Ok, a pretty random post, but what are the community’s thoughts on personal number plates?
I’ve never really been that interested in them, but when I bought my latest car, I had a bit of a mad moment, and splashed out on one.
As you may have gathered from my profile, my name is Ivan, but my nickname at work is Skivan.
Vain I know, but this is my treat to myself:
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Ideally, I would have liked SK11VAN, but at £23.000 it was out of my reach.
This was the nearest i could get within my price range.
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The good thing is, it means very little to most people so doesn’t attract too much attention…
Although I was very surprised when I found it, as most plates with either VAN, or IVAN in the numbers/letters are normally very expensive.
There is a plate I want but I need to wait until DVLA put it up for auction, I don’t think I’d put it on my car though as it makes you instantly recognisable or distinguishable as it’s a shorter plate than normal, I guess I like keeping a low profile.
Those are some nice driving roads.
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I found something important to me word wise for sale randomly. It’s perfect literally just says it only 3 letters with 1 number
But it’s 371k 
Even if I won euro millions I won’t spend that on something that’s not drastically needed.
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There’s a plate I’d like that if you squint at a 6 and pretend it’s an E becomes my first initial and full surname - but even at ~£500 (inc fees) it’s a bit much for vanity.
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We have a private plate on one of our cars G8 PNT, from when we had pubs [glad that is behind us] which cost £450 about 15 years ago. Changing the number on a new car purchase [assuming you are trading in] is usually handled by the dealer, who may also include the numberplates. If you are buying second hand or in some other way of disposing of your privately plated car, then yes, there is a bit of paperwork. It is not particularly onerous, and either way will cost you £80. R-
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I have 2 private plates, one for my car and the other for my bike.
I think they’re a nice personal touch to add to your car and the right plates can be a really good investment too.
I paid £250 for mine a good 10 years ago and when I had it valued last it was worth £4,500 - not that I’d sell it.
For those struggling to find one at a reasonable price, keep an eye on the auctions as well as DVLA news, as periodically they release a bunch of new ‘old’ plates which is how I got my second ‘M’ reg one.
Another tip: When you find a plate you like, always check the DVLA website as these third party sellers list new plates as well as second hand ones, so going direct you can save a bit of money on transfer fees etc if it’s a previously unregistered plate.
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I’ve got one, came as a B’day present from the wife a few years back. It looks dead nice on the landrover.
Ours came direct from the DVLA Website - some tips
- Use this to play around with what’s available. We got what was needed for £250 which is a steal really. Some were silly money.
- Be mindful that if you’re in the habit of changing cars, this can be really costly. It’s £80 a time to retain it.
- In the unlikely event (or not, it happened to me!) that someone writes the car off make sure to retain the plates straight away. I nearly lost mine because the insurance company didn’t tell me and it was only because the recovery company said “Make sure to retain the plates right now, otherwise it’ll be scrapped on that registration” that I was able to keep them
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On this note as well, I’d personally avoid personal plates that are specific to a particular make or model.
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