Would you buy your private reg again?

[MH]

So after being generally disdainful of private reg's I've decided I might get one. I've finally managed to get my hands on a car I'm pretty damn in love with - not a full on dream car like some on here but I grin every time I see it in the drive and take it out for a spin whenever I can. But I got it second hand and I'm embarrassed to say I want to hide the age of it with a private reg (for about a grand). I know this is pure vanity but surely we're all a little bit vain at times?

So... if you have a private reg - with hindsight would you buy it again or was it something you did rashly and now think was a waste of money?

[WildCards]

My dad bought me one for my 21st, i've never liked them, and I had never wanted one. I lost it through a paperwork balls up when the car was written off. My dad was understandably annoyed, I was relieved. I certainly wouldn't get another.

[P4T]

I wouldn't buy mine again as it relies on illegal spacing to work..

I would have another but only one with minimal letters and numbers which would then make it out of my price range!

[Dave Hedgehog]

yep as long as it was the same price

[BRMMA]

I paid £250 for mine which is a letter, single number, then my initials. It's spaced correctly etc and IMO opinion looks better than the original plate and for reasons i struggle to explain i just like it. I wouldn't spend more than what i did for a plate but if i didn't have the plate and was offered the chance to buy it for the same price now then i would

[sandman77]

I dont get the whole wanting to hide the age of your car thing. Why do yo feel the need to pretend to have something more expensive than what you have?
Proper petrol heads will appreciate your car for what it is regardless of its age. Anyone who judges you based on the age or value of your car is a bell end.

I do have a personalized plate (just because I like it) and have had it for 20 years and its been on about 10 different cars. If you change your car often it can become a bit of a PITA.

[steveo3002]

dont think i would bother , most people think youre a plonker/show off for having it

also too easy to remember that car with the special plate , not saying it would happen but rile up the wrong person and theres a good chance they will recall and spot your car next time

[daveenty]

BRMMA said:

I paid £250 for mine which is a letter, single number, then my initials. It's spaced correctly etc and IMO opinion looks better than the original plate and for reasons i struggle to explain i just like it. I wouldn't spend more than what i did for a plate but if i didn't have the plate and was offered the chance to buy it for the same price now then i would

Exactly the same as mine (though it's company initials, not my own, and irrelevant to most people). Bought from DVLA, no hassle and had it over 10 years now, in which time it's been on several cars and has looked good, at least in my mind, on them all.

A short plate and a year loser, what's not to like?

[moffat]

I don't really care about hiding the age of my car, especially since it's only a month old. Same with the other plate we have on our other car.

My wife originally got me my plate to match my car Audi S3 and my name, I really liked it and then got another car and got a similar plate to match that car - basically same first letter, 2 instead of the 3 and same 3 letters. We now have them on both of our cars and I'm very used to them.

I just prefer a little personalisation versus a dull boring plate.

I do hit italics and illegally spaced plates though.

[DanielSan]

I had mine for my 18th, so I'd never get rid of it. But I do detest the fact the DVLA rape you everytime you want to change it to a new car, after you've already bought the plate from them in the first place. A small fee to do the paperwork is understandable, 85quid is a piss take.

[LordHaveMurci]

moffat said:

I do hit italics and illegally spaced plates though.

A little extreme fella, calm down

[Basil Hume]

Mine is bottom of the heap in terms of desirability, but it was eye-catching enough (FIG 444*) and only £48. Oh, and I like figs.

Can't really explain it otherwise.

[Hol]

daveenty said:

BRMMA said:

I paid £250 for mine which is a letter, single number, then my initials. It's spaced correctly etc and IMO opinion looks better than the original plate and for reasons i struggle to explain i just like it. I wouldn't spend more than what i did for a plate but if i didn't have the plate and was offered the chance to buy it for the same price now then i would

Exactly the same as mine (though it's company initials, not my own, and irrelevant to most people). Bought from DVLA, no hassle and had it over 10 years now, in which time it's been on several cars and has looked good, at least in my mind, on them all.

A short plate and a year loser, what's not to like?

My dad had a 'HOL nn' plate since the late 70's and it went on all his company and later private cars. My older brother has that one now, as HOL is a name linked to the family.

When DVLA first started marketing un-used plates in the early 90's I went and bought a couple of early HOL ones. One sits on my track day car and the other has been on retention for a fair time.

[swisstoni]

Both my TVRs came with private reg but if they made any sense to a previous owner they certainly don't mean anything to me and I'd be happy without them.
The only useful thing I have found with them is that it can make the car more memorable to garages so that they recall your car more easily when you want to talk to them about something in the past.

[VeegasS4]

I'm not particularly fond of plates but mine came with the car, and is specific to the car - Sxx FOR

I have to say that it has grown on me but When I sell the car I'll leave the plate with it.

S

[toon10]

No I wouldn't. I wanted a very specific one for years. The only one available was a close match apart from one letter. Those who know me recognise the plate as resembling my name and some like it but it's a real pain and expense come car renewal time. The plate was only £500 but my parents contributed as a birthday gift so I feel like I need to keep it with every car I get as it would ofend them if I left it on my car come selling time. It's a vanity plate and I'm not as vein as I once was.

[Feirny]

Yes, it's the only one I'd probably own and when it became available I snapped it up.

[DeuxCentCinq]

Well, it made a lot more sense on the car it was bought for - and I thought an S1 Elise would be a keeper. Never got on with it, so sold the car, and now have a plate that begins "L111" on my Honda.

[kuro]

I was never a fan of private plates but i really didnt like the original 56 plate one on my mx5. While browsing the dvla site i came across a load of mx plates for £250 and went ahead. No regrets at all.

[csd19]

Only people that care about the numbers on your plate (and hence the age of your car) are other people, when they want to compare it to their car? Obsessive some would say.

So to fully annoy them, go for it with a private plate You've also just reminded me I need to put mine on the current car, it's another year hider, one letter, one number, then my initials. a 1995 plate on a 2009 car, shocking!!

ETA - mine was also a birthday present.

Edited by csd19 on Friday 30th January 12:16