Should we hide our number plate when posting pics online?

parking_question_chap

Sam_Fallow wrote: »

Meanwhile the real number plate is on full public display on the street and easily seen.

People do not steal identities nearby host vehicle. Generally its from one the other end of the country so there is minimal chance of the owner of the genuine vehicle seeing the "fake" vehicle.

It takes about 30 seconds to remove the numerplate from a photo, if that.

System

Quentin wrote: »

You risk a baddy putting your reg on an identical car.

You end up with the hassle of dealing with any police/dvla/private parking correspondence and charges

But the same risk is present when your car is in a public place, i.e driving down the road, parked in a supermarket car park etc.

facade

Tarambor wrote: »

But the same risk is present when your car is in a public place, i.e driving down the road, parked in a supermarket car park etc.

Suppose I have a red Mazda cx7 and I'm fed up of paying tax, MOT & insurance.
I look on autotrader for Mazda cx7 and pick a nice number off a red one, I don't even need to go out of the house. (There are only about 1000 on the road anyway)
Now if I happen to pass a bored Police car, pinging every car that passes, it returns as a taxed, insured MOT'd red mazda cx7 and I drive merrily by.


On the other hand, if I'm looking to buy a Mazda cx-7, the first thing I do before following up on the advert is to check the MOT history, as said above, no reg number and I'm onto the next advert.

There is a bomb-site trader near me who covers up the reg numbers of the cars on display. Presumably this is to hide how old they are so punters are obliged to stop rather than drive straight past after clocking they are asking 2010 prices for 2005 cars. :eek:
Also stops you checking the MOT history before you get there and being armed with a list of things to look closely at/ammunition to get the price down.

chrisw

Geoff1963 wrote: »

With the difficulty of obtaining number plates, I suspect that many are faked by stealing real ones ; so a vehicle on the road with no plate, should probably be reported to the police.

Number plates aren't difficult to obtain in the slightest.

Round about £10 a pair road legal on eBay, no ID required.

Marvel1

While i was looking on auto trader for a car, I needed to see the reg to look at the mot history and insurance quote before contacting seller.

JP1978

Also remember to cover your plates when driving around the streets, or parked on your drive. Just in case someone wants an identical model to clone.

parking_question_chap

JP1978 wrote: »

Also remember to cover your plates when driving around the streets, or parked on your drive. Just in case someone wants an identical model to clone.

I only do that when I drive around the rough areas. Most of the time it isnt needed. Only the last three letters, otherwise its illegal.

patman99

Standard practice when selling vehicles online (and aslo when parking on the single yellow line outside my mate's house).

Even got a pair of solid white plastic covers to drop over the plates.

Car_54

parking_question_chap wrote: »

I only do that when I drive around the rough areas. Most of the time it isnt needed. Only the last three letters, otherwise its illegal.

Please explain.

Batman2017

I have to agree with facade. A somebody who just sold their vehicle on autotrader, I took the necessary steps of obscuring my number plate. Perhaps i lost potential customers but im all to aware of the scammers out there who can do a lot with yours or your cars identity.