By Classic Yorkshire columnist Tony Lofthouse
The pandemic saw sales of private number plates hit new highs – turning many into shrewd investments.
Demand has seen plates change hands from anything from £150 to eye-watering six-figure amounts.
It seems the last two years of home working saw more and more people turn to online auctions to snap up that special plate all from the comfort of their own home.
For many buyers these unique plates stay with them forever being easily transferrable to the latest car purchase. The transfer fee is just £80 and can easily be done online using the DVLA website.
Remember you need to do your homework when buying – the more rare a personalised number plate combination the more expensive it will be. Novelty plates always command a premium and as a rule anything that features a ‘1’ at the beginning or end will be a big seller. Also remember you can’t buy a plate that is newer than the car you intend to put it on.
But buyers beware the use of plates referring to the pandemic such as COV 1D are banned by the DVLA. That doesn’t go for plates celebrating our NHS though. 1 NHS sold for £150,000 in 2020!
What could you get? The DVLA has a Yorkshire plate Y003RKS for £399 or how about L009TUS for your pocket rocket. Jack Tordoff of course created a major automotive brand from his JCT 600 number plate.
Where to buy a personalised plate:
1) Direct from the DVLA
2) Dealer online auction sites
3) Check out CarReg.co.uk or private sellers that are fully accredited
Government information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers
Buy from DVLA: https://dvlaregistrations.dvla.gov.uk/
Classic Yorkshire 