RLA earns more than Rs 71 lakh in open auction of vehicles

On the second day of the auction on Sunday, numbers from 0101 to 9999 were sold, earning the RLA more than Rs 17 lakh. The number which fetched the maximum price was CH01-AZ-1313. With a reserve price of Rs 5,000, it fetched Rs 1.01 lakh. It was bought by Manpreet Singh, a resident of Sector 44, for his BMW 5-series car.

Manpreet, who owns a few daily needs stores in the US, said, “I have another Skoda Octavia which has the same VIP number. It’s now a growing passion to own expensive cars with VIP numbers as I devote my success to Guru Nanak Ji. In Sikhism, gurmukhi numeral 13 is considered auspicious. This is because it is pronounced teraa which when translated means ‘I am yours’. “

The second highest bid of Rs 60,000 was for CH-01-AZ 0123. It was bought by Chandna Mittal, a resident of Sector 28. The third highest bid of Rs 50,000 was for CH-01-AZ-0786. It was bought by Puneet Bansal, a real estate owner who bought the number for his Hyundai Verna. “The number has proved successful for me all through my life, and also has a high value as it is considered auspicious in certain religions.”

For a few people, numbers considered as favourites have developed into a passion for bidding. “I have completed the fifth number for my series. I received my first triple digit number a few years ago and since then, I developed a passion for VIP car numbers. My four other cars —Ford Endeavour, Mercedes S class, Toyota Innova, Hyundai Sonata and now a Toyota Fortuner —will have 440 in the end,” said MPS Chawla, owner of Hotel Altius in Industrial Area Phase 2, who bought the number at Rs 6,000 only.

“I have a Mercedes C class, Audi TT, Toyota Innova and now a Toyota Fortuner -all having the special number 777,” said Ashwani Kumar Sharma who owns a construction business in Mohali. Number 1000, which had attracted seven bidders in the previous auction and gone for Rs 61,000, fetched only Rs 22,000 this time.

“I have three cars with the number 111. However, the bidding amount was higher than our budget and went for Rs 30,000. Thus, I decided to make an alteration and bought number 68 as it coincides with the birth date of my husband,” said Neerja Arya, a resident of Sector 10, who bought the number at Rs 11,000.

Most numbers were sold at Rs 6,000, unlike day one, when the special numbers were auctioned at prices running into lakhs. In all, there were 265 numbers which were sold.