari although he may have needed to rejoin the waiting list.
Written by Rhian Gillam of the car insurance team in
Moneysupermarket.com
