Number plates

Numberplates.com on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:27:00 +0000

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Ferrari Concours 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:30:00 +0000

Went to the Ferrari National Concours at Broughton House in Northamptonshire on June 28th. Was a very hot day and a there was a great turn with some beautiful cars. There must have been 200 Ferraris there that day. And of course a lot of them had great number plates on them.

Thought I'll share some pictures with you.

For more photos why not check out our number plate gallery.

Vinnie Loves His Number Plates!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Vinnie Jones may have moved to Hollywood but recent pictures show that his love of number plates are still with him. Vinnie, footballer turned actor was pictured in Hollywood, driving his Range Rover with the number plate 'UK VIN'. And driving behind him in a Jaguar was his wife, Tanya. Her car had the registration 'UK TANYA'. It's not known why they were driving separate cars - maybe they wanted to show off their car registration?

Plate Confusion

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:59:00 +0000

In the UK number plates are unique. Of course you will get similar variations but you can be sure they are definitely all different. The only time you will see two identical registrations is when one has been cloned. When this happens, it can be quite a nightmare. Spare a thought then for the people in America, where even if you have a registration, there could be 68 others just like it. That's right - it is possible for one registration to be shared by 69 plates.

Marie Lai, a resident of Lisle, Illinois received traffic fines from New York even though her car was parked in her garage, 500 miles away. That's a nine hour drive! After a lot of investigating and with help from a newspaper's “Problem Solver” column, Lai found out that the offences were caused by another vehicle with the same registration.

Ernie Dannenberger, director of the vehicle services department in the Illinois secretary of state's office, said that there should not really have been any confusion. Although it is possible for commercial vehicles and domestic passenger vehicles to have same license plate numbers, commercial vehicles have a slightly smaller letter at the end of the plate character string.

So how is it possible that one registration can be on 69 vehicles? Well, these variations are possible because the state allows various custom or “specialty” plates to be issued. These variations include 18 college plates, 18 military plates and 33 other private plate versions promoting various groups and causes. The number plates are apparently distinguished from one another by a two-letter code, smaller than the main characters, which is stacked to the right of the main registration ID number.

Doesn't seem very distinguishable to me!

Insanity Plates!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:36:00 +0000

It's not just the UK that love number plates. In America, personal registrations or vanity plates as they are known over there, are just as popular. The system in the US differs from that over here. They are a lot more flexible with the format of their registrations and almost anything (as long as it gets past the issuing authorities) goes. This though can make filtering what are seen as offensive or inappropriate plates much more difficult.

Recently, I came into contact with Jason who recently got into plate spotting in the US.

He sent us this picture of a car spotted in Washington.

And just to show you can have anything here's a car with just 'U' on. Who could the U be?

And for someone who wanted a vanity plate but couldn't decide what to have:

Check out the other photos on Jason's site at Insanity Plates.

Flags Finally Allowed on UK Number Plates

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:55:00 +0000

It's taken eight years but at last it is legal for drivers to have flags on their number plates. In 2001, it was only the Euro flag that you could legally display however drivers were also told that the national flags would be legal and the legislation would be altered within a month. For some reason, it wasn't. So for the last eight years, anyone with a national flag had illegal plates. Although authorities had been asked to take a 'relaxed attitude' to these, it didn't stop the police stopping and fining drivers.

Now finally, we are officially allowed to display the Cross of St George, the Scottish Saltire, the Welsh Dragon and the British Union Flag on our number plates. However, anyone who has a national flag on their plates will find that they are still required to display a “GB” sticker when heading to Europe.

Another

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:54:00 +0000

We know that the DVLA have previously blocked some combinations of letters from being issued but in the America they have to look at cases on an individual basis. This is because the USA have a flexible registrations system where individuals can choose almost any combination of numbers and letters with a rigid format system. Imagine Kelly Coffman-Lee’s surprise when she was told her registration was x-rated. State officials in Colorado decided that 38 year old Coffman Lee’s suggestion, ‘ILVTOFU’ could be interpreted as an profanity. However, she insists that the plate represents her and her family’s love of tofu, a staple of the family as they are vegan.

Mark Couch, a spokesman for the Department of Revenue says, "We don't allow 'FU' because some people could read that as street language for sex."

This has caused such a stir that the story has even been reported on the famous liberal news and comment website The Huffington Post.

Number Plate Auction Round-Up

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:32:00 +0000

Hey everyone, sorry it's a little late but here's a roundup of the DVLA number plates auction that was held over three days from Wed 25th Mar - Fri 27th Mar 2009. The auction was held at Ardencote Manor Hotel, Country Club & Spa in Warwick.

The two main attractions were '1 D' on the first day and the second of the 'O' series on day three. And they didn't disappoint.

The registration '1 O' was sold in January 2009 for an impressive £210,242 and there was speculation that the buyer may return and try for '2 O'. The eventual winning bid of £115,000 came by phone so at the moment we don't know if it was the same person or not. The total amount paid for it was £142,249.

The big one - '1 D' - went on day one for a whopping £352,441 (including fees and taxes). This was bought by Lebanese property developer Nabil Bishara as a present for his wife. Now that's not a bad birthday gift!

Here are some of the other best sellers (prices include fees and taxes):

HU57 LER- £37,168
11 MRN - £25,300
G80 RGE - £16,275
90 A - £15,533
PHF 1 - £15,162
82 S - £14,915
151 S - £14,915
LUC 1Y - £14,297
B4 LLS - £13,308
TOO 81G - £12,690
RUG 13Y - £12,443
3 PEP - £11,701
86 J - £11,454
71 W - £11,454
2 KAH - £11,206
90 MR - £10,712
78 H - £10,217
86 JM - £10,094

Number plate 1 D sells for £352,411

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:01:00 +0000

Today is the last day of the DVLA auction at Ardencote Manor Hotel and Country Club, Warwick. Once again there have been some great sales, showing the resilience of number plates.

As expected, the registration '1 D' was the star of the show when it sold on Wednesday 25th March. A record breaker even before the auction had started by commanding the highest ever reserve set for an auction of this type. It didn't take long for the bidding to reach £100,000 and the plate eventually sold for a hammer price of £285,000. The total price paid including fees and taxes was a staggering £352,411. This sets the record for the highest price at a DVLA registrations auction.

The number plate was bought by Lebanese property developer Nabil Bishara who bought it as a birthday present for his wife. '1 D' is expected to go on her Bentley.

Stoke fans and their number plates

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Tom Talbot from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire is a fan of number plates - in fact he has 40 of them. His latest purchase is 57 OKE, in recognition of the local football team. The plate was sold at auction in January and had a reserve of £1900. Mr Talbot paid £7000 in total and said, "I'm very pleased to be the new owner, especially at the price I got it at. It was well within my budget.”

Tom's company, Talbot Alsger, a waste disposal firm in nearby Tunstall village also benefits from his hobby. He has put his pastime to great effect by supplying some suitable numbers for the firm's vehicles. The fleet is instantly recognisable as they proudly adorned numbers like AL54 GER and TUN 574L.

After Tom purchased his first Stoke number, he was contacted by Catherine Handley, 37 after Catherine had seen reports in the local newspapers. Ms Handley had the registration GO57 OKE and thought it would be a great addition to Mr Talbot's collection. He agreed and bought it from her earlier this month.

Upcoming Number Plates Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:45:00 +0000

Next week there is another DVLA number plates auction. This will be the second one of the year and will be held at Ardencote Manor Hotel and Country Club in Claverdon, Warwick.

There will be 1600 lots available throughout the 3 day event starting on Wednesday 25th March 2009. Many different plates will be on offer.

You could show off your new personal number plate with 'BRA 6S' or if you're feeling a bit on the slow side, you may opt for 'DUM 8B'.

The star of the show will be without doubt the registration, '1 D'. The reserve for this number is a record breaking £20,000 and is the highest reserve ever to be set at a DVLA auction. '1 O' was sold in Janaury for £210.242 and '1 D' is expected to go under the hammer for more.

Also being auctioned is the second in the 'O' series - '2 O'.

Comic Relief

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:28:00 +0000

Comic Relief raised a record £58m over the weekend. Ryman was an official sponsor of the event and raised over £500,000 by selling official Comic Relief merchandise. The Ryman staff also got involved with their own money-raising ideas.

One of those was Theo Paphitis's chauffeur, Michael Brown. Michael and two willing companions decided to pull Theo's Maybach, complete with Ryman number plate, for a mile down the Mercedes test track in Surrey. I went along on February 14th to see how they go along. I forgot to mention they decided to do this dressed as nuns! I'm still not quite sure why! Theo's car was transformed to a bright red with Red Nose Day splats all over it.

They managed to indeed pull this beast of car the full mile and have so far raised over £1300. You can still sponsor Michael and his team of nuns by going to www.myrednoseday.com/nunsonthepullmichael

New Number Plates Magazine Out Now

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:38:00 +0000

The new Regtransfers.co.uk magazine is now available. This is the 20th issue of the magazine published by Regtransfers dedicated to number plates. The exclusive interview this time is with entrepreneur James Caan from BBC TV's Dragons' Den. There is also, of course, the usual mix of letters, stories and listings and a feature on Theo Paphitis's car being pulled by his chauffeur, all in aid of Comic Relief.

Order your FREE copy here.

Dr Seuss on a plate

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:26:00 +0000

On my way to work yesterday I saw the number plate DR53 USS. It was spaced DR 53USS and of course I don't condone the mis-spacing of plates but I have to admit I thought this looked great and made me smile. Especially as the day before (Monday 2nd March) would have been the 105th birthday Theodore Geisel or Dr Seuss - what a coincidence I should see this registration the day after!

I wonder what other names are out there?

Check out Batman in our gallery and Scooby.

If you see any good or funny plates why not send them to pr@numberplates.com

Hong Kong Number Plate Sells for £150,000

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:06:00 +0000

An an auction in Hong Kong on Saturday 7 February 2009 the car registration "2318" sold for $1.7 million HKD (£152,000). The winning bidder was an unnamed woman who purchased this as when spoken '2318' sounds like 'yee sam yat baat' meaning 'easy life and prosperity' in Cantonese.

Mr Liang Qiwei was bidding against the eventual winner but ended up buying '3218' for $750,000 HKD (£67k) and also 'MY8' at $440,000 HKD (£39K) instead. Both of these number plates are gifts for his sons. Mr Liang, who deals in racehorses considers them to be a bargain. He said, “I can easily pay $2 million to $3 million for a horse. So what I paid for the licence plate numbers is nothing in comparison.”

£100k for MN 1 number plate

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:02:00 +0000

At an auction held at the Mount Murray Hotel and Country Club on Friday 6th February 2009, the number plate MN 1 sold for £100,000 to an anonymous bidder. Not bad for an island with a population of 80,000.

"I think everyone was about to fall off their chair in amazement", said a spokesperson for the auction organisers.

The registration was part of a collection owned by the late John Moore who had a large collection of classic cars and number plates. When MN 1 was originally issued it was to a George Drinkwater of Bradden and was used on his steam powered car.

Snow Day

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Well the end of last week was written off for many people due to the snow. I can't remember seeing that much snow before and I'm older than the "twenty years since we've had this much snow". I do remember seeing the number plate 5 NOW a few years which would have been very appropriate for last week. I don’t have a picture of that but here’s a picture of some snow dressed as a snowman.

Number plates as investments

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:05:00 +0000

The DVLA held the first of this year's six personalised number plate auctions last week. The auction for 1600 private registrations took place at Whittlebury Hall, Towcester, Northamptonshire.

The top 3 best sellers of the auction were:

1 O - £210,242
1 HRH - £113,815
3 S - £94,035

1 O was sold to an phone bidder who wishes to remain anonymous.

1 HRH was bought by a Berkshire-based businessman. He said, “In my mind, there aren’t many registrations that can better 1 HRH. While bought as an investment, it will be placed on one of my cars.”

And venture capitalist, Spencer Day bought 3 S. He said, “There’s no better time than at present to invest money in personalised registrations. While I have no immediate plans to sell it, I am confident 3 S will give me a healthy return on my investment.”

Don't know where to invest your money? It seems number plates are a good bet.

Royal Number Plate sold for £113,815

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:33:00 +0000

The number plate 1 HRH was sold today at an auction held at Whittlebury Hall, Towcester, Northamptonshire for £113,815.

There was a great deal of publicity about this registration before the event and at the auction there were several journalists and TV crews including one from the BBC and Channel Five's Fifth Gear programme. The atmosphere was intense as the bidding increased. There was a round of applause when finally, an anonymous phone bidder outbid the two interested parties in the auction room. One had left the room after bidding over £90,000 and Mr Akram and Mr Singh would have to go back to Scotland without the plate they had travelled so far for.

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Happy Chinese New Year! The Chinese New Year actually started on January 26th so I'm a little late but never mind. This year will be the year of the OX. Coincidentally, at a number plate auction on Friday 30th January, the registration 55 OX will be up for sale.

This got me thinking - what other animal number plates are available? Well, I've had a look and I've found RAT 7Y for the rats, D24 GON for the fiery dragons and DOG 1 - no explanation needed there! Has anyone got a registration that represents their birth sign?

Well, I'm going to enjoy the rest of Chinese New Year, which just means more food really. Well, someone's got to eat it!

Number Plate Fury

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Reports from Vietnam have revealed that a motorist used a licence plate as a weapon in a fight. Ngo Chem Siku reportedly ripped the licence plated from another driver's moped and assaulted him with it. The two were driving along a narrow crowded road in Saigon when they collided, leaving Mr. Siku with two broken fingers and bruised ribs. When the assaulted driver went to help him, Mr. Siku got up and began to push him. A police officer separated the two after a brief scuffle. Mr Siku kicked the driver's motorbike and ripped his licence plate off. Mr. Siku then ran at the driver and hit him in the face and on the neck leaving the helpless driver with severe lacerations as a cause of which he lost a lot of blood and had a three day stay in a local hospital. Mr. Siku is now facing charges of assault and resist of arrest along with vandalism. His trial date has not been set but is expected to be sometime next month. He is expected to receive a heavy punishment for what was an inhumane and bizarre attack. Mr. Siku’s lawyer said that this incident was “a moment out of character for my client and as he has never been before a court before. I believe that Mr. Siku will be dealt with lightly but fairly”.

Having visited Vietnam and seen the absolute chaos on the roads, I'm surprised there are not more incidents of road rage. Although, the Vietnamese do have an uncanny knack of avoiding each other on their mopeds!

Number Plates Still Making BIG Money

noreply@blogger.com (Rick) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:27:00 +0000

At a DVLA auction today, 1 RH sold for a quarter of a million pounds. Just goes to show that the interest in personal number plates is a very robust one.

I'm sure this will reassure a lot of owners of high quality car registrations that they were a wise investment, and that good plates really do hold their value very well.

There were a few other good sales at the auction, but none rivalled the biggie this time around. It wasn't a huge surprise that 1 RH did well - we'd been watching the proceedings with bated breath - but I think we were still a bit taken aback by the price it made!

Excellent!

Children In Need auction

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:06:00 +0000

It's Children in Need time and once again they are holding an auction to help raise money for the cause. BBC Radio 2 listeners have already raised over £1.7 million pounds by having a 'things money can't buy' auction. Lots have included Raymond Blanc cooking in your home which raised £50,000 and a one-to-one lesson with guitar legend Mark Knopfler that went for £100,000.

If your budget doesn't quite stretch to such amounts there is also a separate Children In Need auction where items are more attainable. The auction includes signed Pudsey Bears, unique experiences, sporting goods, a ride in the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car and for all Terry Wogan fans, a private number plate - THE 70G. In case you didn't know, TOGs are Sir Wogan's loyal fans - Terry's old geezers and gals.

Last year Children in Need raised just over £19 million on the night but donation continued after this and the 2007 appeal total was a record £37 million. It's great how so many people make this such a great event. Here's to another great year of fund-raising.

If you want to bid on the many items available please visit the Pudsey auction page.

Calling all personalised number plate owners

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:52:00 +0000

I've been speaking to a lady called Ellena Wood from Films of Record. Channel 4 is making a documentary about the world of personalised number plates and want to speak to the owners of cherished plates.

Maybe you collect number plates for a hobby, or have spent years saving up for one. Perhaps like many of the people we hear from, you buy them for investment purposes or have had one handed down through generations. Do you have a particular funny plate or unusual story behind your registration?

If so, Ellena would love to hear from you. There is no commitment to be filmed for the programme. This is still the research stage and they just want to hear from as people as possible at the moment.

You can get in touch with Ellena directly by calling 0207 4284728 or email ellenaw@filmsofrecord.com

Get Ready for '09' Number Plates

noreply@blogger.com (Numberplates.com) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:13:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to Monday morning. November 3rd! Can you believe it's November already? I know this year has gone ridiculosly quickly, but I was still horrified to see a massive Christmas tree, complete with fairy lights and a selection of presents, standing proudly in a country pub on Saturday. Does that appal you as much as it does me?... I thought it might.

Anyway, on Friday, I said that I'd like to see a return to discussions about more exciting number plates news and I'm thrilled to report that, on this chilly autumn day, I will not disappoint you, as I have some heart-warming news about the new '09' registrations!

Yes, I do mean the '09' registrations, which will start appearing on cars in March. The DVLA has already released information about the exciting new release and, from November 10th, they will even be available to view for a three-week period before they go on sale on December 2nd.

It's expected that there'll be huge competition for plates but, with the '09' release providing millions of possible combinations, there's got to be something out there for everyone. At the moment, the only number plate example the DVLA is giving is FR09 MEN. Ideal for a diver, perhaps? Or someone with a strong interest in pond life? It's great fun, and is bound to be perfect for someone, if not numerous people, who will have to hurry to snap it up!

I knew that'd cheer you all up on yet another grim Monday morning. I surprise even myself sometimes!