Car Number Plates? why such a big deal in the UK?

[Toronto]

I always read in Topgear and EVO, and they even had 1/2 an episode of 5th gear that talk about it,

Why do people pay so much for number plates?
they have like auctions for up to $3,000,000+ on these things? and people invest in them to sell later for $1,000's

I just want to know why it is such a big thing over there? Does the government only give out a set amount a year? or is it somthing else?

[No.1]

Well just to add a fact.... the most expensive number plate sold in the UK was K1 NGS.

It sold for £275k many years ago.

In the US you can choose any plate you want i think, but in the UK we have a system of plate which can be used to determine the age and location of first registration.

The Format is LL NN LLL (L-letter) (N-Number) The first two letters may be MA, MP, M? (Manchester) Or LC, LD, L? (London)

The number is currently 04... cars registered from March 2004 until Aug 2004. It then changes to 54 in September for cars from Sep 2004 to Feb 2005. Then 05, then 55, the 06, then 56 etc


Previously, the format was a letter signifying the Year, like 95M, 96P, followed by up to three numbers, then a combination of three letters.

ie. M356 WKR or M3 CSL (no doubt a very expensive plate now)

[Toronto]

i thought i heard the number plate F1 sell for over £1,500,000

[mindgam3]

Originally Posted by thenumber1 Well just to add a fact.... the most expensive number plate sold in the UK was K1 NGS. It sold for £275k many years ago. In the US you can choose any plate you want i think, but in the UK we have a system of plate which can be used to determine the age and location of first registration. The Format is LL NN LLL (L-letter) (N-Number) The first two letters may be MA, MP, M? (Manchester) Or LC, LD, L? (London) The number is currently 04... cars registered from March 2004 until Aug 2004. It then changes to 54 in September for cars from Sep 2004 to Feb 2005. Then 05, then 55, the 06, then 56 etc

and the fact they're all pre made means its expensive to get a custom one

the cheapest custom one i think u can have is a letter (that makes your car look older or as old as it is but not younger) then any number, then any 3 letters which is about £250

[No.1]

^^^
Oh yeh... but you can get stuff like GAZ 1556, or CAZ 4425

[possessed_beaver]

im looking at getting a custom plate for my automobile, and i can get any 9 letter/number combinatio i want for about 200pounds.

[TT]

Hehe I'm sure nobody in the US could understand such big deal hell across the pond it's not that hard to have your own custom plate.. and quite cheap..

I still think the craziness in the UK is someway exaggerated, but at least, even if stretching a bit sometimes, you can get something meaningfull.. but what about Switzerland, we have numbers only (+ two letters who tells you the region) and well, in the italian part where my family lives, years ago there were some auctions to sell the lower numbers like "TI 1", "TI 12"... and well, all the two digits ones (normal plates have now six digits, if you have a very old plate like my grandma, you can have down to 4, ence up for sale there were various 2 and 3 digits ones) went for absurd amounts like 30'000 CHF or even more I think... go figure... probably just ppl too lazy to memorize longer numbers

[coombsie66]

I must admit the prices of our number plates are gettin a little outragous, but personalised plates when they are clever ones look awsome!
On our old M3 we had the reg M3 WCS (W. Coombes & Sons). We still have it but no M3 to put it on currently. And i think its a few years till i can afford one!

[dingo]

My favourite plate that I hae seen was on a Porsche 996 Turbo and it read "IN DEBT".

[666fast]

Hehe I'm sure nobody in the US could understand such big deal hell across the pond it's not that hard to have your own custom plate.. and quite cheap..

LOL, you are right too! Here, it's like $100, and you can get anything you want as long as it's not in use, or offensive. Some people have managed to get some through though.

My favourite plate that I hae seen was on a Porsche 996 Turbo and it read "IN DEBT".

I've seen a pic with a chick driving a Porsche with "WAS HIS" plates

[stracing]

i wanted to get plates F430 with red background and sell it to someone at a higher price but it seems someone beat me to it

[sameerrao]

In houston I think it costs $45 per year - the plate can be 1 to 7 letters or numbers and non-offensive.

[T-Bird]

My one friend wanted to get plates that said "MSTRB8R" but they wouldn't let him have it. In Illinois it's $85 for the plate then the standard price as all plates for renewal.

[possessed_beaver]

Originally Posted by sameerrao In houston I think it costs $45 per year - the plate can be 1 to 7 letters or numbers and non-offensive.

so getting "FUCKOFF" is out of the question

[MercedeSChink]

you know its the same in hong kong...my dad bought all his liscence and all of them cost him over 20gs canadian at auctions...i would say its a bigger deal in HK than in UK because of the superstitious believings that chinese people have...