Private plates are extremely popular, in fact, you can probably take a simple trip to your local supermarket and spot at least one during your journey. Some private plates can be worth millions of pounds, and some people make a living out of investing in plates they believe could be worth more money in the future. However, for most of us, private plates are simply a cheap and easy way to spruce up our vehicles.
Here are a few interesting private number plate facts:-
1, Is A Magic Number
‘1’ is the most expensive private number plate in the world and fetched a massive £7.25 million pounds when it was sold in Abu Dhabi in 2008. It was purchased by a billionaire who had a wide variety of supercars to place the plate on. Before this plate was sold for the record £7.25 million price tag, the record was previously held by the ‘5’ number plate which was sold for 5 million pounds in 2007.
Private Number Plates Are A Hot Business
Regardless of politics and the state of the worldwide economy, personalised number plates sales have never really suffered. For this reason the DVLA have made nearly 2 billion pounds selling these plates since the late 1980’s.
VIP 1
VIP 1 is another famous and popular private number plate which was originally created for the popes visit to Ireland. Following this use, the plate was bought and resold by many wealthy people and eventually fell into the hands of a football club owner who paid nearly £300,000 for it.
S8RRY
The famous ‘S8RRY’ number plate was purchased by Robbie Williams who bought a Ferrari and decided he may have come across as a little egotistical to his fans who considered him to be a down to earth ‘bloke’ from Stoke On Trent. Because of this he chose to purchase the ‘S8RRY’ number plate as a message to fans he was apologetic about spending so much money on a status symbol.
F1
Generally the most expensive number plates in the world exchange hands in the Far East where there is a strong supercar culture. However, many auctions occur in the UK and private plates still sell for huge amounts of money. The most expensive number plate ever to be sold in the UK was ‘F1’ and was purchased for a huge £440,000.
LEO 10
Cherie Blair, the wife of former prime minister Tony Blair treated her son to a ‘LEO 10’ number plate for his supercar bed frame. The amount she paid for the plate has never been disclosed but it is thought to be a high figure in the hundreds of thousands.
Offensive Plates
The DVLA has a rule that plates containing letters or words that could be considered offensive by the general population are removed from sale. SEX has been considered acceptable within the last few years, but plenty of offensive plates have been taken off the market. On occasion, some can still stay up for sale if they are not noticed and are quickly snapped up.
Private Plates Are An Investment
Private number plates are a form of investment for many people. There are investors who check plates and purchase them if they think they may become more valuable in the future. They may purchase plates that have a specific celebrity culture meaning or simply plates that they think could be related to an up and coming star or trend. A person who chooses the right plate could buy it for £500 and sell it on for thousands, tens of thousands or even millions if they chose the right plate – so it’s no wonder so many people are getting involved in the business of private plate investment.
It Costs You Every Time You Move Your Plates
Many people still believe you can simply buy a private plate and put it on your car. There is in fact lots of legislation relating to private plates in the UK. You can’t swap number plates over between your own vehicles without filling out a form and paying £80, and if you are selling your plate you and the new owner have to fill out the same form. There is also a lot of legislation relating to using fonts that aren’t acceptable and making modifications to the plate itself. Private plates are a great investment but it is important legalities are followed to avoid fines.
