6 digit poverty-spec 'personalised' plates

[jonny69]

I was talking about this subject after I made a meant to be funny comment in Trigger's LOLWTFCAR4SELL thread. I spotted the car he was selling had what looked like a meaningless 6-digit plate which I assumed was a personalised plate. Since moving here to Surrey just over a year ago I've noticed that there are scores of cars wearing completely meaningless personalised plates, generally on cars that aren't worth much, and I have been struggling to work out why you'd shell out £250 and up changing the original plate to a 6-digit one if you only have £3k or less to spend on the car in the first place. Just seems like an EPIC waste of money for ZERO gain. And I do mean scores of them because otherwise I wouldn't have noticed it.

So Trigger and a couple of others suggested that some of these cars would have originally been registered with a 6-digit as it was quite common to be issued them before the AB02 XYZ style numbers. Now, I was sure I'd seen some on later cars; generally early to mid 00's and driven by people who haven't quite made it. I decided to take a mental note of the 6-digit plates I saw today on the way to work. Ended up getting a bit of scrap paper to write them on in the end, I'd never have remembered all this lot.

The following were definitely not originally issued a 6-digit plate due to being post-2002:

3-Series BMW x2
5-Series BMW x1
Merc C-class
Porsche Boxster
Mk 6 Ford Fiesta
Land Rover Discovery (nearly new) x2
Mercedes 7-seater
BMW Mini
Ford Focus

The following may have been originally issued one:

Peugeot 206 on an R
Toyota Celica GT4 on an M
Capri 2.8 on an old R (I think)
Mazda MX5, early one on an H

Additionally:
Merc Sprinter (new) with a 6-digit that read something related to the business
7x 5-digit plates but I wasn't counting or making note

So I think you can see that because my commute is 10 miles, the 6-digit plate is pretty common here and means a lot to the owners else they wouldn't bother changing them. I definitely see a LOT more here than I did in S London. So an example of one that I think is meaningless: I wrote down the Focus plate which is X27 POD. It means nothing, not even if you squint, so why would you bother shelling out a load of money on it? Someone please enlighten me!

[Mr Lobster]

 So an example of one that I think is meaningless, I wrote down the Focus plate which is X27 POD. It means nothing, not even if you squint, so why would you bother shelling out a load of money on it? Someone please enlighten me!

 

More money than sense but not that much of either?

[mat_the_cat]

A 27th birthday present for someone nicknamed Pod? With lots of love and (one) kiss?

 

Or maybe they were bought and transferred when the cars were worth more? I just can't get my head into the mindset of someone who would want one, so I dunno...

[inconsistant]

A 27th birthday present for a retired dyslexic police officer?

[Mr Livered]

I knew someone who bought one of these once.

 

It was enough to make him happy that the group of three letters were his initials. He didn't mind about the other half of the numberplate not making sense.

 

I think the point was that people who knew him would twig that the letters were his initials. Therefore his friends would know that he had shelled out to put his initials on his car. Therefore he was a MASSIVE* WINNER*

[jonny69]

Lol, I'll have to write some of them down with their corresponding cars. I've got a pretty good imagination for working out even the most cryptic personalised plates, but these definitely mean NOTHING

 

I'll have to get my camera out as well. My list of 4 prefix/suffix are spot worthy and there was a hanging Sierra parked near the Capri.

[eddyramrod]

I used to have YFR 716, which meant nothing to me, but it came with the car.  Don't think it meant anything to the previous owner either, as he wasn't bothered about leaving it on.  When I sold the car, I sold it with the option to take the plate or leave it with me, which was what my buyer chose to do.  I subsequently sold the plate (for what I paid for the car 3 years earlier) to a friend who just wanted an age-disguiser on his Land Cruiser.  YFR doesn't mean anything to him and I'm fairly sure his birthday isn't the 16th of July. 

My stepdaughter briefly had a silver Ka, wearing A12 LBM, again left on by the previous owner.  LBM means nothing to her, so she left it on when she got rid.  I used to say it meant she was "Loved By Millions!"

What does all this mean, in context?  Who knows?  Who cares?  I'd probably buy a private plate if I had the money, even if it meant EWR (the important bit) was followed by 943K or something equally meaningless.  I'm probably just vain.

[jonny69]

To put into context this is Surrey we're talking about, where CAR IS KING. Their cars mean more to them than their houses. I must get a picture of the ex council terrace down the road from me with the almost brand new white Overfinch Range Rover only just fitting on the tiny driveway.

[cms206]

Surely D. Wobbler Esq has dibs on 2-digit marks round here... ?

[Station]

My MR2 has G90 SNE? Why did they have 6 digits?

[Joey spud]

I've got KEX **N on our family heirloom MX5,the plate before was H***NRD and her indoors moaned long and loud that it looked like nerd.

 

KEX came off a Viva i had scrapped following a front end / large tree interface.

[nigel bickle]

I might be one of these tossers, as I do have a series of NAB & NBZ 1/2/3 digit plates.

 

I tend to work in an environment of yr old Mercs, Lexi, BM etc,  indeed many Companies INSIST the vehicle are no more than 3 years old.

 

A dateless plate, with ''relevant' initials, on an unknown/ anonymous mota has (so far) always dealt with the Human Resources Clerk allocated.  Non plussed seems to be the general reaction, till you roll in one day in something totally bizarre.

 

If you buy 'right' there still tends to be money in them, eventually.

 

So -dotn write us all off. There may be a salient reason.

[mat_the_cat]

There may be a salient reason.

 

Interesting. I'd not thought of reasons other than vanity…having said that it doesn't bother me what other people do with their number plates (so long as it's a legal font!!!), just found it puzzling. Perhaps if was ever in a situation where I had more money then I knew what to do with I'd get one, but I could probably always envisage something better to spend it on!

 

Now I think of it I recall someone keeping the registration from their late father's car, which I thought was quite touching.

[DeeJay]

My lads friend didn't buy Fiesta (I think) when the reg was pointed out to her.

....SYF her name is Alice.

[trigger]

I have T80 MDC, My family bought it as a 30th birthday present a few years ago now for £250 including the transfer fees, MDC is my initials, T stands for "Trigger" and 80 is the year that i was born.

 

I've had it on a few cars now and it costs a fortune everytime i change a car!

[ruffgeezer]

I've had a fair few 6s, my last c5, Trev the c15, the utterly wank ax/saxo thing and the chunderbird2 this dispatch I sold to my dad.

[trigger]

 

This was fitted to my Civic when i bought it, the seller reckoned that he'd been offered £20000 for the plate! It was fitted back in the late 70's when i suspect the plate was worthless, now it's the other way around! Shame the plate never came with the car.

 

Edit - I've just spotted the plate for sale online by one of these dealers, £49995! Fuck me!

[Micrashed]

 

I've had it on a few cars now and it costs a fortune everytime i change a car!

Doesnt it just.

I have N999 MCR as a 40th birfday prezzie from the missus a few years back.

 

N = Nurse

999 = self explanatory really

MCR = my initials.

 

So there you go, if I peg it it will mean fuck all to anyone else more than likely.

[Richard]

They held back 1-20 from when the prefix started in 1983. Over the years they added round numbers and double/triple digits (22, 222 etc). For a while 666 was withheld altogether because there was a run of bad luck stories involving 666 cars in the media. They seem to have got over that now though.

[mercrocker]

Its all pretty harmless really, EXCEPT when proper old cars get plate-raped to satisfy somebody's cheap fantasy or cover up the age of a decrepit coach on the schools run. 

 

@Mr Bickle - have you got any of Gerald Nabarro's old numbers?

[jonny69]

Interesting. I'd not thought of reasons other than vanity…

Me neither. Not many of my local ones would get away with claiming to be three years old though

[PhilA]

Never understood the entire plate thing and the pie/sky interface prices either.

 

I had N83 HCA. Meant nothing, came with the car, was happy 6 years later to see N84 HCA in a parking lot in Bristol.

 

Here... anything from 1 to 7 characters, letters or numbers but you're not allowed to try make numbers look like letters or vice versa, no trademarks or rude words.

 

$15 for that.

 

I'll stick with VAY 737 because it cost $6 (minimum price, first plate off the stack).

 

Doesn't stop the great unwashed from putting fairly pointless plates on though. Accounts clerk at work had G.M.A. (her initials). I always thought it was in case she lost her car in a parking garage, bit like sewing your name into your undies.

 

Phil

[nigel bickle]

I made a killing on a single digit plate 30 years ago -enough to put a large % house deposit down. kinda set me up.

 

But the market changed when DVLA got involved and flooded the market , predominantly with dross. With few exceptions there's little of value out there now, although the genuine 'old plates' still have a value.

 

Ageless plates have been good to me -allowing me to drive  interesting chod in a grey old world. I covered  over150,000 in an Abarth Strada, whilst everyone else drove bottom of the range German stuff. I've probably covered 200,000 in various Fiat Coupe's & elderly Saab's, when everyone else is in their silver blobmobile.

 

Sadly the Nabarro family have not (to my knowledge) ever released his plates, & if they did I doubt I would be prepared to pay 'the going rate'.   

[Lord Sterling]

Everybody has thier own reasons for personalised plates. I do think often its nowt more than vanity, as someone said, a plate with someones initials in it or simply hiding the age of a car, but there are other reasons as has already been said.

 

I have E50 UKJ on one of my cars but I doubt it was a private plate, it probably came with the car new. I love seeing old worthless chod with seriously expensive plates ala Triggers Civic. I'd love to have a 3/4 digit plate stuck on one of my cars but I doubt that'll happen anytime soon.

 

I did see a 2-number 3-letters plate up slightly less than a grand, I was well tempted. I have a few ideas of what plates I would like.

 

6 digit plates i.e. 3-letter 3-numbers don't look terribly expensive/exlusive to me, but of course it might mean something to the owner.

[mercrocker]

Nigel, I thought that was the case but NAB 2 was running around locally to me a few years ago and has since disappeared, I think it was on a Mk1 Clio!    I have no issue with interesting and low number registrations being traded as they always have been and I have maintained a probably unhealthy interest in them since childhood.   I just find it a shame that  run-of-the-mill pre-suffix registrations are stripped off old motors and plonked on dismal 4wds for no real reason!    It stands out a mile to me when old chod runs round on age-related plates from Merioneth !  

[Jim Bergerac]

A friend of mine has Y321 and then his initials on his car. I don't really see the point as I only realised it was personalised as his car was an 05 when he bought it. The effect, to my eyes, is to make it look 4 years older than the car really is.

 

That said I can see the point of ABC 123 type plates and A1 BCD type plates. If I had the money, I'd have a plate like that.

[DSdriver]

My DS saloon was first registered RGX97L. I think the dealer must have had a bulk lot because there are several Citroens with sequential numbers. I can remember dealers advertising plates like this as a "come buy me" for their cars. The car now has my mother's old number plate (which is worth a few bob) so we put it on that car as it is the car most likely not to be sold thus saving on transfer fees. Mum got the plate in the sixties because a family friend worked at the Sidcup vehicle registrations office and "just happened to allocate that number to her new car".

If we ever move it off the DS, the DS will get the RGX plate back again so I haven't thrown the old plates away.

[nigel bickle]

NAB 2? Rings a bell, but cant currently place it. Inkling his son may have that one. I think they all stayed in the family -which is quite widely spread now. 

 

I think I'd have to extend the mortgage to buy that now!

[smellmycheese]

My biggest pet hate is shit private plates, I get it if used to hide the age of a car but if you really must have your name on your car here's my top tip:

Save yourself hundreds, if not thousands, by simply buying a thick black marker and writing your name/initials on the fucking bumpers. W4 nka

[Partridge]

I've always fancied the plate SJF ??M to make up my initials. I saw a fitting one for sale at £500 or so, but there must be a cheaper way of telling people I'm a tosser.