What are private plates?
Finding a one-of-a-kind or exclusive gift for that special someone may be a thankless task, especially with so many expensive options on the high streets and online. The affordability of personalized plates, on the other hand, has improved since the early 1990s, enabling regular car owners to invest in a private plate that can be owned indefinitely whilst being transferrable to another vehicle without too much difficulty.
Many people are unaware of the pricing of personalized license plates. Also, many people are unaware of the processes involved in securing a registration plate from an existing owner. Although, the process for registering and transferring a plate to a car is handled by the DVLA there are responsibilities that sit with the purchaser and the seller alike.
The benefit of purchasing through a registered broker is that all of this is handled on your behalf and the broker will ensure there are minimal risks. By using a registration broker you will be able to benefit from their sophisticated registration search engine, so enabling you to find and buy a private registration that matches your specific search criteria. A reputable and trusted broker will also provide a free transfer service.
All that you will need is a scanned copy of your vehicle documents. It used to be that you would need to also provide a copy of the current and valid MOT certificate, where applicable, for the vehicle but this is no longer a requirement.
If you are unable to locate a suitable private plate at first, this does not necessarily imply that it isn’t available. Experts in personalized number plates can assist in expanding the search for a private plate by contacting sources that would otherwise be unavailable to you. Customers can also register their interest in future plates that will be released in addition to those that have already been released by the DVLA.
Whether you consider a private number plate to be only a means for vehicle identification or a bold statement to the world, by carefully selecting a personalized registration you can also make a healthy investment for the future. The market for private plates has proven to be significantly less volatile than the housing or stock markets, and the beauty of it is that there is no limit to the number of registrations that can form the basis of your investment. There are no maintenance costs either with certificates valid for 10 years and with no renewal fees.
What is the worth of private plates?
Purchasing personalized number plates for your car will allow you to demonstrate your individuality, your character, and your status. Many drivers don’t have any idea of how to obtain a private plate, let alone how to transfer a new private number plate to their vehicle.
A number of brokers, in addition to the DVLA, operate within the United Kingdom buying and selling personalized number plates. If you’re looking for a high-value plate, going through a reputable broker may be the sensible approach. This approach will ensure you are not put at risk of losing entitlement to a high-value number plate having already paid for it.
Plates can also be purchased through an auction. This can be a rewarding approach if you are sensible about how much you are willing to pay. You can get a good deal if the existing owner does not value it as highly as the buyer does. This can work providing you are not in direct competition with someone else.
Personalized private number plates add value to vehicles and give already distinctive vehicles an even more distinctive look. The benefit of having a very unique registration is that it allows the owner to stand out from the crowd when on the road.
There are currently several formats of personal number plates available in the UK with prices from as low as £100 to some in excess of £500,000. The variety in formats and prices allows most people with a vehicle to be able to afford a private registration.
The valuation of private number plates requires a registration broker’s expertise and experience as the broker has a detailed knowledge of the market and historical values for similar plates. The age and uniqueness of a number plate are primary elements in determining value. Antique plates carry a greater premium as they are rare and they have historical value.
Generally speaking the value of a registration plate increases as the number of letters and numbers reduces. Number 1’s are the most sought after and the most expensive across the three, two, and one letter dateless formats.
The value of private registration plates is also influenced by the popularity of the letters as someone’s initials. The more popular the initials are then the higher the value. The shortest, dateless registrations, with one number and one letter – for example, A 1, are the most valuable and the most desirable as an investment.
Word-related number plates have seen increasing values, with examples such as W4 TER and AR53 NAL exchanging for large sums of money at recent auctions More recent examples are BTC 500X and BTC 601N sold at very recent auctions to people with BITCOIN interests.
With annualized sales increasing year on year, the private number plate market shows no signs of slowing down. The public’s interest in these items of novelty looks to be further expanding in the United Kingdom.
Choosing a unique registration has proven to be a sensible investment, regardless of how you see a personalized number plate, whether you see it merely as a means of vehicle identification or as a statement of individuality.
