F...
as in FUCKWIT 1
I suppose the best that can be said is that at least he didn't blow the money on drugs.
A businessman has stumped a record £375,000 to secure the F1 number plate, the Mirror reports. Afzal Kahn, who owns a car conversion firm, secured his prize at an Essex county council auction, in the process beating the previous record of £331,000 paid for M1. The council had held the plate since 1904. Kahn said: "I am …
"This while people are dying because they can't afford food. Get some perspective."
Well then, why doesn't whoever he paid for the plate use the money to feed the starving? The F1 geezer's money is being used to finance a safe driving scheme. It would be far worse if these people left their money sitting in a bank and didn't redistribute it by buying tat.
Firstly he has the money because he has set up a successful business (with all that implies) so good for him. Secondly the money he has spent is being ploughed back into the community. All in all, a rather good example of a free economy in action. His taste is questionable however, but that's up to him.
How about publishing the name of the company, so the rest of the world can boycott it?
Surely if the company is doing well enough that the owner can pay himself sufficiently to be able to shell out 375k on a number plate, the company must be ripping off its clientelle something chronic, and so should be avoided until they make their pricing scheme more realistic.
And yes, I am bitter. I'm struggling to buy my house, and it's half the price of this tw*t's latest acquisition.
Not such a waste of money "The cash from the sale will be directed into a safe-driving scheme for young motorists." Better than burning a hole in Mr Kahn's pocket.
These expensive plates are a no lose situatiuon, rich guy go's away happy with nice plate, government get wad of cash from rich guy to use on the safe-driving scheme, then again, that's trusting this government to actually do something useful with that scheme, hmmm
Mr Kahn worked hard at building his business and this, along with his taxes, is just more money he's putting back into society. A lot more than your contribution I'm sure. His company - Project Kahn - pimps out Range Rovers for the 'urban' elite. Very bling and all that. 'Ripping off' doesn't even come into it. Bit like saying you should boycott Tiffany's because £10,000 is too much for an earring. Not for some it ain't.
Anyway you're not so pure. All you're doing is pushing up the prices of houses yet further by sitting on the 'demand' side when the market is at a peak, thus making it even harder for people more deserving than you to get a foot on the ladder.
Jealousy of someone else's success is a vile trait. What you've failed to grasp is that while you're busy whingeing away with your neo-socialist bollocks about high earners you're busy trying to line your own pockets with a massively leveraged purchase of a highly speculative asset. There's nothing worse than some anti capitalist twat ranting on about how unfair the fat cats are when they don't even realise that they're just another example of the very thing they profess to hate.
People buy these type of plates as an investment.
It's like buying a piece of art, Picassos don't sell for millions purely because of artistic quality, they sell because in a few years time they will sell for more. Same with an 80 year old bottle of wine, or shares in google, or half a ton of gold bullion, or another house...
Once you've got as much cash as this guy you want to spread the risk, especially with an impending recession when the stock markets and property are likely to lose more value than art & trinkets. A number plate is just as worthy as any other investment even if it is worth more than my house and car put together.
In this world some folk can clearly accumulate more wealth than they are worth to society (or they inherit it) so for some instinctively understanding the real value of money, isn't an issue. Maybe £365k to him seemed the same as £36.50 to those of us that form the masses. The excessively rich will always indulge themselves like this. This is hardly an exception.
Unbelievably backward comments from some here.
I presume those bleating about this bloke having 'too much money to spend' have never bought themselves anything that isn't a complete necessity?
375 grand to him maybe the same as £3.75 to you, he earned it and paid the tax, he can spend it on whatever the hell he likes.
£3.75 will feed someone for a week in parts of the third world so don't you dare buy yourself a DVD. Muppets.
I wondered about this plate because I used to see it on Ford Granada's and the like round my way, didn't realize the council owned it.
Well said. Very eloquently spoken. And a F*ck you to all the haters who seem to think that they have a right to judge! FFS, i wouldn't mind betting that all the people, that commented negatively, would give their eye teeth for the ability to provide for their family as this man can. All you have to do is concentrate and work hard. A concept lost on most of the inhabitants of this green and pleasant land!
Across the pond Delaware tag # 6 is expected to sell for around 1 million dollars...
www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080120/NEWS/801200351/1006/NEWS
A few years ago the prize to a contest/lottery was a 1950 something car with a matching Delaware 2 digit tag. The tag at that time was worth more than the car.
No, it doesn't make any sense to most people here either......
Locally I see lots of plates which are obviously worth a lot of cash.
In some cases these are appropriate, like 'V8' on an Aston Martin VAntage (one of the proper old ones)
And a few which are just pure ego (like the modified Range Rover with a plate that somehow spelled 'ORGASM'?!)
The truly expensive plates though were/are on normal cars. I've seen both the ''letter' 1' plates that can be interpreted as names (there are two; work it out), which by being a '1' plate AND being a name would be worth 6 figures. But the actual cars themselves were nothing special, as can be confirmed by a registration lookup
(Ok, having just looked one has shifted from a Peugeot 307CC to a Lamborghini, but it *was* on the Peugeot)
Personally I wouldn't bother with a memorable personal plate, I just think it would have too many potential downsides. Just some old non-date coded number would be enough.
Also I wouldn't have sold off F1, as it was a bit of history and an asset. Now it's just a small amount of cash pissed away on something that has no retained value, and probably no long term benefit.
I think the guy has the right to buy it with his own money.
If he's earned the money and paid the TAX on his earnings, i say good investment. He's probably already on the phone to Bernie Ecclestone
Essex council will do a lot with that money.
The spread effect of money will help alot of people.
Go Kahn
would get you kidnapped in 2 hours. So if the question is if it's too much money, it's just a relativy question.. in some countries, a lot of people would eat from that money, in other countries would get you killed and in some countries just one person reaches his dreams... so it depends enterily in wich place you are standing on... I think it doesn't woth the talking...
(by the way.. I vote for the Darwin awards. It would be grat have such awards.)
Greetings, see you later as I have to go to kidnap a bartender.. I need 10 usd... and if I see mr. Pancho, here in town, I kill him... that will get me 15 usd...
And of course, everyone here whingeing about the starving third world thinks carefully about whether the money for their latest tech toy could not be better spent on a few (hundred) bowls of rice in Laos or wherever.
How do we know that this guy did not know how the money for his plate was going to be spent? Then its the same as being asked 'Fancy giving 300k for a scheme to encourage young drivers to drive safely? Oh, and we'll give you this F1 plate in return.'
You guys seriously have a problem with that?