Private number plate

Grumpy_chap

motorguy said:

And hence why "If accepting that the £70k "GC 4" number plate is vanity, then so is a £300 number plate." fails - £300 is not an excessive or unreasonable amount for something that people will have for many decades.  Elevating that to £70,000 to many would be extremely excessive, thus would likely fall in to the realms of vanity.  

You seem to be determining that the £70k plate is vanity - perhaps because that is unaffordable for most.  However, for the spending the £70k, this may be no more than a minute of work-earning time and therefore a pittance - we just don't know.

Similarly, the £300 plate may be more affordable for the middle-income earner - so you seem to think of that as just a treat.  There are many people for whom that £300 plate is as far out of reach "excessive" as the £70k plate.

Vanity is vanity irrespective of price-tag.

That does not mean I object to people's choice of doing whatever makes them feel good and look important / successful - though those outcomes are vanity.  What else?

AdrianC

There may be an argument over investment value with the £70k plate. That's massively unlikely to apply to a £300 one.
A £300 one may well be unsellable, whilst the £70k one may sell in the future for more than was paid for it.

But if you take the "investment" angle, then you need to consider the return on that investment relative to other investments.
If somebody had £70k sat there to be invested, would buying the right to use a specific sequence of letters and numbers be a better investment than an equity tracker or a fund or property or gold reserves or whatever?

And, of course, if that £70k is put into the right to use that sequence, do you actually have to transfer it onto a car? No, it could stay on retention. After all, if the investment argument holds true, then why not have a portfolio of registrations?

motorguy

Grumpy_chap said:

motorguy said:

And hence why "If accepting that the £70k "GC 4" number plate is vanity, then so is a £300 number plate." fails - £300 is not an excessive or unreasonable amount for something that people will have for many decades.  Elevating that to £70,000 to many would be extremely excessive, thus would likely fall in to the realms of vanity.  

You seem to be determining that the £70k plate is vanity - perhaps because that is unaffordable for most.  However, for the spending the £70k, this may be no more than a minute of work-earning time and therefore a pittance - we just don't know.

Similarly, the £300 plate may be more affordable for the middle-income earner - so you seem to think of that as just a treat.  There are many people for whom that £300 plate is as far out of reach "excessive" as the £70k plate.

Vanity is vanity irrespective of price-tag.

That does not mean I object to people's choice of doing whatever makes them feel good and look important / successful - though those outcomes are vanity.  What else?

Which is exactly why i said "would likely falls in to the realm of".  It may not.  As Adrian said it could be considered an investment by the purchaser.  Or it could be a drop in the ocean to the purchaser in terms of cost.  That might be their initials and they can easily afford it, so why not?  Some billionaire could be quite pleased to be able to get their initials on a single digit plate and the cost is inconsequential for them.  It becomes vanity if someone buys it as a statement that they can - "look how rich i am, i can buy this reg plate".  That is vanity.  Vanity is subjective and contextual.

I dont think anyone buying a £300 reg plate is doing so to say "look how rich i am, i can buy this plate".  

motorguy

AdrianC said:

There may be an argument over investment value with the £70k plate. That's massively unlikely to apply to a £300 one.
A £300 one may well be unsellable, whilst the £70k one may sell in the future for more than was paid for it.

But if you take the "investment" angle, then you need to consider the return on that investment relative to other investments.
If somebody had £70k sat there to be invested, would buying the right to use a specific sequence of letters and numbers be a better investment than an equity tracker or a fund or property or gold reserves or whatever?

And, of course, if that £70k is put into the right to use that sequence, do you actually have to transfer it onto a car? No, it could stay on retention. After all, if the investment argument holds true, then why not have a portfolio of registrations?

There are people who consider their collection / portfolio of high end reg numbers as assets, just like they likely consider their collection of high end cars assets.

motorguy

Grumpy_chap said:

Vanity is vanity irrespective of price-tag.

Because you keep missing out excessive and the context in which it was bought.

NBLondon

dipsomaniac said:

Just justify how vanity plates save money

As sevenhills pointed out - making a business vehicle more memorable saves money on advertising.

As said elsewhere - on a fleet, disguising the age of the vehicles may help avoid customers judging your business on that factor.

My personal take (said here before).  If it means something to you (initials etc) or wouldn't be obvious to a casual glance; then spend your money how you like.   If you need to mess about with the spacing, coloured screws or explain that a 3 is a backwards E and that makes it sound a bit like your name in a peculiar spelling; then that's naff.

On a regular commute some years back I often found myself behind B15 UEX - spaced as B1 5UE X.  Not sure whether the owner couldn't afford/obtain B1 SUE or wanted to make an announcement about her sexuality....

Grumpy_chap

NBLondon said:

B1 5UE X.  

That's nice - ending the number plate with a little "kiss" to your fellow drivers.  What a great way to diffuse road rage and make people feel good

Grumpy_chap

This thread is becoming a repeat of this recent discussion:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6280854/number-plates-showing-your-registration-number-correctly/p1

NBLondon

Grumpy_chap said:

NBLondon said:

B1 5UE X.  

That's nice - ending the number plate with a little "kiss" to your fellow drivers.  What a great way to diffuse road rage and make people feel good

It might just be a [ahem] girly thing?  Like those who end every text with a x?   A colleague had X121JOX spaced as X 121 JO X to get the same effect (presumably cheaper than numbers plus JO).

Nobbie1967

AdrianC said:

motorguy said:

AdrianC said:

motorguy said:

If someone sticks some plate on their Audi A4 TDI that means something to them - even if its just their initials or whatever - then i dont see how thats vanity

I don't see how it's anything but.

I'm not saying people can't be vain... Of course they can, if it's what floats their boat. But why deny it? Are they embarrassed by their vanity?

They're not.  You seem obsessed by labelling it as vanity.

So what else do you call it?

Private plate? Nope, it could not be more public if it tried.
Personal? Nope, it's on public display.
I'm open to other suggestions...

At least in other countries they aren't shy of calling them what they are.

Nobbie1967 said:

dipsomaniac said:

Just justify how vanity plates save money

Maybe it allows status conscious drivers to keep their vehicle a bit longer since it is not readily apparent how old it is.

Why do you care how old somebody else's car is?

Wouldn't worrying about other people's perception of your car age also fall firmly under what we apparently must henceforth refer to as "the V-word"?

I don’t.

If you’re vain, then it saves you money buying a cheap vanity plate to disguise the age of a car rather than buying a new car. Vain people can also be money savers.