Personal registrations

[Watis]

Another couple of sightings that have come to mind. Both seen in Beaconsfield 20 - 30 years ago:

- MAG 1 C on a Roller. I believe it was Paul Daniel's car.

- 1 CKX - I've often wondered whether it was owned by Jacky Ickx.

Watis

[richlist]

I have private plates on each of my cars. They were quite expensive but I could afford it and had nothing else to spend the money on. I doubt wether large sections of the population could afford a private plate, lots of them are either out of work, furloughed or worried about keeping their job in the pandemic. Buying a private plate would be well down their list of wants at the moment.

[Lootman]

he is the only male I know who gives his car a name.

Now you know two. I had a Triumph called Humphrey, a Volvo called Veronica and a Rover called Rover.

Funnily enough the one car I never named, a Jaguar, I wrote a poem about.

But yes, women like to name their cars more. In her youth my wife had an Open Manta, which she named her Opel Mantrap.

[richlist]

Our local council had the F1 plate. They sold it for what they thought was a good price.....£440,625

Unfortunately they didn't appreciate it's true value. It's currently on a Bugatti Veyron and the owner turned down £10 million for the plate back I 2018.

[Mike4]

Another couple of sightings that have come to mind. Both seen in Beaconsfield 20 - 30 years ago:

- MAG 1 C on a Roller. I believe it was Paul Daniel's car.

- 1 CKX - I've often wondered whether it was owned by Jacky Ickx.

Watis

There is also the plate COM1C which I saw on a Roller parked at Elstree TV studios when I went there with my uncle for an unofficial tour in about 1965. (He was a big wheel technical bod there.)

We parked next to COM1C in my uncle's S Type jag with wire wheels that I was deeply impressed with (although my dad, not so much!) Apparently COM1C belonged to Jimmy Tarbuck whom my uncle was working with at the time on a TV show.

[nimnarb]

Our local council had the F1 plate. They sold it for what they thought was a good price.....£440,625

Unfortunately they didn't appreciate it's true value. It's currently on a Bugatti Veyron and the owner turned down £10 million for the plate back I 2018.

YES! And now some of you know that its not what you think but actually a very lucrative business. I also had IM SICK. 2-QUICK. VFAST. BUG-OFF(was originally intended as bug*er off but sold to the owner of a large Pest Control Company. Was once stopped by the Police in a C4 with UPUALL2. Wasn't speeding and I thought I'm in trouble here as just got the plate and the car. Checked my License and Insurance and I asked did I do anything wrong and he said no, loved the car and just wondered if I had been pulled over by many state troopers due to the license plate. No I said you are the first. He wished me a good day and told me to drive carefully. Anyway, took the hint and sold the plate and car about one month later which was probably just as well, but the real funny part about this was the guy I sold it to reminded me of a scene out of the Godfather. He looked like a hit man for the mob, spoke with an Italian accent and just couldn't stop laughing about the plate. The car became irrelevant to a certain extent. In fact he could hardly get into it he was so big.

[DiamondEcho]

Other -> I think they're between harmless fun, fools-easily-parted and very occasionally witty and memorable. For example back in Cambridge in the 80s I once spotted the plate 'NE 1' on a grand vintage Bentley. I have forgotten neither the car or the wry understated humour of the plate.

[Clitheroekid]

There used to be a young lady in the Buckinghamshire area who I assume was called Diane. So her car was labelled DIRNE.

Close, I suppose, but I hope she didn't travel too far. In German, a Dirne is a prostitute.

BJ

There was a young Mädchen from Bucks
Who desired a Ferrari (de luxe)
But she needed to earn
So enrolled as a dirne
And financed her Ferrari with f**ks

(Apologies!)

[Dod101]

I have private plates on each of my cars. They were quite expensive but I could afford it and had nothing else to spend the money on. I doubt wether large sections of the population could afford a private plate, lots of them are either out of work, furloughed or worried about keeping their job in the pandemic. Buying a private plate would be well down their list of wants at the moment.

I do not want to sound prissy, but you could have donated their cost to a medical charity (without telling the world as well) Where I live there are quite a lot of personal plates, mostly belonging to the nouveau riche.

Dod

[stewamax]

back in Cambridge in the 80s I once spotted the plate 'NE 1' on a grand vintage Bentley. I have forgotten neither the car or the wry understated humour of the plate.

His other car was* a rust-bucket Cortina with the plate NO 1

* perhaps

[88V8]

he is the only male I know who gives his car a name.

Now you know two..

Make that three, or indeed four.
My father named some of his cars. Usually something related to the plate.
His first and last cars had BB plates so were called BB.

We name ours, mostly plate-related.
Our Rolls should have been named the Rustheap but its plate was AVK so it was called the Aardvark.

V8

[Mike4]

We name ours, mostly plate-related.
Our Rolls should have been named the Rustheap but its plate was AVK so it was called the Aardvark.

V8

That reminds me of a joke I like.

Q: What do you call an aardvark that runs away from fights in pubs?

A: A vark.

[Lanark]

The thing about private plates is that they don't really cost very much to own.

Say you buy a plate for £10,000 it costs £80 to transfer it to your car, you then run it for say 10 years and sell it paying another £80.

The plate will probably keep pace with inflation, so the real cost is £16 per year.

There is of course the opportunity cost of not being able to invest that £10,000 properly for a decade.

[didds]

A thought just occurred to me... it has been opinedthat the advent of driverless cars may mean a huge reduction in private vehicle ownership. If private vehicles become less attractive/needed... that would presumably mean private plates would become less attractive/of interest as fewer people will own a vehicle to stick it on.

Which could mean one's 10K plate today may be worthless at some time in the future?

didds

[csearle]

A thought just occurred to me... it has been opinedthat the advent of driverless cars may mean a huge reduction in private vehicle ownership. If private vehicles become less attractive/needed... that would presumably mean private plates would become less attractive/of interest as fewer people will own a vehicle to stick it on.

Which could mean one's 10K plate today may be worthless at some time in the future?

I think that the population would split into those that love controlling vehicles and those that don't care how they get from A to B. No idea what the proportions would be. I imagine that there would probably still be enough people enamoured of driving their cars to ensure a prosperous future for the number-plate industry. C.

[Clitheroekid]

There is of course the opportunity cost of not being able to invest that £10,000 properly for a decade.

If, like me, you had `invested' it in Hurricane Energy then a personal number plate starts to look like a truly brilliant investment! Perhaps (illegally spaced, but who cares) A LO53R

[DiamondEcho]

The thing about private plates is that they don't really cost very much to own.
Say you buy a plate for £10,000 it costs £80 to transfer it to your car, you then run it for say 10 years and sell it paying another £80.
The plate will probably keep pace with inflation, so the real cost is £16 per year.
There is of course the opportunity cost of not being able to invest that £10,000 properly for a decade.

I expect personal plate sales boom during heady economic times and later flood back onto the market as discretionary assets during harder times. Ie taking a long view I'd consider one more closely when times are hard, dealers are carrying inventory and a deal might be struck.

[dealtn]

We own 2 cars, each with a personalised plate. In fact the plates have been transferred a number of times as the vehicles have been replaced.

Both were presents to the wife, both likely to remain in our ownership for a long time. Neither were particularly expensive, and I have no idea what "second hand" value they would have now, to determine if they have been successful "investments" or not. (I suspect the bid-offer is enormous too!).

They are fun, and people "know" us, but I do have concerns that potentially lack of anonymity might have unfortunate implications at some time. By nature I am not a "look at me" type of person, and having an (increasingly) degree of profile through my job this might become more of an issue, but not one without solutions.

[Clariman]

I have a friend who bought personalised registrations of a basic kind (3 personal initials and random numbers or something like that). He did so because the industry he worked in expected people to have flash new cars, but he never ever bought a new car. Instead he would run a good condition old car with the personalised number plates, to obscure the age of his car.

He reckoned he saved a lot of money by doing that.

C

[csearle]

The ubiquitous `other' (in which case kindly explain)

I find spending any time at all on the subject is something of a first-world problem. C.