Best way to transfer private number plate
Discussion
I'm in the process of purchasing a second hand car and plan to collect it on Monday 3rd February. Not sure at this stage if the sale will have occurred before then, sometime in the next couple of weeks, or if all the paper work etc. will be done on the day of collection.
I plan to sell my current car, which has a private number plate on it. I want to move this number plate to the new car. I'm currently "tarting up" my car and hope to start advertising it by next weekend. If I'm lucky and price it correctly, it may even be possible to sell it before I collect the new car. If this happens I have a couple of options:
1. Not part with my car until I have the replacement.
2. Allow the buyer to take my car before I have the replacement.
How I transfer the number plate may affect what I can do.
I'm not sure of the exact process of transferring the plate or the timescales or costs involved.
Option 1. Retention
I could put my number plate on retention now. I believe this costs £80 and I can do it online. I will be allocated a new registration number and will have the new plates made up and put on my existing car. I will need to inform the insurance company of the new plate and they will possibly charge me for modifying the policy. Not sure if I have to do something about the tax, but suspect not as the DVLA should be aware that the plate has changed for the car.
When I get the new car I transfer the plate from the retention certificate to the new second hand car and put the new plates on it. I also need to transfer the insurance policy to the new car, which will probably require an additional premium as the new car is worth more.
I assume I will be issued with a new V5 document, which will be needed to sell my car. Does this take long to arrive?
Option 2. Transfer
I believe it is possible to transfer the plate from my existing car to the new car, without first retaining it. I think the cost is also £80, but it wouldn't be necessary to modify the existing insurance policy to change the plate in advance I would simply transfer the insurance policy over to the new car.
I suspect I would need to have the new car before I could transfer the plate onto it. If I sold my car before getting the new one, I definitely wouldn't be able to hand it over until the reg number had been transferred and I assume I would need the new V5, showing the newly assigned reg number for my old car before I could transfer ownership?
Sorry for the long email, but there's a lot to think about and I want to have a good understanding of the two options so that I can plan things. It would appear that option 1 may be better to enable me to sell my car quicker, but I would have the additional insurance modification charge.
Thanks for any advice/pointers you might have to make this go smoothly.
I plan to sell my current car, which has a private number plate on it. I want to move this number plate to the new car. I'm currently "tarting up" my car and hope to start advertising it by next weekend. If I'm lucky and price it correctly, it may even be possible to sell it before I collect the new car. If this happens I have a couple of options:
1. Not part with my car until I have the replacement.
2. Allow the buyer to take my car before I have the replacement.
How I transfer the number plate may affect what I can do.
I'm not sure of the exact process of transferring the plate or the timescales or costs involved.
Option 1. Retention
I could put my number plate on retention now. I believe this costs £80 and I can do it online. I will be allocated a new registration number and will have the new plates made up and put on my existing car. I will need to inform the insurance company of the new plate and they will possibly charge me for modifying the policy. Not sure if I have to do something about the tax, but suspect not as the DVLA should be aware that the plate has changed for the car.
When I get the new car I transfer the plate from the retention certificate to the new second hand car and put the new plates on it. I also need to transfer the insurance policy to the new car, which will probably require an additional premium as the new car is worth more.
I assume I will be issued with a new V5 document, which will be needed to sell my car. Does this take long to arrive?
Option 2. Transfer
I believe it is possible to transfer the plate from my existing car to the new car, without first retaining it. I think the cost is also £80, but it wouldn't be necessary to modify the existing insurance policy to change the plate in advance I would simply transfer the insurance policy over to the new car.
I suspect I would need to have the new car before I could transfer the plate onto it. If I sold my car before getting the new one, I definitely wouldn't be able to hand it over until the reg number had been transferred and I assume I would need the new V5, showing the newly assigned reg number for my old car before I could transfer ownership?
Sorry for the long email, but there's a lot to think about and I want to have a good understanding of the two options so that I can plan things. It would appear that option 1 may be better to enable me to sell my car quicker, but I would have the additional insurance modification charge.
Thanks for any advice/pointers you might have to make this go smoothly.
Cleanest way:
Retain your registration number online now. It will cost you £80, you will have an age related V5 by this time next week which will remove any potential objections from prospective buyers. You should fit new plates and tell your insurance company but it's unlikely cause any problems if you don't.
There is no point in waiting until you have your new car as you won't be able to assign the registration number to your new car until you have a V5 for it in your name. Once you have this you can assign it immediately online with no additional charge.
Use the links here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applica...
Retain your registration number online now. It will cost you £80, you will have an age related V5 by this time next week which will remove any potential objections from prospective buyers. You should fit new plates and tell your insurance company but it's unlikely cause any problems if you don't.
There is no point in waiting until you have your new car as you won't be able to assign the registration number to your new car until you have a V5 for it in your name. Once you have this you can assign it immediately online with no additional charge.
Use the links here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applica...
I did something similar last month.
I went online and moved my plate into retention. Cost £80. I was given the original plate number that was in the car.
You have to make up the old plates and new documents arrived later in the week.
Surely this is cleaner when it comes to sell the car? You can then ask the dealer (if you are buying from one) to put your private plate on, and inform the insurance Co.
I went online and moved my plate into retention. Cost £80. I was given the original plate number that was in the car.
You have to make up the old plates and new documents arrived later in the week.
Surely this is cleaner when it comes to sell the car? You can then ask the dealer (if you are buying from one) to put your private plate on, and inform the insurance Co.
Put the plate onto Retention.
Whichever way you do it, the insurance is a hassle with possible cost implications.
Some insurance company's will allow a plate change for free if you do it on line.
If yours isn't one of them, get on the phone and get the plate change and new car as one transaction so they can only charge one admin fee.
Whichever way you do it, the insurance is a hassle with possible cost implications.
Some insurance company's will allow a plate change for free if you do it on line.
If yours isn't one of them, get on the phone and get the plate change and new car as one transaction so they can only charge one admin fee.
Thanks everyone, the consensus is obviously to put the number plate on retention, and this does make sense as it then allows me to quickly get hold of a revised V5 and sell the car.
Called my insurance company (AA) this morning to get a quote for transferring the insurance to my new car and I was told they couldn't/wouldn't do it. No reason given, but I suspect it relates to the value difference of the cars. They also said they would "probably" charge £25 for changing the registration.
So, with only 2 months to go to get another years no claims protection, I will be forced to cancel my existing insurance and take out a new policy. Even more reason to sell my existing car prior to picking up the new one in a couple of weeks.
I'm feeling very disappointed with the AA as they aren't making this any easier!
Once I put the private plate on retention, how long before I have to fit the replacement plates? I assume there is a grace period to allow the plates to be made up, supplied and fitted?
Thanks.
Called my insurance company (AA) this morning to get a quote for transferring the insurance to my new car and I was told they couldn't/wouldn't do it. No reason given, but I suspect it relates to the value difference of the cars. They also said they would "probably" charge £25 for changing the registration.
So, with only 2 months to go to get another years no claims protection, I will be forced to cancel my existing insurance and take out a new policy. Even more reason to sell my existing car prior to picking up the new one in a couple of weeks.
I'm feeling very disappointed with the AA as they aren't making this any easier!
Once I put the private plate on retention, how long before I have to fit the replacement plates? I assume there is a grace period to allow the plates to be made up, supplied and fitted?
Thanks.
Not what I'd do, as I'd want to go and play with the new toy, but can you delay picking the new car up for a month? Or picking it up and storing it safely whilst using the old one. This will allow you to benefit from the extra year NCB which it sounds like you need to do to be economical.
Or try a short term insurance quote on top of your existing one (Aviva have been reasonable to me in the past). Even running the old car with the odd days use of the new one.
This assumes you can safely store the new, and maybe uninsured, car off the road.
Or try a short term insurance quote on top of your existing one (Aviva have been reasonable to me in the past). Even running the old car with the odd days use of the new one.
This assumes you can safely store the new, and maybe uninsured, car off the road.
As you say, I don't want to delay getting the new car on 3rd Feb.
I may be able to get 7 days free insurance cover from Mercedes, so this would help delay having to cancel my existing policy by a week, giving me a little longer to sell it.
If it hasn't sold by then I have the option of looking for a very cheap, short term, low mileage insurance option as you have suggested. Hopefully it won't come to that as the XKR is in excellent condition, despite the high mileage it has.
I've just put the private plate on retention as well, so hopefully I'll get the new V5C within the next couple of weeks and this shouldn't therefore hold up the sale if I'm lucky enough to find a quick buyer.
The online retention process provided me with a new registration number and so new plates must be fitted asap, but it will take a couple of days to sort them out.
I may be able to get 7 days free insurance cover from Mercedes, so this would help delay having to cancel my existing policy by a week, giving me a little longer to sell it.
If it hasn't sold by then I have the option of looking for a very cheap, short term, low mileage insurance option as you have suggested. Hopefully it won't come to that as the XKR is in excellent condition, despite the high mileage it has.
I've just put the private plate on retention as well, so hopefully I'll get the new V5C within the next couple of weeks and this shouldn't therefore hold up the sale if I'm lucky enough to find a quick buyer.
The online retention process provided me with a new registration number and so new plates must be fitted asap, but it will take a couple of days to sort them out.
Meeten-5dulx said:
I You can then ask the dealer (if you are buying from one) to put your private plate on, and inform the insurance Co.
But you would have to delay collection of the new car as you won't be able to assign the registration number to your new car until you have a V5 for it in your name. Longtime Lurker said:
But you would have to delay collection of the new car as you won't be able to assign the registration number to your new car until you have a V5 for it in your name.
Not sure what you mean by this. Why would collection be delayed? The new car has it's own (current) registration number and, worst case scenario is, I collect the car and insure it with the current number plate. When I get the V5C with my name on it I can then put the private plate on the car and inform the insurance company that the plate has changed. This scenario doesn't cause any delay to the collection of the new car.Ideally, as part of the sale, the seller will be able to re-register the car with my private plate and make up and fit the new plates for me. It is slightly complicated as I am purchasing the car from Mercedes Benz Cars UK Limited, which is NOT a dealers. It is an ex-employee lease car. Consequently, I'm not sure if they would agree to applying my private reg to the car, but have asked them the question.
milleniumaire said:
Not sure what you mean by this. Why would collection be delayed? The new car has it's own (current) registration number and, worst case scenario is, I collect the car and insure it with the current number plate. When I get the V5C with my name on it I can then put the private plate on the car and inform the insurance company that the plate has changed. This scenario doesn't cause any delay to the collection of the new car.
Ideally, as part of the sale, the seller will be able to re-register the car with my private plate and make up and fit the new plates for me. It is slightly complicated as I am purchasing the car from Mercedes Benz Cars UK Limited, which is NOT a dealers. It is an ex-employee lease car. Consequently, I'm not sure if they would agree to applying my private reg to the car, but have asked them the question.
Sorry maybe i wasn't clear (made sense in my head) Yes your new car would have its own current registration etc but then you wouldn't be "asking the dealer (if you are buying from one) to put your private plate on" the plate can only be assigned to the car when you have the V5 in your name.Ideally, as part of the sale, the seller will be able to re-register the car with my private plate and make up and fit the new plates for me. It is slightly complicated as I am purchasing the car from Mercedes Benz Cars UK Limited, which is NOT a dealers. It is an ex-employee lease car. Consequently, I'm not sure if they would agree to applying my private reg to the car, but have asked them the question.
Edited by Longtime Lurker on Tuesday 21st January 16:32
My local dealer made up old plates in the back of the email I got when I put the private plate on retention and got my "original" dvla issued plate.
Also RAC Insurance tried to apply a 25 fee for changes and I managed to talk them out of charging.
If you are nice to the person on the phone, you may be able to convince them that changing a plate doesn't dramatically change the risk profile (they wanted to alter premium by approx 4gbp for the remainder of policy), which without me asking was also waived.
Also RAC Insurance tried to apply a 25 fee for changes and I managed to talk them out of charging.
If you are nice to the person on the phone, you may be able to convince them that changing a plate doesn't dramatically change the risk profile (they wanted to alter premium by approx 4gbp for the remainder of policy), which without me asking was also waived.
Having now completed the process, just thought I would share it.
On Monday evening I used the DVLA website to put my private number plate on redemption. This cost £80 and I was immediately provided with a new replacement registration number (my car was registered with the private plate). I was also provided with an eV948/1 (Number Plate Authorisation Certificate) showing the new number, which was valid for 3 days.
On Tuesday I took the eV948 to a local number plate supplier (got their details from the DVLA website). They required some id, so I showed my driving licence.
On Wednesday I picked up the new plates (could have got these immediately but was too busy to wait).
On Thursday I got my new V5C document through the post, showing my new registration number. Impressed with how quick I received this as I can now sell my car with the new plates. I also fitted the new number plates to my car.
Today, the retention certificate arrived in the post, but even without this I believe I already had everything I needed to assign the private reg. to my new car using the DVLA online forms. Unfortunately, the seller has told me I will have to wait until I'm supplied with the V5C with my name on it until I can do this as they are unable to assign the private number as part of their sales process.
So, it took only 3 days to change the registration on my car and provide me with a new V5C. Well done DVLA, this is very impressive. Now, I just have to sell it!
On Monday evening I used the DVLA website to put my private number plate on redemption. This cost £80 and I was immediately provided with a new replacement registration number (my car was registered with the private plate). I was also provided with an eV948/1 (Number Plate Authorisation Certificate) showing the new number, which was valid for 3 days.
On Tuesday I took the eV948 to a local number plate supplier (got their details from the DVLA website). They required some id, so I showed my driving licence.
On Wednesday I picked up the new plates (could have got these immediately but was too busy to wait).
On Thursday I got my new V5C document through the post, showing my new registration number. Impressed with how quick I received this as I can now sell my car with the new plates. I also fitted the new number plates to my car.
Today, the retention certificate arrived in the post, but even without this I believe I already had everything I needed to assign the private reg. to my new car using the DVLA online forms. Unfortunately, the seller has told me I will have to wait until I'm supplied with the V5C with my name on it until I can do this as they are unable to assign the private number as part of their sales process.
So, it took only 3 days to change the registration on my car and provide me with a new V5C. Well done DVLA, this is very impressive. Now, I just have to sell it!
Edited by milleniumaire on Friday 24th January 18:36
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