MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Basically I got a car off a relative recently, and it came with a personalized number plate on the car, the relative who sold it me, no longer drives so the plate is not required by them, and it means little to me personally (Its her initials, only good thing about is that hides age of the car) So I wouldnt mind getting a normal '54' plate reg put on to it, and selling the personalized plate as having asked for quotes its worth a reasonable amount. I'm pretty sure the car has never had a normal plate on, as the reg was transfered on to it when it was bought new(I'm the second owner)
The problem is I have, I have no idea what I have to do get this done? The internet is vague because there are few people wanting to get rid of personalized plates off of their vehicles. I can recall seeing something about retention certificates?
Oh and there seem to be lots of firms willing to take the plate on and sell it, but I'd rather sell it out right to a company rather than wait for someone else to buy it, even if I dont get as much money for it.
If anyone could shed some light on how to do this that'd be great.
Cheers
As you have already found out, most frms will sell on your behalf rather than buy outright. You can sell it yourself, places like autotrader and the back of the Sunday papers sections specifically for plates. The thing with plates is that the valuation is worthless unless there happens to be someone after that particular plate. I've seen a couple of plates virtually the same as mine (1 digit different) that are advertised for around 4k bit they've been for sale for about 3 years! Some firms will buy outright but obvioulsy they'll be buying cheap to hopefully make a profit
IME don't deal with anybody other than DVLA. All you need to do is apply to put the plate on retention, it's about £104, it think, and a simple form to fill in, V5, MOT and photo copy of Tax will have to be sent to DVLA or can be done in a DVLA office in person. The car having never had an age related plate will be given one with random letters, new V5, MOT and tax disc issued with new reg and a certificate so you can get the plates made. Only thing, if it matters, is when new it would have been area related as well ass age, e.g. our new car would have been PN60 ??? (preston north) but as we put our plate on it will be given a totally random one if we ever take it off E.G. YK60 ???. Once all that is done it easier to sell the private reg. This can be done at one of the many DVLA auctions, you will be advised by them on reserve price etc. Out of interest without giving the full reg what are the initials?
last time I put a plate on retention it was £25?
its HDD as the initials, have seen estimates of around 1250 quid. But not expecting even half that.
edit:double post
Why not leave it where it is, it'll cost you nothing and may even add a little a value to the car if you ever sell it on.
good point smarty, however terms of the sale from the relative was when i sold the plate i'd give them the money. (shes not expecting much) Which i dont mind since she gave me a great deal on the car 1500 quid for a 2004 focus with only 6500 miles on it (she barely drove it)
The simplest was is to transfer directly to another vehicle, once you've found a buyer for your number. How you go about that - Google for it.... The retention cert is only used when you don't have a vehicle to tansfer to or want to keep the number 'vehicle free' for a bit, which, from your post, you don't.
The donor vehicle (yours) will need inspecting at an LVLO unless the number has already been transferred 5 or more times. When you apply for the cherished transfer, you'll need to supply both v5's, mot's and tax discs plus the form (v317) plus fee.
The LVLO will give you an appointment to take the vehicle in for inspection to ensure nothing dodgy is going on (they check the vehicle type and engine and chassis numbers match the v5) and then they do the rest and issue you with updated docs and a new reg for the donor. With these, off you go and get your new plates made.
No boblo, your vehicle will not NEED inspecting but MAY be inspected.
This is the quote directly from the DVLA form V317-application to transfer or retain a registration number
The DVLA local office may want to inspect your
vehicle. If so, the local office will tell you the date
and place of the inspection.
My plate has been on 5 of my cars and never had one inspected yet.
PGreen here's the link to the form that you need, just print it and fill it in. Just a point, read the bit about the grantee, the person you bought the car off may own the rights to the plate, which opens up a new can of worms. Good though
[url= http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_069390.pdf ]Form V317 - Application to tansfer or retain a registration number[/url]
Ummm, OK. IME, we (I used to work for the DVLA) inspected all vehicles that didn't have the magic asterisk on the V5. The policy may have changed since then. Best get in touch with your local LVLO for their advice regarding inspection.
Cheers for your help guys, has given me a good starting point!