Private number plates

Yes - you'll get e retention certificate, prob best to get the garage to get std plates (easy to change back at later date) & get personalised plates made up, then you can do the change to personalised plates instantly online - ie don't get the garage to supply with the personalised plates.

Ta! That’s helpful.

@ratherbeintobago edited my post with more info

Thanks again!

As a cost saving measure, change your wife’s name by deed poll to match the new car’s plate.

As a cost saving measure, change your wife’s name by deed poll to match the new car’s plate.

Genius- though she may decide to get the same result by getting a divorce

Don’t suppose your wife’s initials are LFL by any chance? If by wild coincidence they are my wife is looking to sell hers...
(I Realise this is a massive long shot😀!)

OMG - Louise?!!!!

I dont understand the point in private registration plates , what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?,

I dont understand the point in private registration plates , what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?,

Tells the world you're cool.

Saw one at innerleithen yesterday which had MTB in it. I bet they're a laugh a minute.

what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?

I thought it was to hide the embarrassing fact that your car was several years old.

Although presumably not so in the OP's case.

what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?,

Could ask the same about a nice shirt or an expensive pair of shoes. Some people like them, it gives them a nice feeling.

No benefits in being judgemental, we are all different.

I dont understand the point in private registration plates , what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?,

Vanity I presume

Could ask the same about a nice shirt or an expensive pair of shoes. Some people like them, it gives them a nice feeling.

No benefits in being judgemental, we are all different.

Pretty much what I was going to say. Each to their own, nothing wrong with that.

She wants one. I am less fussed about having one on my car, not least as the cost of a plate is a good way towards the Fox 34SC I’ve got my eye on.

Her initials are NLR. I am saying nothing about what the ‘L’ stands for…

I thought it was to hide the embarrassing fact that your car was several years old.

You can't fit a plate that makes your car look newer than it is.

Not a problem when you're waiting on delivery of a new motor, OFC.

I have one that I have my eye on. Nobody else will want it. It won't look special, it's from last year. My car is 12 years old. I still want it and have been waiting a long time for it to become available (it's VERY geeky!) - will be on retention until forever...

You can’t fit a plate that makes your car look newer than it is.

Well that’s true but you can still disguise its age. Eg our Audi is pretty old now but they all look the same and a non-dated private plate would make it look like a newer car. If I cared.

I have one that I have my eye on. Nobody else will want it

Hasn't T1RED already gone? Cos COV1D would not be funny! 😉

Could have bought my surname when it was released for £250. Really wish I had. Maybe that makes me sad and vain. That's your problem, not mine.

what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?

Hate to break it to you, but some people, unable to afford some s****y, limited edition item, like a car, for example, would like something a little bit different to make the item stand out from all the other identical cars or whatever.
FWIW, nothing about my car makes it stand out from any other metallic blue and black ST-Line EcoSport, apart from a small Mindless Longboard sticker on the rear window. And I’m perfectly happy about that; oddly enough, I’m seeing quite a few examples of that particular car around, and we have a fair number at work, but I’ve never seen one with any fancy extras like stick family stickers on the back, or other sorts of adornment.
I hame seen the occasional personal plate that’s made me smile, like a car on the M4 that had the registration H1 MUM, and a car parked near to Trinity Road Police station in Bristol, with N11 NAA on it, which did make me smile.
There’s a bloke not far from me with a car with the registration 250 GTO, which is rather neat, and worth quite a lot of money. But not as much as the car it’s attached to…

I’ve got a PP that my dad left to me. It’s of massive sentimental value. Is not have bought it otherwise.

We both have private plates in this house. They actually make our cars look older than they are. E.g my wife’s starts DE65 as she was born in December 65 but her mini is newer than that. We both got them as presents and we just kind of like the fact we will keep them for every car/s we own.

Don’t think we are particularly vain!

There's one at my work that makes me laugh so much that I can't quite work out how it's been achieved (don't seem to be enough characters) but it clearly reads in my mind as

J15 MYJ

I mean, as nicknames go, I've heard better

Genius

er, well...

My sister is now a Venn, they have a lot of V3NN_ plates for her, my BIL and the kids. I rather like that. No it's not T1RED and not COV1D. It is, however, other work related, though. Might update later this month...

I have one genuine vanity plate fitted to one of my cars to hide it's age

This one is a 1998 BMW

This one is an accidental vanity plate for 2020/2021

What other people choose to use is up to them. I find it a bit strange when you see an Audi A5 with an A5 plate or BMW with BMW, come on, we can see the badges on the car but hey I am not going to criticise attention whores

I dont have a problem with them , in fact i dont really notice cars or number plates as its not my thing .I was just wondering what the motivation would be to pay money for a number plate.i could think of better things and alot worse things that people spend money on

I’ve got one but have never wanted one. Like @NZCol it was a gift from my father in law a month or so before he died of cancer. He always said I had water in between my ears for enjoying biking, trail running and open water swimming. So he got me a plate ending in WET. The smile on his face when he saw it on my car was priceless.

There are a couple of mature lesbians who buy stuff from my shop occasionally. They look so normal and straight (if you can apply that description to a gay couple!) and the first time I helped load a kayak on the roof of their VW T5 I had to laugh

H8 COX

Brilliant.

I'm neither for or against them, just find them a bit bemusing.

Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers claims to have spent £millions on the hilarious number plates they have on their vans. He reckons that it's money well spent :

https://www.pimlicoplumbers.com/blog/pimlico-number-plates-are-part-of-our-brand-identity

Although personally I think the £100 per hour they charge for normal hours work (it doubles out of hours) is even more hilarious.

They would for sure not have the registration number

NE14 ABJ

I dont understand the point in private registration plates , what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?,

Advertising?

On the subject of personal plates B16 0MAR was driving round our village the other day. Different car to the one it was on when a colleague had to explain to me who owned it a few years ago, but intrigued if it was the same owner.

I've got one, but only cos it came with the car when I bought it. I do quite like that it does disguise how old the car is (should be 59).

I generally wonder how worthless and empty people's lives must be that they can be improved by changing the numberplate on their car*. Some of them are proper funny and worthwhile, but the ones with names or even worse the owner's three initials are just a bit tragic.

The best one I over saw was in fact very similar to dozens of the worst ones I have seen.... But it took a couple of reads...

BO55 ACK

sheer genius.

(* Yes, I do have one. To say I'm conflicted about it would be a huge understatement.)

Are you lot equally judgemental about people paying a few hundred quid or more just to have their car in a different colour to the standard options? All those metallic and pearlescent finishes must be a constant irritation, poor old Henry Ford would be apoplectic that even his favourite 'any colour you like so long as it's black' is now an added cost option for lots of cars.

Of course not. Everyone knows that light coloured metallic paint reflects the sunlight much better than black. Thus keeping the temperature int' bus bearable for longer in the morning when camping in the Alps. 😃

It's a worthwhile functional investment.

I generally wonder how worthless and empty people’s lives must be that they can be improved by changing the numberplate on their car*.

I feel the same about people paying for clothing with a picture of a famous person on it or a logo. Or people who spend stupid money outfitting their bikes with colour matched anodized parts. WTF is wrong with a black bike?

I feel the same about people paying for clothing with a picture of a famous person on it or a logo. Or people who spend stupid money outfitting their bikes with colour matched anodized parts. WTF is wrong with a black bike?

Totally agree.

someone at work has got a convertible BMW with

WU 52 ODB

which is quite cool if you're a 40something hip hop fan. I don't know if it's deliberate or not - looks like the car is roughly that age.

Also there are two Minis in the car park, almost identical, and one has the number plate

1 ZOE

- amusingly, the owner of the other Mini (which doesn't have a personalised plate) is called.... Zoe. And she's highly embarrassed that everyone thinks she's got private plates! 😆

I often see BLO4 DAD or something to the same effect on a taxi in town. Makes my skin crawl.

But V70 CYM on a Volvo V70 with a CYM sticker on the back satisfies dormant OCD feelings I never knew I had.

what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?

Mainly going to be self esteem issues. If they help with that then great, why not have one.

My dad had a BMW 535 for a bit, cos why not, he'd always wanted a v8. Lovely car, lost 25% of its value as soon as he drove it off the forecourt. He then saw "R3" come up as private plate. His initial, and the number 3 had always been special for him. Some proper history too - R was the reg. letter for Derbyshire, so that was for the 3rd car registered in Derbyshire.

It cost more that the car. But you don't have to tax it, you don't have to insure it, no-one can steal it (they can steal the plastic, but not the registration) there are no running costs, or maintenance costs.

And he sold it for a chunk more than he bought it for (unlike the car, obviously!), so not such a silly way of spending money.

I just checked, it's currently on a Rolls Royce Dawn, which is a far sillier way of spending money. Just looked them up, too. Bowk.

My last car was a shabby Mazda 2. Number plate began YR 08. People thought I’d got a private plate Y ROB. As if...

Someone near to me whilst growing up had two plates, one on each of his Ferraris:

NOT 1
BUT 2

I always thought it was cracking humour and good luck to the fortunate fellow. I'm not a jealous person and like seeing people who have done well, probably comes from seeing my dad's 'social mobility'.

I've a plate handed down from my grandfather, cherished as opposed to personalised but it is dateless and seems to cause chaos in ANPR equipped car parks (does not compute).

If a personalised plate upsets people I am pretty sure the lady who drops her child off at my son's school would really cause upset - she has a different car for every day of the week (Bentley, Roller, Defender, Merc, Range Rover) and they all have personalised plates.

I thought it was to hide the embarrassing fact that your car was several years old.

A friend has one that's 7 years older than the car, but the letters are his and his wife's initials

Where I used to live there was a nasty green 3 series BMW estate that drove around with A3 as a number plate, but I've heard from a friend that it's recently been seen on a newer Volvo, so he's clearly going up in the world.

When it came to registering my van you could, for a 12€ charge, search for your own plate.

Living in Munich meant that the first letter must be "M".

I got myself M-TB 8055.

A few people have picked up on the M-TB bit. Only one guy, and he was a Brit, checked the 8055, but didn't check the M-TB half.

I've been thinking of one for my van. Currently the cost is just above my cost/desire threshold but I might end up ordering it drunk one night 😆

I may have conflated actual memory with anecdote but I'm sure I saw PEN 15 on a suitably mid-life crisis car, which made me laugh.

I only have an issue with private plates when they have to be spaced incorrectly/illegally or an artistic use of fixing screws to get them to remotely say something.

Otherwise i am all for people putting their individual mark on things. The same as lots do with decorating their home, blinging their bike or wearing a certain brand etc.

Feels like a dark and lonely existence if a private number plate agitates such negative thoughts in people minds.....

These days the private reg is the only bit of the car the keeper owns.

Top tip though, if you want your premium SUV to stand out from the crowd then DON'T get a private plate.

The only one I ever wanted would be KW66SIX

CD20MAB. @somafunk knows why - I'll leave others to guess. Just need a new vehicle or ten years to assign it...

Ha, assuming you were involved with the development? That's pretty good - only a select few people would ever spot that, and even then most would assume it's an accident.

We have the JU57 EAT and various derivatives round here on their little vans

When the first version of the Dodge Viper was brought for sale into the UK, the Dodge team were driving down a road and spotted a Beetle with the plate WOW110T. They offered the driver a reasonable amount of money to buy the car, scrapped it and put the plate on the press Viper WOW HOT, with a judiciously placed fixing screw. The Beetle's owner was rather annoyed that he was paid for a slightly tatty Beetle, not for a personalised plate that he'd never noticed.

I invented this https://www.kesimpta.com/ 😉 I've also just won an award for it from the British Pharmacology Society that paid for the plate (but not a car!). So I thought it was a nice thing to buy with the money. I also considered one with a few 'Y's in it such as CD20 YYY -but that's even more geeky.

Could ask the same about a nice shirt or an expensive pair of shoes. Some people like them, it gives them a nice feeling.

Na, it's like getting a really nice shirt, and then putting your name on it, but because someone else with more money than you already has Derek, the you get D31ek and put a button where there shouldn't be a button to make the 1 look like r, but it then ends up looking like Dalek and everyone calls you Dalek, and you've ruined a perfectly nice shirt. 🙂

I may have conflated actual memory with anecdote but I’m sure I saw PEN 15 on a suitably mid-life crisis car, which made me laugh.

Back in the early 70's it was on an American import (Chevy Impala?) in the Kew Bridge area.

My own plate was a result of getting an American car with restricted space for a plate and me wanting to keep the size of the digits (almost) legal so I went for a 6 not 7 digit number.

If a personalised plate upsets people I am pretty sure the lady who drops her child off at my son’s school would really cause upset – she has a different car for every day of the week (Bentley, Roller, Defender, Merc, Range Rover) and they all have personalised plates.

It's not the number plates that makes me automatically hate this person.

I dont understand the point in private registration plates , what is the reason for having one or wanting one ?,

A 6 digit instead of 7 digit plate means I can legally have a smaller number plate on my motorbike, cost me the assignment fee to swap it from my old to new bike.

If I'd have bought D1CKY when it came out, I'd be considerably richer now 🙄

Na, it’s like getting a really nice shirt,

I don't have any nice shirts. Why do people buy them?

Dunno mate, I don't either!

she has a different car for every day of the week (Bentley, Roller, Defender, Merc, Range Rover

...so the Berlingo's just for the weekend?

boombang
Full Member
Someone near to me whilst growing up had two plates, one on each of his Ferraris:

NOT 1
BUT 2

Quick check puts NOT1 on a golf (!) but the other plate doesn't come up

@thegeneralist

<bThe best one I over saw was in fact very similar to dozens of the worst ones I have seen…. But it took a couple of reads…

BO55 ACK

sheer genius.>

My surname is very close to this, drop the B for an H.
I can assure you it's not sheer genius as I was frequently called this during my school years.
I have the personal plate CH55 ACK though!

Got one on retention which I had on my older car (which I don't know what I'll do with) and one on the other car...
It's a 69 plate.... Slightly rude, features my initials and all the letters are part of my name and I like it due to the tongue in cheek nature. I can pretend it spells my name but really the main reason is that it's just funny!
No self esteem issues here, or any need to justify other than it makes me laugh every time I see it on my motor!

Neither one was expensive, but my older one will definately 😉 have increased in value.

Each to their own, eh! 🤣

I may have conflated actual memory with anecdote but I’m sure I saw PEN 15 on a suitably mid-life crisis car, which made me laugh.

Was Steve Parrish

What is the story behind the registration number on your car?

I’ve got two registration plates, PEN15 and 60CK. For dirty minded people, these appear to say something… They were originally purchased when I was married to stop my wife driving my cars.

Source https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/racing/archive/motogp/2013/you-ask-steve-parrish-answers

The best one I over saw was in fact very similar to dozens of the worst ones I have seen…. But it took a couple of reads…

BO55 ACK

Bog Sack?
Baw Sack?

I can't work it out!

I did mine as I can never remember it.
However it’s the other halves initials and my initials, 20 in the middle as it’s a 20 plate car.
You wouldn’t know unless you actually know us and it was cheap.

I also got the dealer to deliver it with the plates on so no issues.

Thought I’d resurrect this thread having seen the plate on this car parked just along from my regular cafe stop. If you’re going to make a statement, you might as well go all out!

I've got a dilemma here. Think private plates are daft vanities but for a laugh we transferred an old plate to Dad's car in 1998, then again in 2010 (it's a mildly amusing one that came on my 1st car in 1989). But he's about to stop driving and I can't face getting rid of it!

Edit. Just looked it up and it appears to be worth something beween 3 and 20 grand, probably the upper given it's association to and iconic car. If anyone has any experience of selling a plate and has advice could they PM me please?

Can’t find the video but I’m largely with Dave Gorman on private number plates.

‘If you have a private number plate, just so you know, the rest of us think you’re a dick’
Or something to that effect…

We have one on my wife’s car, we like it, it says her name, without any moving of letters or numbers. I bought it about 15 years ago for £600 from DVLA and it’s now with about 10 times what we paid. Not selling it tho 🤪

WTF is wrong with a black bike?

What’s wrong with a colourful one?

I feel sorry for you colourless grey robots who seem to hate everything modified, colourful or personalised. I assume you all live in identical grey boxes and have no pictures or ornaments inside and all the walls painted white. Like a prison.

But most of all I feel sorry that you seem to prejudge people and look down on them just cos they don’t share your need to live a dreary existence.

A private plate was handy for spotting an old friend in a grey Audi in a world of grey Audi's. Was nowhere near his/my local area, so wouldn't have noticed/caught up otherwise.
I don't have a private plate although the last 3 letters on my car is EEL, so maybe worth something to a jellied Eel supplier but that's a bit unlikely.

I don't care what people spend their money on, fancy cars, number plates, anodised bike bits, massive watches etc.
A break from the dreary is always nice though.

I have one on one of our cars which is an in joke that only me and very few friends get but it makes me smile every time I get in the car plus it only cost a few hundred quit (£300 or so I think). I wouldn’t think of getting another one though unless it was a continuation of the joke.

I also have no problem with them on other cars.

Thinking people who have private plates are ****s does not equal the person thinking it having a dreary existence but you carry on if having a private plate makes your life exciting.
Anything that helps me know what a **** the driver is going to be is a good thing so I am all for them.

I have a matt black bike.