The craze for fancy vehicle number plates in Qatar
Some Qataris don't mind splashing out millions on "fancy" car licence plates, and that's not even telling the whole story.
There is so much craze in the cash-rich Qatari community, particularly among the youth, to own fancy car registration numbers that many of them take bank loans.
Some even go to the extent of selling their properties, reports The Peninsula. Their justification for this sort of expenditure is that they have the right to spend their money the way they wish.
However, some locals as well as Imams have expressed their displeasure about the trend calling this "a criminal waste of money."
"There are people who are hungry. There are people who are in genuine need of money," said Mohamed bin Hassan Al Miraikhi.
On paper, the annual turnover involving pricy car number plates in Qatar could be equivalent to the budget of a small country.
"It is simply a piece of iron but some people are crazy enough to take bank loans to buy fancy car numbers. Some even sell their land and property to own such numbers," said Abdulaziz Azzam, a Qatari national who is against the trend.
The hobby is catching up particularly among Qatari youth. Ali Yusuf, another Qatari, said that he bought an easy-to-remember car registration number for QR800 some 15 years ago and its price today was a million riyals.
"But that is nothing. There are such pricy car number plates which are even worth QR15m and more," said Yusuf.
A collector of fancy car number plates himself, he said it was his hobby.
"In the days gone by our forefathers worked really hard to earn a riyal so they could buy food, but the new generation, with access to wealth, has no value for money," Yusuf said.
Most in demand are those with fewer numbers since most ordinary Qatari registration plates have six figures. Also in demand are repeated digits, or those in sequence.
A previous auction for "fancy vehicle numbers" at the end of last year saw one driver bid a reported 200-million riyals (almost $55 million) for the licence plate 333355.
However, many of the auctions have raised millions of dollars for various charities that are serving needy people across the world.
So while some are unhappy with high costs of some number plates, others argue that since there is so much potential for good, this is not something that should be stopped.
Would you pay for a cool number? Or would you sell a number plate you have if you were offered a decent amount?
In the traffic , you get respect as the number of digits of your plate number. If you have 3 or 4 digit plate number , even Qatari people can not offend against you.
Slow day on the news for QL. We had story like this few months ago....
My number plate 2022. Anyone interested? But there is '83" also at the end.
Damn.. This is nearly the birth date of my Cuban Shotputter. One number different and it would have been a fortune :0)
i want to sell my no 220074 ....how much will be cast....
Couple of years back someone advertised for fancy mobile number he had and was selling. I called him and asked for the price. He told me it was QR 10,000. Before I could cut off the coversation he stopped me and asked me for my offer. I offered QR 10. He cut the line! :)-
Rich is not enough to buy this.. must be ... too :)
Such auctions across the globe happening for good causes. It is buyer option whether he/she buys through borrowing or own funds. Buyers will always be there to buy such fancy numbers.
We should focus on the good side of it rather than making it a issue.
....BUT DONT FORGET ABOUT THE ORPHANS AND THE POOR....LOOK DOWNWARDS...YOU WILL BE VERY HAPPY.....ALL RICHES ARE NOT HAPPY......ONLY THE SATISFIED PEOPLE......
I cant see why this is a big deal, all other countries around the world have private plates for cars/bikes and as the article states it raises money also for charities when plates are sold. I would be interested to know how you can tell the value of a plate here in Qatar as I was very lucky when I purchased by bike with my plate and it would be interesting to find out the value of the plate as I am told the value is more than my bike :-)
indeed its waste of money. No one should ignore or forget their roots of High valued Fore fathers. its just about passage of time, time repeats itself. they will suffer later.
Mary Catherine: :o)
I do not know why people at QL are still surprise about this! hey, they are locals (very common in the entire GCC area) they do whatever they wish, even if they can't afford it, they find ways to do so. Makes you wonder what kind of childhood this types of people went thru.
The best part about buying a fancy mobile number is that - when you give it to your friends, they associate it with your name (and that's what shows on the mobile when you call them), useless self indulgence in that respect.
if you have too much money and you dont know where to spend it, then cars plates numbers and mobile phones numbers are the solution... you can spend all your extra millions there.
WT: This is why I highlighted afford . This means gat they have money available without resorting to borrowing , selling family heirlooms , property etc
You will agree that there are many rich Qataris with cash at their disposal
Well, brit, according to the article some "have to sell their properties". That isn't really "they can afford it." Maybe some might even take a bank loan, and sometimes the consequences are not pleasant either.
My response is simple. If they can "afford" it , then why not. it's their money and if it helps a charity, then all the better