Covering/blanking/hiding car reg in adverts

Covering/blanking/hiding car reg in adverts

Author
Discussion

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

227 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
Why do people do this?

It's a real pain when you want to quickly check vehicle details.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
a) So you can't quickly check details - skeletons in the closet

b) Cloning risk

c) All of the above

rich12

3,461 posts

153 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
To stop people cloning their cars I suppose.
Or they have something to hide.
Or they think putting a dirty cloth makes the car look better.
Or some other reason.

battered

4,088 posts

146 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
Because they are concerned that someone may clone the car or do something else nefarious. Whether this is a reasonable fear is irrelevant.

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

227 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
Car could be cloned via someone simply seeing it in a car park.

I sold my car a few weeks ago and the reg was visible.

I guess the skeletons in the closet thing is a good point. However, I've seen a few cars for sale recently in 'great condition' with the reg on show. Quick MOT check makes you run a mile (one had buggered tyres, weepy power steering, corrosion underneath, coolant level low, coolant level sensor removed and leak of coolant). eek

I did see a Honda last week that had the reg hidden. Spoke to the seller, got the reg, checked it out and found out it had subframe corrosion.

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

227 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
On a side note, the MOT history checker is a great tool. smile

One car I saw last night was advertised as proudly having a full MOT. It had run out a month ago. rolleyes

dannyDC2

7,543 posts

167 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
funkyrobot said:
Car could be cloned via someone simply seeing it in a car park.
Say you've just pinched a 2008 BMW 335i in grey, and want to stick another plate on there to drive it down to Birmingham where Jonboy is waiting for you so he can strip it for parts.

Wouldn't it be good if you could go on some Auto Trading website, stick in the car, the colour, the year, and find a reg?

That's why some people do it. I don't think it's necessary myself.

funkyrobot

Original Poster:

18,789 posts

227 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
dannyDC2 said:
Say you've just pinched a 2008 BMW 335i in grey, and want to stick another plate on there to drive it down to Birmingham where Jonboy is waiting for you so he can strip it for parts.

Wouldn't it be good if you could go on some Auto Trading website, stick in the car, the colour, the year, and find a reg?

That's why some people do it. I don't think it's necessary myself.
It wouldn't be any colour other than grey, black, white, or Estoril Blue, would it. hehe

C70R

17,596 posts

103 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
funkyrobot said:
Why do people do this?
To help me quickly highlight cars in which I have no interest, I presume...?

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
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I do laugh when the seller forgets to cover or smudge out the rear plate when taking pictures.

Always worth looking at every picture.

Happens all the time biggrin

Bennet

2,119 posts

130 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
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Sump

5,484 posts

166 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
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C70R said:
funkyrobot said:
Why do people do this?
To help me quickly highlight cars in which I have no interest, I presume...?
That's great then because I would go out of my way to do it if it got rid of problematic buyers. Guess it's a two way street hehe

aspen

1,419 posts

262 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
I would do this in future.

Recently had both cars stolen from the drive and they had cloned plates ready to go on. The plate for mine came from a car some poor guy had just bought after seeing it advertised online. It is very easy to go on the classifieds here or on Autotrader and search for the right make, model and colour and then they can drive right through any ANPR cameras.


C70R

17,596 posts

103 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
Sump said:
C70R said:
funkyrobot said:
Why do people do this?
To help me quickly highlight cars in which I have no interest, I presume...?
That's great then because I would go out of my way to do it if it got rid of problematic buyers. Guess it's a two way street hehe
No idea what outs me as a "problematic buyer". I'd have said I'm pretty easy-going...

Gareth79

7,628 posts

245 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
Bennet said:
As that thread mentions there is supposed to be restrictions on number plate manufacturers to make records of plate sales and check that the buyer is entitled to it. I know a few manufacturers in Ireland, but I have now bought two sets of plates from different sellers on eBay without having to prove anything, and both sets were shipped from the UK. They weren't attempting a show plate exemption either - the listings specify they are 100% road legal" and that they don't make anything that doesn't comply.

Obviously this is all irrelevant to anything but the most clueless car cloner - I'm sure most people could get a plate made in person without documents if we needed one.


Edited by Gareth79 on Wednesday 19th October 16:38

ecsrobin

17,019 posts

164 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
aspen said:
I would do this in future.

Recently had both cars stolen from the drive and they had cloned plates ready to go on. The plate for mine came from a car some poor guy had just bought after seeing it advertised online. It is very easy to go on the classifieds here or on Autotrader and search for the right make, model and colour and then they can drive right through any ANPR cameras.
But it's just as easy for someone to walk round a supermarket car park and do the same.

spookly

4,011 posts

94 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
Who cares if someone clones a car you are selling. Soon it will not be your problem biggrin

Sump

5,484 posts

166 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
ecsrobin said:
aspen said:
I would do this in future.

Recently had both cars stolen from the drive and they had cloned plates ready to go on. The plate for mine came from a car some poor guy had just bought after seeing it advertised online. It is very easy to go on the classifieds here or on Autotrader and search for the right make, model and colour and then they can drive right through any ANPR cameras.
But it's just as easy for someone to walk round a supermarket car park and do the same.
It's not just as easy. It's far easier and quicker to find the same looking car on AT.

Trabi601

4,865 posts

94 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
On my mission to look for a good Bongo (since found out that no such thing exists. They all drive like 1980s Transits), I found a local dealer on eBay. Every advert had a blanked out plate.

So I googled him. Lots of feedback about rotten Bongos 'professionally under sealed' and sold to punters who didn't check the MOT history.

If I see an advert with the plate blanked or covered, I ignore and move on to the next in the list.

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

245 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
hornetrider said:
b) Cloning risk
This one always makes me laugh. Unless you leave your car locked in a garage and never drive it the "cloning risk" occurs every time you take the car out. Registration numbers are not some kind of state secret.

And what exactly is the "risk" in "cloning risk"????