Aldrin Mariano's 1995 Honda Civic EG8 was destroyed while parked in Newmarket in Auckland. Video / Wheel Hub NZ
An Auckland man has walked out of work to find his pride and joy Honda Civic obliterated after getting hit by another car - later revealed as a $1 million Ferrari.
Aldrin Mariano told the Herald he was heartbroken about losing his 1995 Honda Civic EG8. It was aproject car for Mariano, usually reserved for Sunday drives, which he had owned for only about a year.
“I just cannot believe it is gone now. I am just devastated,” Mariano said.
“I just loved using it. I just wanted to cruise it, enjoy it, not to abuse it. This was the car back when I was a kid. That’s why it’s so precious to me."
Aldrin Mariano said: "I just cannot believe it is gone now. I am just devastated." Photo / Aldrin Mariano
The car, with its 1.5L D15B powertrain, which he kept stock, he valued at $15,000. He parked it on Mauranui Ave in Newmarket when he went into work on Saturday. When he came to retrieve it, he found it written off.
Another car parked close by, an Audi, was also damaged. The Honda had been shunted into it when it was hit.
It was then revealed, thanks to videos posted to social media, that a black Ferrari SF90 had crashed into the Honda.
European car dealership Continental Cars sales manager Ben Panettiere told Stuff the company had sold the Ferrari. He said the car sells new for $1m and would have had a value of about $900,000 just before the crash.
Panettiere told the news outlet that Continental Cars did not own the car at the time of the crash. He said the company “had nothing to do with it”.
Mariano did not know who was behind the wheel of the Ferrari when it hit his car. He said he was aware of speculation that a salesman from another luxury car dealership was taking it for a test drive before agreeing to a trade-in from a client.
“It doesn’t really matter to me whoever it was that crashed it. My concern is just that it was sitting quietly in an [on-street] parking lot and then this happened,” he said.
Said Mariano: "I just loved using it. I just wanted to cruise it, enjoy it, not to abuse it. This was the car back when I was a kid. That’s why it’s so precious to me." Photo / Aldrin Mariano
“I just want to know what happened, whether it was a natural accident or if it was a reckless thing. It’s unacceptable for me. Like I said, that car is very precious to me.”
A police spokeswoman confirmed a crash had been reported on Mauranui Ave on Saturday. She said police got a report that a car had collided with a parked car, which then hit another car.
“A report was made to police later on Saturday evening. No injuries have been reported,” she said.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers business, breaking news and local stories from Tāmaki Makaurau. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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