Private Reg

Mr S

Member
Messages
821
Im looking at getting a private numberplate, and was wondering if the companies are all much of a muchness, and if I just go for the cheapest one, or if some companies are better than others.
Have never done this before, so its all new to me.
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
A lot of companies have loads of plates and SOR private clients. I only have ever purchased one and this was about a decade ago.

It went like this:
Plate listed at £3k
Made and offer of £1.5k
A bit of back and forth and got the plate for £2k

At the moment, cash is king so deals are to be had so you may as well work them hard and pay what you consider a fair value.
 

Doctor Houx

Member
Messages
791
The DVLA site has a huge range in all formats eg AAA 11 A, A 11 AAA and the current AA 11 AAA. All prices include the transfer fee, so see if you can find what you are looking for there first before trying the private companies I have bought from them on many occasions. Just put what you want into the checker and it comes back with all the combinations of your chosen letters and numbers.
 

Hawk13

Member
Messages
1,471
Search DVLA first ... they have lots of decent registrations and hold regular auctions of interesting stuff
 

Devonboy

Member
Messages
1,289
DVLA - avoid the broker profit on top....a lot of the time they are advertising plates that can be bought directly at lower cost from the DVLA
 

lozcb

Member
Messages
12,301
Agreed Hit the DVLA first , and then do the rounds of the others , and yes most appear to be up for deals usually in the 25-30% off range
 

Mr S

Member
Messages
821
Didn't realise you could contact these companies/DVLA and offer them an amount, I thought the price you saw was the price you paid, unless at an auction.
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
ebay is your best bet, got a couple there at a bargain price from private sellers that had them already on retention certificates with transfer fee already paid, pretty straightforward to transfer from retention certificate on to your car on line with dvla, instant, DVLA auctions are not cheap and are bid up
 

BillyBob

Member
Messages
107
The DVLA have some plates up at a fixed price, and then they alternate between a live and a timed auction - although at the moment the next live auction has been switched to a timed one. Both types of auctions have reserve prices, and you can't get a plate from the DVLA for less than the reserve. Bidding at the last timed auction, which ended last wednesday, was very light - quite a few plates had no bids at all and many plates sold for "just" the reserve. If nothing else, looking at the DVLA auction reserve prices and sale prices will give you a feel for what people consider these plates to be worth - obviously there are massive variations, but you start to see patterns like anything with an X or a Z tends to be a lot cheaper.

If I were looking for a plate, I'd first check if I could get one I wanted at a fixed price from DVLA, if not then I'd look on ebay (but not pay inflated prices). Failing that I'd start to check the listings for the DVLA auctions to see if there was anything I wanted coming up at auction. Only if all of the above failed, and I'd run out of patience, would I start to look at the companies that sell them.
 

allandwf

Member
Messages
10,958
I've done DVLA, all in price, private from individual, and used National transfers once. All with no issues. Just check the number is transferable, and suitable for your age of car. You cannot make it appear younger than it is.
 

Wanderer

Member
Messages
5,791
I got S555 SVK (my initials are SVK) for DVLA about 150 quid inc or so, on a whim really. Still not on car for three years nearly! Kinda looks like 55555VK if you bodge it and squint.
 

Mr S

Member
Messages
821
Well, after a look around, iv ended up going through the DVLA, so now just to wait to get all the paperwork sorted. Thanks for the advice all
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
You can request for a number plate too from the DVLA.
If available they will put in in their auction for you.
Friend did this and bought it at the reserve price, as no interest to anyone else.
 

Mr S

Member
Messages
821
This is a new Private Reg, and was not at auction, so I'm going to buy a pair of plates, but with a smaller front one
 

Gazcw

Member
Messages
7,699
Mine all came from dvla. I found some companies were selling the same dvla plate at a premium!
Some do not add the transfer fee to the price also..
 

Andyk

Member
Messages
61,039
Im looking at getting a private numberplate, and was wondering if the companies are all much of a muchness, and if I just go for the cheapest one, or if some companies are better than others.
Have never done this before, so its all new to me.

I wouldn't go to any of the companies. Buy direct from the DVLA as most of the ones these companies sell are on the DVLA site. They just advertise them and charge you more....Safest place to buy from the DVLA.