RE: Personalised plates: Tell Me I'm Wrong
Discussion
Pleasingly there's far fewer plates here in South Cheshire now as most of the footballers who used to live in the area have moved nearer to Manchester where the garish and 'desperate' (lol) mansions they so enjoy showing off are more tolerated by their respective local councils. Win/win.
I really can't see what the fuss is about; if you like them, buy them, if you dont, well just don't! It hurts nobody, and keeps a few people gainfully employed trading plates, making plates etc, and the money the DVLA makes is almost total profit, and a gift to the state coffers.
If a plate makes no difference, why are Q plates (even on otherwise fabulous cars and bikes) almost universally abhored?
My take, I do like to see a plate that is sympathetic to the cars age or appearance; for example I have had (although never bought) a couple of age related plates on cobra replicas that make them look more period, and I think plates like the GTR one featured look good too.
I do laugh at how many northern ireland 'DAZ' numbers there are around, is there any such thing as common individualism??? :-)
I also like the '100% stock as it left the dealer' look especially on something interesting and classic, original plate from the area etc
End of the day, whatever the plate, it doesnt change how they drive!!
If a plate makes no difference, why are Q plates (even on otherwise fabulous cars and bikes) almost universally abhored?
My take, I do like to see a plate that is sympathetic to the cars age or appearance; for example I have had (although never bought) a couple of age related plates on cobra replicas that make them look more period, and I think plates like the GTR one featured look good too.
I do laugh at how many northern ireland 'DAZ' numbers there are around, is there any such thing as common individualism??? :-)
I also like the '100% stock as it left the dealer' look especially on something interesting and classic, original plate from the area etc
End of the day, whatever the plate, it doesnt change how they drive!!
I didn't know CH before he came to PH.
At first I liked him but now feel he's becoming more like Clarkson, a wind-up merchant who talks cobblers to gain a reaction.
If the registration number on a car upsets people they must be quite narrow minded. The plates bring in an enormous amount of tax money which is paid voluntarily, they harm nobody and give many folks a giggle.
Go back to drifting supercars round a corner Chris, you're quite good at that - this topic is banal.
At first I liked him but now feel he's becoming more like Clarkson, a wind-up merchant who talks cobblers to gain a reaction.
If the registration number on a car upsets people they must be quite narrow minded. The plates bring in an enormous amount of tax money which is paid voluntarily, they harm nobody and give many folks a giggle.
Go back to drifting supercars round a corner Chris, you're quite good at that - this topic is banal.
CRA1G said:
Well DVLA have a three day auction starting tomorrow with 1550 numbers up....! So there will be plenty more on the road to moan about...
and I'm sure some will sell for eye watering prices to very happy purchasers filling the secretary of state coffers....
so a win win all round really
Wow 1550 numbers...........! That is a serious amount of revenue......! But yea if some one's happy to pay,the government will happily except........ and I'm sure some will sell for eye watering prices to very happy purchasers filling the secretary of state coffers....so a win win all round really
I had the bad fortune that my wife actually bought me two private plates. My name is Steve and my surname begins with H. She bought me B5 TEH and C5 TEH. I thought, "what the hell has that got to do with my name"? She explains, "just move the 5 to the T and space the EH and you will have B 5TE H, Steve H"
Oh dear God!. I put them on unspaced and have had to explain them ever since!. They do look quite good side by side but it has put me off them completely.
If I had SMH 1 then fair enough, I like that, but all these dodgy spaced plates are a step too far and cheapen the car.
I overheard a guy say that he had bought one for £85 and it was XIB 5564 or something. It was nothing to do with his name but "the neighbours think I'm loaded" Perhaps that has a lot to do with it??!!
Oh dear God!. I put them on unspaced and have had to explain them ever since!. They do look quite good side by side but it has put me off them completely.
If I had SMH 1 then fair enough, I like that, but all these dodgy spaced plates are a step too far and cheapen the car.
I overheard a guy say that he had bought one for £85 and it was XIB 5564 or something. It was nothing to do with his name but "the neighbours think I'm loaded" Perhaps that has a lot to do with it??!!
Lots of anger on both sides here - I'm loving it! 
Different rules here in Australia, and more choices, so fewer sad text speak plates (I thought "shell oil" on the calculator was hilarious, when I was 12).
I still see too many try-hard plates, but there are some good ones around - my favourite from years ago was a pink merc convertible with the rego "kept".
Work has "DYNO-1" through to "DYNO-13" or so; many companies do similar.
Different rules here in Australia, and more choices, so fewer sad text speak plates (I thought "shell oil" on the calculator was hilarious, when I was 12).
I still see too many try-hard plates, but there are some good ones around - my favourite from years ago was a pink merc convertible with the rego "kept".
Work has "DYNO-1" through to "DYNO-13" or so; many companies do similar.
I do see the argument here and regrettably I am guilty as charged - I have a few plates, mostly on retention; some are borderline offensive like 'S15 _ _ _' (then three letters like 'Si's VTR' if it was on a Citroen). The others are expensive two letters two numbers etc. BUT I'd say there were a formula to apply here. I used to have '55 ME' on an SL55 AMG which looked great but sold the number for a good margin. Sad - but true. Sorry.
Here's my rules:
1. If it's a beautiful car from say the 90's, like an NSX, a nice prefix plate with one digit and three letters (i.e. N2 NSX) looks cool rather than say, N589 RRV,
2. If it's an elegant classic with a nice plate - 60/70's Aston, Bentley etc
3. If it's just initials like SR 17 (nice) rather than S7 ROG (for an imaginary Steve Rogers) - on the RIGHT car e.g a Range Rover not a boy racer Subaru or Cosworth type car
4. If it's a heirloom
BUT I do hate fixings and letter edits to make it look like words i.e N1 OKS with a dot on the O so the O looks like a C etc just - wrong. Otherwise, I think prvate plates are elegant for the right people. Arthur Daley types no, Nigel Havers types yes. I suppose that I sit somewhere in between the two but probably more Nigel than Arthur!
Here's my rules:
1. If it's a beautiful car from say the 90's, like an NSX, a nice prefix plate with one digit and three letters (i.e. N2 NSX) looks cool rather than say, N589 RRV,
2. If it's an elegant classic with a nice plate - 60/70's Aston, Bentley etc
3. If it's just initials like SR 17 (nice) rather than S7 ROG (for an imaginary Steve Rogers) - on the RIGHT car e.g a Range Rover not a boy racer Subaru or Cosworth type car
4. If it's a heirloom
BUT I do hate fixings and letter edits to make it look like words i.e N1 OKS with a dot on the O so the O looks like a C etc just - wrong. Otherwise, I think prvate plates are elegant for the right people. Arthur Daley types no, Nigel Havers types yes. I suppose that I sit somewhere in between the two but probably more Nigel than Arthur!
As with anything - moderation is the key. A lot of plates look awful but some look quite good.
Personally I have a 2 digit, 3 letter plate 60 LXD which I like as it looks a lot less cluttered on the car.
When I younger, someone locally had a Escort with K9 OR G which made me giggle everytime I saw it
Personally I have a 2 digit, 3 letter plate 60 LXD which I like as it looks a lot less cluttered on the car.
When I younger, someone locally had a Escort with K9 OR G which made me giggle everytime I saw it
If it's done with a bit of humour, and isn't in some ridiculous script font, then i'm for it. These brought a smile to my face...
I do quite like the simplicity of the older, shorter plates too, like...
As with most things, if they're taken too seriously, to people use them try and look gangster, then they'll generally look a bit of a cock.
I do quite like the simplicity of the older, shorter plates too, like...
As with most things, if they're taken too seriously, to people use them try and look gangster, then they'll generally look a bit of a cock.
I don't mind them, as long as they're the correct font/spacing etc and aren't trying too hard.
I got my plate (letter numbers initials) for my 21st, it seems to be a popular present. I imagine it is something I will always have, even though it add a bit if extra work at car swapping time and restricts me to cars built in '91 or later. The plus side is the shorter number plate looks better, especially as on each car I buy I get new plates made up and I always know my registration number when asked.
I got my plate (letter numbers initials) for my 21st, it seems to be a popular present. I imagine it is something I will always have, even though it add a bit if extra work at car swapping time and restricts me to cars built in '91 or later. The plus side is the shorter number plate looks better, especially as on each car I buy I get new plates made up and I always know my registration number when asked.
Very naff in my book.
"LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!"
Why are the vast majority of private plates on the most boring cars? Like someone has decided to be different and a bit 'wacky', but forgotten to apply that logic when buying the car they are driving.
I also think there is a strong link to it being perceived as being 'posh', like we live in 1970 still.
"He must be doing well, got a private plate".
Deluded.
"LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!"
Why are the vast majority of private plates on the most boring cars? Like someone has decided to be different and a bit 'wacky', but forgotten to apply that logic when buying the car they are driving.
I also think there is a strong link to it being perceived as being 'posh', like we live in 1970 still.
"He must be doing well, got a private plate".
Deluded.
BlimeyCharlie said:
Very naff in my book.
"LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!"
Why are the vast majority of private plates on the most boring cars? Like someone has decided to be different and a bit 'wacky', but forgotten to apply that logic when buying the car they are driving.
I also think there is a strong link to it being perceived as being 'posh', like we live in 1970 still.
"He must be doing well, got a private plate".
Deluded.
"LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!"
Why are the vast majority of private plates on the most boring cars? Like someone has decided to be different and a bit 'wacky', but forgotten to apply that logic when buying the car they are driving.
I also think there is a strong link to it being perceived as being 'posh', like we live in 1970 still.
"He must be doing well, got a private plate".
Deluded.
your post says lots about you!Grandfondo said:
BlimeyCharlie said:
Very naff in my book.
"LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!"
Why are the vast majority of private plates on the most boring cars? Like someone has decided to be different and a bit 'wacky', but forgotten to apply that logic when buying the car they are driving.
I also think there is a strong link to it being perceived as being 'posh', like we live in 1970 still.
"He must be doing well, got a private plate".
Deluded.
"LOOK AT ME EVERYONE!"
Why are the vast majority of private plates on the most boring cars? Like someone has decided to be different and a bit 'wacky', but forgotten to apply that logic when buying the car they are driving.
I also think there is a strong link to it being perceived as being 'posh', like we live in 1970 still.
"He must be doing well, got a private plate".
Deluded.
your post says lots about you!This thread is fascinating.
Quite a few people seem to carry some baggage around their perception of what they may call "snobbery". Chris Harris calls it "self absorption" but it amounts to the same thing ; a sense of judging people by appearances and the superficial, but in reverse, as if the holders of private plates are somehow acting as if they are trying to be above them. Thats how the haters seem to see it. And they instinctively don't like it.
I would be the first to admit that many private plates do nothing for me. I laugh as much as the next man when I see a cheesy or naff plate. But some of the posts here show more than this. Some of them are full of obviously hate filled bile that even the posters themselves don't seem to be aware of.
People shouldn't really care as much as they do about this issue.
This thread really shouldn't be this long.
But it is. People are certainly complicated....
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff