Anyone bought a number plate?

I did about 13 years ago...... really simple.

My advice would be to buy directly from the DVLA, that's where they all come from, any other companies selling them are likely to be adding their little bit to the price ;)

I'm guessing prices start at £250 including the transfer fee?

The process would be to take your paperwork to the local DVLA office who will process the transfer. I think with my last transfer it took about a week for them to confirm I could fit the new plates and send me a new tax disc.
 
and remember to transfer it off the vehicle when you eventually you sell it......
 
cheers russ:) .. direct from dvla being the url i quoted.. looks official.. think that is it yes?

bang on for the price.. seen one i fancy for 250 inc 80 fees.. looking at the bumf online the whole process seems to take a couple of months..
 
I got one last month, very good service from the dvla site above. I paid £250 which included the transfer fee.

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Yes, via DVLA and a very straightforward process.

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I got one last month, very good service from the dvla site above. I paid £250 which included the transfer fee.


How long from purchase to on car... presume about 20 for plates.. any other costs?
 
How long from purchase to on car... presume about 20 for plates.. any other costs?

Bought mine over the phone from DVLA several years ago. The website says you will receive paperwork within two weeks but mine was a lot quicker than that.

May be a cost from your insurance company to amend your policy.

In my experience with the DVLA they have been very prompt with retention, transfers and buying.
 
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Did mine originally 9 yrs ago and have transferred them since.

DVLA were really quick and thorough both times.
 
I also got mine from the DVLA about 10 years ago - very simple and have subsequently transferred it onto several vehicles again with ease via my local DVLA office - but all the local DVLA offices are closing down by the end of the year if not already, so the process may be less straightforward completing everything by post / online with Swansea?

Hidden costs ?- apart from the cost of getting the number plates made up / screws /sticky tape, some insurance companies will charge you an Admin Fee for "changing your vehicle" :thumbsdown:
 
In my experience with the DVLA they have been very prompt with retention, transfers and buying.

In my experience, the DVLA are totally chuffing useless! Following their advice, I applied for the return of my driving license on 10th July so they could process it for the anniversary of me surrendering it. 4 months later and they still haven't dealt with it, although in October they did tell me they had received the application and that it could take up to 12 weeks to process it. Useless bunch of ladygardens.
 
I got one from DVLA earlier this year, only just got round to putting it on the car though (car was SORN).

No hidden costs, nice and easy. Just have to make sure the car receiving the plate is taxed/MOT'd
 
In my experience, the DVLA are totally chuffing useless! Following their advice, I applied for the return of my driving license on 10th July so they could process it for the anniversary of me surrendering it. 4 months later and they still haven't dealt with it, although in October they did tell me they had received the application and that it could take up to 12 weeks to process it. Useless bunch of ladygardens.

That's a different part. The DVLA registrations folk are much better.
 
Useless bunch of ladygardens.

....I love that expression :)

I first heard it said by JC (Jesus Christ? No, Jeremy Clarkson, a god among petrolheads). Let the gentleman sausage meet the ladygarden. :D
 
Keep us posted, Ive been pondering a £250 one for mine as its currently got a Northern Ireland plate.
 
Keep us posted, Ive been pondering a £250 one for mine as its currently got a Northern Ireland plate.


am having my car checked over.. just making sure everythings OK and am keeping it.. 10 yr old bmw .. works perfect looks fantastic :) but need a good old check over... get that done then buy the plate...
 
cheers russ:) .. direct from dvla being the url i quoted.. looks official.. think that is it yes?

bang on for the price.. seen one i fancy for 250 inc 80 fees.. looking at the bumf online the whole process seems to take a couple of months..

Yeah, that's their official site and as others have said, shouldn't take too long to get it all sorted.

When I transferred it from one car to another it was done in about a week.

You're probably better off finding an online place to make up your new number plates (unless you know somewhere local that's cheap). Think I got my last set from here http://www.platesforcars.co.uk/

Make sure you get the "legal" info added to them (Post code and name of the maker and the BS kite mark) as an eagle eye MOT tester *could* fail you if they were having a bad day!
 
Make sure you get the "legal" info added to them (Post code and name of the maker and the BS kite mark) as an eagle eye MOT tester *could* fail you if they were having a bad day!

....MOT is getting stricter and stricter.

Also, if you are stopped by the Police and you are foolish enough to give them attitude, they'll quite rightly throw the book at you and that could easily include the legality of your plates.
 
....MOT is getting stricter and stricter.

Also, if you are stopped by the Police and you are foolish enough to give them attitude, they'll quite rightly throw the book at you and that could easily include the legality of your plates.


i would certainly be using an official place for the plates and I never give police attitude.. well.. not to there face anyway :)
 
....MOT is getting stricter and stricter.

Also, if you are stopped by the Police and you are foolish enough to give them attitude, they'll quite rightly throw the book at you and that could easily include the legality of your plates.
It is always advisable to keep number plates properly spaced and otherwise legal. Fortunately on my 45 year old car the requirements for kite marks, makers name and other whathaveyou are rather more relaxed. So, silver on black :D
 
It is always advisable to keep number plates properly spaced and otherwise legal. Fortunately on my 45 year old car the requirements for kite marks, makers name and other whathaveyou are rather more relaxed. So, silver on black :D

The maker's detail requirement only came in in March 2001 IIRC, my old car was registered in September 2000 so it only really affected me when I changed it to a 55-plate a couple of years ago.

As RedRobin said though, MOTs are getting a lot tougher now.
 
My old Y reg Merc comes in just before the legal junk came in, looking for a good plate for it but can't make my mind up lol
 
My wife's car came with a rather appropriate number, or rather 3 letter combination - it's her name (or at least the one she's known to all as!) and the number is 700 so not displeasing! We've seen similar numbers offered for upwards of £500 and although she wouldn't have bought the number, the number did help her decide to buy the car!
 
am having my car checked over.. just making sure everythings OK and am keeping it.. 10 yr old bmw .. works perfect looks fantastic :) but need a good old check over... get that done then buy the plate...

Just remember that you can't have a newer plate than the original one too! :D
 
Just remember that you can't have a newer plate than the original one too! :D


yeagh when looking it says when the car has to be regged by.. i have been looking at prefixed ... this is on the one i am loking at

Before continuing, please note: Your vehicle must be an A plate or newer, which was registered as new on or after 1 August 1983 to

so my 03 will be OK :)
 
K1 PAX is on an old Merc
 
How do you find that out? I got offered the plate a yr or so ago and said i probably couldnt afford if he wanted more than X amount and i never heard back.. contacted me out the blue

I could ahve got K1 P4X a few years ago for 500 but decided that was too much to spend on something like this.. hmm sorta wish i could have afforded it.. so thats the X as above...

My car has a long lasting style so nobody will know how old it is now... seeing as I just bought A8 KPX :)
 
I wanted to get KN08 ROT, but they wouldnt let me have it for some reason.
 
wonder why :) They have banned some I think...WTF and the like..
 
Maybe a TP code word?

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or

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Took 2-3 days to get the paperwork, then 10 days from posting docs to dvla. So about 2 weeks in total.
Sam

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Some numbers are now blocked as being possibly offensive but gems such as FU2 (Paul Richmond had this on a Primrose Yellow E-Type that his then girlfriend Fiona Richmond used to drive) and PEN1S or PEN15 (possibly still owned by ex motorbike and truck racer Steve Parrish) slipped past the powers that be.

The OD suffix was local before the relatively recent changes to the area codes and I've driven several cars (and a couple of bikes) with NOD numbers but never owned one.
 
no "hidden cost" other than buying the plates, about £20. A £250 plate from DVLA includes the trans fee.
 
I've never been a huge fan of private plates, but I've spotted one thats got my initials and that of my wife and doesnt scream out 'private plate w*n*er' so maybe I'll prise open the old wallet...
 
I will keep the thread updated... Got the confirmation email.. registration bought.. just waiting now...
 
It's just a matter of personal preference but I have always thought of private plates which reflect the car owner's name rather than the car as being a bit ostentatious. That's why I chose to pay homage to my red Mk5 GTI VolksWagen 'VW05 RED' rather than to me. Plate cost £750 about 8 years ago. Bought the car new (built to order) so she has never had a gobblygook numberplate. I hadn't planned to get a private plate, it was just a spontaneous purchase the night before the car was delivered. Absolutely no regrets as it has got me into all sorts of places.
 
Jeremy Clarkson, a god among petrolheads


Err Nope - never was. Never will be:nono:


As for the DVLA plate service - Buy with confidence!!
 
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