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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
<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.
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.
My first car was an utterly awful Volvo 345 DL.
It had the reg JAN 299W, which I sold for £800 when I scrapped it, which covered all the running costs for the car bar petrol 🙂
To the lady with the Merc in Essex that bought it - thank you.
My first car was an utterly awful Volvo 345 DL.
It had the reg JAN 299W, which I sold for £800 when I scrapped it, which covered all the running costs for the car bar petrol 🙂
To the lady with the Merc in Essex that bought it - thank you.
My first car was an utterly awful Volvo 345 DL.
It had the reg JAN 299W, which I sold for £800 when I scrapped it, which covered all the running costs for the car bar petrol 🙂
To the lady with the Merc in Essex that bought it - thank you.
So good it posted thrice...
Yesterday's spot was PN15 YAY.
A few around here have plates ending XXV, they are all ex KOSB
Not a fan myself but I used to see CLA 551C on an old Jag around the Luton/Caddington area - that was pretty clever.
If anyone has any experience of selling a plate and has advice could they PM me please?
Anyone?