There was a time when private number plates were only limited to rich and famous people. However, over time they have captured the public’s imagination significantly. All the credit goes to celebrities and famous people for starting the private number plate trend. Now, there are more than 45 million private number plates in the country. A tremendous amount of money has been spent on the dealing of private number plates. According to the last count, £2 billion has been spent in the UK only.
Buying a personalised number for the first time is a fascinating prospect, but there are some important things like legal requirements you should know about before you jump into buying a private number plate.
So, if you’re thinking about getting a personalised car number plate, here are some of the vital information and guidelines you need to know. Read it till the end.
How do personalised number plates work?
A personalised or private number plate is a way to make your vehicle unique. Any individual can get a number and letter on the registration of their own choice by paying some extra money for that. The number of letters could be a birth date or any slogan that matters to you.
How do I buy a personalised number plate?
Buying a personalised number plate has become more than easy as it ever was. You can simply get yours from The Private Plate Company. That’s one of the easiest and quickest ways to get your private number plate at an excellent price. However, generally, there are three ways to buy a private number plate.
1. DVLA[Text Wrapping Break]
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is the official authority of issuing private number plates. They have over 45 million personal numbers available. Buying a private number directly from DLVA means purchasing a personalised number plate directly from the DVLA will cut out the middleman, and you are more likely to get the number plate at less price as it includes less fee to pay.
To buy the registration, you can simply head to their website and access their search tool. The DVLA’s search tool is very effective that allows the buyer to browse the number you’re looking for from the collection of number plates available. The search result will provide you with a combination of number plates; two letters and two numbers or three-letter and prefix plates. For example, prefix plates have one letter and one, two, or three numbers followed by three letters at the end.
Moreover, you can also buy a personalised number from the DVLA’s number plate auctions. DVLA holds a number plate auction throughout the year where any buyer can bid either physically or online over the phone or during timed auctions. The timed auction is like the other online auction you see on sites like eBay, where many buyers place the bigs, and other buyers cannot see the highest bids. The system automatically bids for you up to your limit, and in the end, the highest bidder walks away with the plate.
2. Broker[Text Wrapping Break]
Brokers are those dealers or companies that deal with buying and selling private number plates. In case you are unable to find the number of your choice on the DVLA’s auction or website, there’s a chance you can get it from The Private Plate Company. They are the DVLA’s recognised resellers. Buying from recognised resellers of DVLA is vital and can save you from any type of online scam. However, you’ll be paying the broker a higher price than the DVLA’s original price as these brokers charge a good amount of profits that is worth though because it’s a one-time investment and convenient.
3. Privately[Text Wrapping Break]
If you can’t find the specific number you want on the sites of DVLA and broker, but you know it exists, then there is a chance it’s on sale privately. So, keep an eye on the car magazine, newspapers classified adverts. Rare plates are sold privately and can be very expensive.
How much does a personalised number plate cost?
The price of a personalised number plate can vary depending on where you get the license plate and the rarity of the number. You can find private number plate prices from hundred pounds to a few hundred thousand pounds. For example, the price of a private number plate starts from 240 pounds on the DVLA website. Also, if you’re buying a number directly from a DVLA website or auction, you get the original price that someone is willing to pay on the day. However, the plates sold by the brokers and thought classified adverts could be expensive and rare.
The most expensive private number plate in the UK was sold for £518,000 by Ferrari dealer John Collins in 2014. The number was “25 O.”
Generally, the fewer characters a personalised number plate has the more high priced it will be. Similarly, the number plates with a resemblance to popular names would be more expensive.
Can I transfer my personalised number plate?[Text Wrapping Break]
Once someone has bought a personalised number plate, he would like to keep it, even after selling the car. But is it possible? Yes, it is. You can easily transfer your private number from your old car to the new vehicle upon paying a fee of £80 to DVLA. Remember, you must inform the insurer whenever you add or transfer a personalised number to your car to avoid any possible invalidation of your car insurance.
