Why do I see so many rubbish cars with very exclusive number plates?

macman

Spend all your dosh on a personalised plate and then there's less left to spend on the car...

motorguy

macman said:

Spend all your dosh on a personalised plate and then there's less left to spend on the car...

A personal plate can be bought from the DVLA for as little as £250. Plates can sometimes be picked up for even less on facebook or ebay.

Iceweasel

Mine cost all of £25.

400ixl

MattMattMattUK said:

I do however think that owners of non-compliant vanity plates should be penalised with six points and a substantial fine to deter those who deliberately alter plates or fit non-compliant plates.

But of an antiquated position these days. The compliance in layout was so that what is not old technology could read the numberplate at things like speed cameras, ANPR etc. They can all cope with any format now.

The only thing that should still be illegal is mis-representation. For example using a numberplate bolt to change what it reads.

 

boxosox

Coveredinbees!!!! said:

My old kia has a personal plate, it was on it when I bought it. No idea why it wasn't taken off when it was sold.

So why don't you take it off, sell it several thousand and get a nicer car?

motorguy

boxosox said:

Coveredinbees!!!! said:

My old kia has a personal plate, it was on it when I bought it. No idea why it wasn't taken off when it was sold.

So why don't you take it off, sell it several thousand and get a nicer car?

What an odd thing to say.

I'm sure their Kia is very nice and they're very happy with it.

And most personal plates are cheap and only worth a few £££ tops.  Many are very hard to resell too.

vacheron

Asking why someone has an expensive plate on a "crappy" car is a lot like asking why someone has a 2 carat flawless diamond engagement ring but wears it with cheap clothes.

The truth is that the car and the registration are two separate items, albeit generally associated. The registration plate (like the engagement ring) may have been an appreciating asset (possibly with significant sentimental value), whereas the car is a depreciating liability.

Someone financially astute would see the value in holding the registration plate and also the opposing financial wisdom of buying a £100K car to put it on and will cost thousands per year to service, insure and run and will be worth <£50K in 5 years time.     

[Deleted User]

MattMattMattUK said:

Some people like personalised plates and place a value on them, personally I think they are tacky, so I do not waste my money on them, those who like them can choose to spend their money on them, that benefits us all as it is effectively a tax.

I do however think that owners of non-compliant vanity plates should be penalised with six points and a substantial fine to deter those who deliberately alter plates or fit non-compliant plates.

You sound a merry, let live and be happy soul!

droopsnoot

facade said:

I just checked and it is invalid today! I wonder if it was withdrawn for illegal spacing, or do numbers on retention show as invalid?

Numbers on retention don't show up on the DVLA check - it's a vehicle check, not a registration check, so if it's not on a vehicle, it doesn't appear.

MattMattMattUK

[Deleted User] said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Some people like personalised plates and place a value on them, personally I think they are tacky, so I do not waste my money on them, those who like them can choose to spend their money on them, that benefits us all as it is effectively a tax.

I do however think that owners of non-compliant vanity plates should be penalised with six points and a substantial fine to deter those who deliberately alter plates or fit non-compliant plates.

You sound a merry, let live and be happy soul!

Where I live there are a lot of people who drive like w***ers, most of them have personalised plates designed to be deliberately difficult to read correctly, although there are also who drive about without front plates on and often with a very dirty rear plate (when the rest of the car is spotless). Rules exist for a reason and should be enforced.