What’s special about the number plate GPR1X?

GPR1X reads GPRIX of Grand Prix – the term for an F1 race.

GPR1X or Grand Prix derives from the French for “Grand Prize” and originates from horse racing in 1863.

It was adopted by the motor racing world and is often shortened to GPRIX – hence the suitability of this plate.

Many racing enthusiasts buy number plates such as F1 or F1ACE in homage to motor racing and their love for the sport.

Such plate combinations are rare so number plate sales like this tend to attract a lot of interest from enthusiasts and collectors alike.

See also

GPR1X for sale

The new style number plate system was introduced in 2001 when the old prefix number plate system came to and end.

Beginning with 51 – the new system was a radical shake up for the DVLA and the public and led to a little confusion and change which has since settled.

As the 09 plate becomes the 59 plate in September 2009 – so the 59 new style reg plate brings the “50 series” to an end – to be replaced by the 10 and 60 number plate series from March 2010.

Shop @ Smashing Plates for current style number plates.

59 number plates will launch 1st september 2009.

Do I need a number plate dealer?

An interesting question – and certainly up until recent times one which would not be so readily asked. With the advent of Google and the ever increasing sophistication of the internet- number plate buyers and sellers have been migrating to eBay and other online classifieds websites as a more cost effective and direct way to buy & sell personalised number plates.

Number plate dealers provide a great service – they help buy & sell number plates – completing the transaction with as minimum fuss as possible.

However – in these times of consumer empowerment and with vast amounts of information instantly accessible – large numbers of people are seeking an alternative to cherished number plate dealers.

What do they do?

Number plate dealers are like Estate Agencies – they help to buy & sell number plates on behalf of clients and manage the marketing and negotiations.

By taking the worry and the work out of the process, number plate dealers have enjoyed many years of dominance in the market place and indeed have provided professional and useful services to the private number plate market.

How do they do it?

Employing teams of sales executives and administrators; number plate dealers are equipped to deal with vast numbers of telephone and internet enquiries and then transact the subsequent purchases, sales and number plate cherished transfers.

All this comes at a cost and although the services provided are invaluable – the price paid for them is perhaps disproportionate to the benefits.

What do they cost?

Many number plate dealers boast of advertising your number plate for free and providing their professional services free.

Although as a seller you don’t directly pay money for their services – you do indirectly pay – see our article “advertise your number plate for free“

Hedge your bets

It makes sense that to get the best exposure for your number plate you need to advertise it in as many places and ways as possible.

Using a number plate dealer and a number plate classifieds website together will mean increased exposure for your reg plate.

Advertising with a number plate classifieds website means you may also earn more for your plate. If you sell directly and don’t use a number plate dealer then the negotiation and ultimate sale price will be money in your pocket – rather than money in the dealer’s pocket.

It’s up to you

Ultimately when selling a number plate the choice lays with you – Number plate classifieds and number plate dealers each have their own benefits and niches and you may prefer to use one over the other – or indeed use both.

See also:

Number plate dealers

Avoid the Number plate ripoff

Why sell reg plates privately (and not through a dealer)

What does my number plate say about me?

Owning a personal number plate has become very popular – we calculate that around 1 in 8 cars on UK roads have a personalised or private number plate.

So with all of these combinations and with all this money having been spent on cherished registrations it begs the question – just what does my number plate say about me?

Well there are a couple of key different types of number plate – and much like star signs or horoscopes – your choice of number plate style can speak volumes about you as a person – or it could be a load of old nonsense! read on

Number 1 number plates

Number one number plates – dateless numberplates like “ANY 1″ are considered to be some of the finest available.

Usually adorning Embassy vehicles (think USA 1 and THA 1) but also favoured by wealthy private individuals such as John Madjeski (JM1) and Max Bygraves (MB1)

What does it say about you?

Wealthy – If you own a number 1 number plate then in the first instance you are wealthy – many of these number plates covet the finest cars in the world.

A perfectionist – Number 1 is quite literally the best – so to have the “number 1″ combination for many number plate enthusiasts – is the ultimate.

Buy number 1 number plates

Name number plates

Name number plates – number plates can be used to “spell” first and surnames using the wonders of autonumerology. 5 letter names such as J4MES, COL1N and L4URA are generally the most sought after.

Surnames and nicknames are also very popular and as some are obscure there is a greater chance of having your ideal combination.

What does it say about you?

Healthy Ego – Having your name on your car for some is the ultimate statement and a great ego boost – it does make road rage and remaining inconspicuous very interesting

Outgoing – You wouldn’t have your name on your numberplate unless you dont mind people knowing its you – I actually had a car full of girls calling my name and waving once thanks to my name number plate – great fun.

Buy name number plates

Word number plates

Word number plates tend to be the preserve of businesses (think Pimlico Plumbers) and interestingly enough gowing and Pursey the waste management company who own ART1K amongst others.

COM1C and MAG1C were sported by Tarby and Paul Daniels and remain as some of the most famous private plates.

What does it say about you?

Look at me! – A word – particularly a rude one – on a number plate grabs attention like nothing else – I was overtaken by PU51WAX the other day – say no more….

Fun – Where name number plates are about ego – word number plates are about fun. HA51LEG (Has 1 Leg) is sported by a driver who lost his leg in an accident and bought this with some of the claim money – brilliant

Buy word number plates

Look-alike number plates

If you can’t find or afford your ideal name or word number plate there are multiples of “look alike” options – ranging from very good to poor to down right illegal. Where DAV1D isn’t available – there is also DAV11D or DAV111D or even DVA1D.

What does it say about you?

A Tryer – Even though you couldn’t find or afford your ideal combination you still managed to find a suitable number plate – with so many rules and different combinations its no mean feat – well done you!

An enthusiast – To find look alike and alternative combinations you need to have more than a passing interest in personalised number plates

Irish number plates

Irish number plates are utilised mainly by those wishing to mask the age of their vehicle. As Irish plates use “I” and “Z” there are significantly fewer desirable combinations – with the exception of plates like VIP1 and BIG1

What does it say about you?

Economical – You like personalised number plates but perhaps arent keen on spending fortunes on them – Irish plates do the job at a fraction of the cost.

Irish – You are from Ireland or have bought and Irish registered car(!)

Buy Irish number plates

Sequential number plates

Do you own a series or set of number plates? or perhaps you own “identical” number plates – think S1NGH and 51NGH – the serious number plate collector / enthusiast can never stop with just one number plate.

At number plate rallies and parked in the driveways of expensive houses you will often find sequential number plates - or even a set of number plates such as 2B and NOT2B.

What does it say about you?

Enthusiast/collector – You are serious about number plates – you know your prefix from your suffix and aren’t shy about spending money for quality number plate combinations

Standard number plates – (the ones that came with the car)

If your car sports the same number plates it left the dealership with then there’s two schools of thought.

You are either wealthy enough to afford private number plates but just don’t see the point and prefer anonymity – or you are mad keen on getting some cherished plates but cant find or afford the combination you want.

What does this say about you?

Nonplussed – those without personalised number plates are unaware of the scale of the UK number plate market and number of enthusiasts.

Unaware – many people are introduced the personalised number plates in their late twenties /early thirties – perhaps you need a little more time ?

Black and silver number plates (on a car built after January 1st 1973- which shouldn’t have them)

Largely fitted to Black vehicles as the colour combination is good – Black and white or black and silver number plates can only be legally fitted to a vehicle built before 1^st January 1973.

Any other vehicle with these numberplates is breaking the law – no matter how good it may look.

What does this say about you?

Rebel – There are a million laws for motorists and sometimes it’s difficult and inconvenient to follow them all – you flout the rules as it makes your car look cooler.

Stylish – black and silver number plates can make a car look good – particularly a black car and more often than not Range rover and Bentley owners use Black and Silver number plates to enhance their appearance.

Illegal number plates – illegal fonts, spacing and flags etc

In a similar regard to Black and Silver number plates – number plates with illegal fonts and spacing have become a way to “improve” the appearance of your vehicle.

Illegal number plates have also allowed distortion of numberplates to read words or names – this is chiefly for financial reasons but in the eyes of the law this is a serious offence.

What does this say about you?

Rebel – There are a million laws for motorists and sometimes it’s difficult and inconvenient to follow them all – you flout the rules as it makes your car look cooler.

See also – look alike number plates.

So there you have it – our brief (and opinionated) guide to what your number plates say about you.

Many number plate dealers offer to advertise your number plate for free – which on the face of it seems like a great offer – but beware the true cost of using number plate dealers.

We explore this in more depth in our other blog but basically number plate dealers make their money from selling number plates owned by other people and taking a commission for advertising and selling the number plate.

Lets say you have a number plate worth £1000.

You could advertise number plate privately and get close to or more than the £1000 number plate valuation.

If you use a dealer they may value the plate at £1000 but they will commit to get you a return of £650 – essentially you are paying £350 for their services.

As with anything we know we can get a better deal selling privately so it really depends if you have the time or inclination to sell your number plate – but it’s worth looking in to.

If you advertise with Smashing Plates you pay a one off advertising fee – nothing more and no commissions – find out why more and more people are turning to number plate classifieds

See also

Advertise your number plate for free

why sell number plates privately

If there is a particular personalised number plate you’re after – and it’s not offered for sale then is there anything you can do to track down who owns the number plate or find out if it has ever been issued?

There are two scenarios – the first is that the plate is in circulation and on a vehicle or retention certificate somewhere – the second is the plate has never been issued. In both cases there is a chance to obtain the registration number- you just need to know how to do it…

Can I find out who owns a number plate from the DVLA?

In short- unfortunately not.

The DVLA’s data protection regulations mean that only in the interests of crime prevention and detection will they disclose the details relating to a particular personal number plate.

The DVLA is not the only place to turn to – with a little imagination you may still find who owns a particular number plate.

How to find who owns a number plate?

With a bit of detective work it may be possible to find out who owns a number plate. First stop is the internet – if you search for the number plate – let’s say “A123ABC” then you may find it IS offered for sale somewhere but perhaps you haven’t found it.

“Searching using quotation marks will return the most precise results”

You may also find that the owner of the plate has registered an eBay account, forum or even website with their number plate – this isn’t as uncommon as you may think.

You need to conduct a little thinking “out of the box”

Contacting the Number plate club is always a good move – these friendly people have many contacts up and down the country –so if the number plate you seek is quite distinctive- or even famous then they could point you in the right direction

“Contacting the Number plate club is always a good move”

Was the number plate ever issued?

Although there are many millions of number plates in circulation and many millions more number plates offered for sale it could be that the particular combination you require isn’t actually in circulation.

So how to find out? There are a couple of ways to do this –

Check the registration number on insurance websites – entering a reg number will automatically give you a vehicle model (if it’s registered to a vehicle)

Check the number plate classifieds and number plate dealers

Finally – you can check with the DVLA – you can Email the DVLA but they will only give you a yes/no answer (due to data protection)

How do I request a number plate

If the number plate you seek isn’t in circulation you can request the DVLA offer it at a forthcoming DVLA auction – this if free and a great way of getting the exact plate you want.

If the number plate you seek IS in circulation – you can place a wanted number plate advert and let the owner come to you.

How to advertise a number plate

Advertising a private number plate for sale can appear to be a daunting and unsure process.

Despite the fact that selling number plates is very similar to selling your car – the thought of DVLA paperwork, transfers and all that number plate jargon- is enough to intimidate.

So assuming you know the value of your number plate and you can sell your number plate – getting it advertised is the next step.

Again as with advertising cars; there are some options and decisions to be made when advertising a number plate for sale.

Number plate advertising – the options

When selling car number plates there are two options – using a number plate dealer who will take care of everything for you (at a price) or transacting the sale yourself.

Each option has different benefits depending on what you are looking for, how quickly you need to sell and how involved you wish to be in advertising your number plate.

Number plate dealer

Using a number plate dealer means all the worry and work is removed. The number plate dealer will advertise the cherished number plate on your behalf; field calls and enquiries from potential buyers and ultimately help negotiate the selling price and conclude the sale.

“Using a number plate dealer who will take care of everything for you (at a price)”

That’s the upside – the downside is although you never pay the dealer a penny (directly) they build their commission into the asking price for your number plate.

This means your plate may be worth £500 – they will advertise it at £800 – they keep £300 as their commission and get you the £500 they valued your number plate at.

“We all know that selling cars privately means you get more – the same is true for number plates”

Number plate dealer commissions are variable or fixed depending upon the deal struck and can range from hundreds to thousands of pounds. This is money that could be yours – but is paid to the dealer for their services

Number plate classifieds

Using a number plate classifieds website means you will get a higher asking price for your number plate – but will have to complete the transfer yourself.

When you consider transferring a number plate takes at worst 10 working days and the forms can be completed in minutes- dealer commissions can appear slightly unjustified.

“If you would sell your car privately then it makes sense to sell your number plate privately”

Number plate classifieds websites – such as this one- are a new and interesting alternative to number plate dealers.

“Making buying & selling number plates easy and affordable”

In much the same way low cost airlines have revolutionised the air travel industry – making fares more affordable and adding value – so number plate classifieds are the affordable and easy way to sell a number plate.

NumberPlateClassifieds.co.uk

Why not do both

As number plate classifieds and number plate dealers each have different advantages – you may find that utilising both is a great way to increase the chances of selling your number plate swiftly.

It may be worth listing with a number plate dealer – and then listing the number plate for the same price at numberplateclassifieds.co.uk – that way if you sell the plate privately you will get considerably more return for the sale.

The do’s and don’ts of number plate advertising

It’s always worth doing your homework – whether you use a number plate dealer – number plate classifieds – or both.

DO

Find out the meaning of your number plate – and who may want to buy it from you – that way you can tailor your efforts-

“It’s easier trying to sell to people who want what you have”

DO

Get a sensible number plate valuation and set an attractive asking price.

DON’T

Price yourself out of the market – if you’re not sure check what other similar number plate sell for.

DON’T

Be inflexible – it can take time to sell a number plate so if you have a potential buyer it’s worth negotiating.

WHY NOT

Use number plate dealers AND classifieds – it will vastly increase your chances of selling your number plate.

What is the DVLA sealed bids auction?

In October 2008 the DVLA experimented with a new type of number palte auction.

Instead of hosting a 3 day event and inviting members of the public to bid in person, they held a sealed bids auction for 1500 lots – closing Friday 31st October 2008.

31% of the lots remained unsold and the uptake of bidders and sale of private number plate lots was poorer than expected.

The DVLA are expected to revisit this format and find other ways to sell cherished number plates directly to the public.

DVLA sealed bids auction results can be found here.

See also

DVLA number plate auction

What is a number plate dealer ?

A number plate dealer is a business which buys and sells private number plates – both those owned by the company itself, numbers owned by clients and DVLA stock. Dealers who sell dvla stock are called DVLA resellers.

When private number plate dealers sell plates on behalf of clients they act in much the same way as an estate agent would sell a property – they advertise and transact the sale of purchase in return for a commission fee.

See also
dvla resellers
number plate dealer

what do they do

Number plate dealers’ activities can be divided into some key areas- their main business is helping the public buy and sell cherished number plates but they also speculatively buy cherished number plates outright and help to transfer and retain cherished numbers on behalf of others.

DVLA reseller – selling plates from DVLA stock to which they have access. There are some 30M+ number plates in the DVLA database but you may save time buying directly from the DVLA.

Commission sales – Selling plates owned by third parties in return for a percentage commission of the final sale price

Stock sales - Selling plates actually owned by the number plate dealer.

Acrylic number plates - Selling physical sets of number plates to display on your vehicle.

Register of number plate suppliers

Transfer & retention - conducting the transfer and retention of number plates on behalf of clients when buying or selling a numberplate.

Valuations - Usually with a view to advertising the plate on a commission sales basis- number plate valuations are offered for free to initiate customer contact.

Number plate valuation

How do they make money

Number plate dealer’s main source of income is from commission based sales. As some personal number plates can sell for upwards of £100k – a percentage commission can total many thousands of pounds.

The sale of personal number plates from DVLA stock (being a dvla reseller) represents a steady income for number plate dealers as the “make your own” number plate advertisements have brought plate ownership to the masses.

Buying and selling personal number plates outright means number plate dealers can make substantial profits from the number plate market – but as with any investment in number plates it can be a volatile and dangerous marketplace.

See also
number plate investment

how much do they charge

When selling a number plate on a commission basis there is no hard and fast rule – certainly none of the dealers have a clear policy about how much commission they charge. From experience the amount can vary from 2-15% (or more) depending on a host of factors including the plate’s value and rarity.

There are many hundreds of number plate dealers – but only one or two key players – it’s worth “shopping around” to find the best deal as the market is inconsistant.

See also
number plate ripoff

what benefits do they offer

Number plate dealers have large and extensive marketing campaigns and budgets which are the main reason for their market dominance. Advertising with a number plate dealer is “free” as the commission is loaded on to the asking price for your number plate – the dealer may value your plate at £500 but set the asking price at £800.

This makes advertising a number plate for sale straightforward but can hinder the actual sale as the asking price is larger than if you were to sell privately.

To conclude

Depending on how involved you wish to be in the sale of your cherished number plate – number plate dealers appeal in different ways.

To get a better price and better deal – as with anything it always pays to buy or sell directly – using a number plate classisifeds site such as www.numberplateclassifieds.co.uk.

From experience – when selling a cherished number plate if you list with a dealer then it’s also worth advertising in the number plate classifieds as a means of broadening your marketing effort.

See also

Why buy car registration number plates privately

Why sell car registration number plates privately

Are you the owner? You must appear as either the grantee or purchaser to be able to sell your number plate.

Is the numberplate non-transferrable? - On your V5C log book for your vehicle if the words “non transferrable” appear then you will be unable to transfer the number.

Is the number plate on retention? To sell your numberplate you will need to add the buyer as a nominee in order to complete the sale/transfer

Is the number plate on a vehicle? To sell your numberplate you will need to complete DVLA form V317 – cherished transfer from vehicle to vehicle. You must be the registered keeper for the vehicle that currently holds the personalised number plate.

Can I sell my number plate?

How do I sell my number plate?

Sell my number plate