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?