Personal number plates for slimmers?

It never ceases to amaze me the different things that inspire people when choosing a personal number plate.
Today I saw article on the back of Slimming World's staff magazine. And there, proudly showing off their new private number plates we two Slimming World consultants Louise Monticelli and Denise Askew.

Louise opted for the term 'syns' - a word that Slimming World members will recognise I'm sure as the measure for different food options. So the registration number S5 YNS fits perfectly.
"We'd been looking for a numberplate that took our fancy, and when I came across this by accident I thought 'Why not?' " says Louise.

Denise's choice of registration number is equally imaginative: LE55 LBS. Now there's a mission statement!
"I'd always wanted a personalised Slimming World number plate, so on my 50th birthday, my husband surprised me by ordering this one and having it delivered along with our new car! I love it - and so do the members!"

Ladies.... you clearly love what you do!

Of course, jobs and hobbies are a popular theme when choosing a personal number plate. These are a few of the most popular ones:

Music number plates
Law number plates
Computer number plates

To buy or not to buy a personal number plate?

A client had just bought herself her dream car. I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was grinning from ear to ear. I'm sure many of us can relate to that - cars are no longer boys' toys.
This particular lady had decided she was going for the icing on the cake... a personal number plate. And, like most of us, she had a limited budget. She was looking at prefix style number plates, with a 3-letter abbreviation of her name. To keep it anonymous, let's say her name was Jan.

Unfortunately, she was struggling to find a private registration number she liked within her budget (a familiar story for many reading this, no doubt).

"How about a current style number plate?" I asked. "They're often more affordable - you can get one that's well within your budget". There was a fabulous one available at the time - similar to...
OO04 JAN
(this is not the exact registration number)

As current style number plates go, these ones are the best value number plates available at the moment. They are reasonably priced right now, and will sell well when they're put back on the market in the future. But in this case.... one slight hitch! Her car was a 53 plate - 6 months older than the registration number. So she would not be able to assign it to her car.

Dilemma! What to do?

Comparing number plates, and comparing number plate prices.
Should Jan buy the recommended private registration number anyway, because it's a good investment...too good to pass up? But she wouldn't be able to use it till she's replaced her car.
Or...should she pass up on this registration number, and pay more for a different private numberplate (that's likely to appreciate more slowly) she can use straightaway?

The rational side says... buy registration number OO04 JAN.
Emotional side says "I want to use my private number plate on my car straight away".

Decisions, decisions..... what would you do?

Number plate price comparison

How do you compare number plates? And more importantly, how do you compare number plate prices?

How do you know what's a sensible price? And when you're paying over the odds?

I mean, anyone that ever searched for a personal number plate would tell you that prices vary so much. And why do number plates that look so similar vary so much in price? What's going on?

Having spent so much time in this industry, I've found there are many reasons why 2 apparently similar private number plates can be so different in price. Sometimes there's a genuine reason: for instance, compare number plates M3 SUE and M2 SUE. M3 SUE is likely to be valued higher than M2 SUE. Why? There may not appear to be much in it... but of course, M3 represents a BMW model. And that adds to the value considerably.
Here's a good example of how the value of a personal number plate can go up with the introduction of a new model of car.

Having said that, not all the price differences can be explained as genuine. When you compare number plate prices across different websites, you soon find the same personal number plate can vary widely - and occasionally the price can double from one site to another. Ouch.

Much of that is down to how much the company charges in commission fees. And how many dealers sit between the person selling and the buyer. And very often it's the seller themselves. Having spoken to many individuals selling number plates, expectations can be unrealistic.

The bottom line is.... shop around. Compare number plate prices across different dealers. And don't overlook those selling number plates privately. That means no dealers, so no dealer premium. And usually no vat.