Police spotted his car heavily laden with sacks of grain in Luton and advised him to split the load. However, he was spotted later and fined Â£300.
"The driver found he could buy 20kg (44lb) bags of rice from a cash and carry for Â£15.49 so bought 40 bags totalling 800kg (1,764lb)," police said.
The cut-price rice and fine cost Â£920.
Officers from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire road policing unit stopped the car in Dunstable Road on Friday night.
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The driver was advised to remove the sacks of basmati and either split the load or find a more suitable vehicle.
However, he chose to ignore the advice and continue with his basmati booty.
The vehicle was stopped a second time and taken to a weighbridge where the driver was fined.
He then arranged for a friend to help him move the sacks safely.
The force later tweeted: "If you need to carry 800kg of rice, choose a suitable vehicle. This isn't it. Dangerously overweight."
Buying basmati rice at a bargain price turned out to be false economy for one motorist.