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Picking up a Private Number Plate? Wait and mind what to do and what to avoid

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The wish for making your quality car stand out in the crowd has urged you to consider paying a massive amount for the perfect number plate. Also, affordable private number plates are available, but few people won’t mind disbursing any amount of cash for a number plate. Like, back in 2008, Afzal Khan purchased ‘F1’ for a whopping £440,000 and put it on his Mercedes Benz McLaren.

In the present situation, personalized number plates can be bought directly from the DVLA and reliable car dealers.

Before picking up a registration number plate, mind what you should do and what you shouldn’t:

Must understand the various styles:

Number plates have different styles. If you understand each of them, you can determine the perfectly suited one for you. Based on your car’s original registration year, you may get limited options. But you can try the dateless ones that are the favorites of many exclusive car owners.

The UK private registration plates are made in four styles:

  • Dateless
  • Prefix
  • Suffix
  • Current

By dateless, it means that there is no date shown on the number plate. The current style allows the buyer to use their birth year, initials or name, lucky number, etc. This kind of number plate is considered as the most affordable one.

Always set a budget:

Keep it in your mind that private number plates don’t come cheap. If you don’t make a steady budget, you may end up in overspending. If you are a millionaire and can spend whatever the cost is, you can go ahead without planning a budget, but if you are a person who has many other responsibilities to meet from your limited earning, you must set a firm limit.

You will get many preferred number plates offered by reputed dealers online.

Be aware of the extra fees:

The price that is usually advertised may be less than the total amount that you have to pay for the unique number plate. The dealers add on VAT. Also, DVLA will charge a particular fee for registering the number plate to your vehicle.

An assignment fee and the amount for changing the registration details on the personalized plates are charged by the DVLA. It covers the expense of ownership transfer and also assigning it to the new car. This fee is mandatory.

You need to be flexible with the options of number plates:

You may not get the exact combination you are looking for. Private plates are becoming more famous with every passing day. You may have to be happy with a bit different one than your precise desire. Hence, if you are inflexible with the combinations of the registration number plate, you may get disappointed, or, you may have to go extremely over budget to avail the exact plate you want. Keeping your choice flexible will help you get a good private number plate within your budget.

Be cautious of the private dealers:

You may choose to get your personalized number plate privately, but remember that there is no particular governing body to make sure that you will receive your number plate after the money is paid.

Never try to make your vehicle look younger or newer:

Your heart may insist you to make your car appear newer or younger, but you may be highly penalized if you do so. If you buy a dateless number plate for hiding your car’s age, it’s not a problem. But, if your plate displays a newer registration date, the number plate may get seized. Know the rules before purchasing.

Never use the number plate before assigning:

It is against the law to use the unassigned number plate on the public road. You may get tempted to use your new and unique number plate and get all the attraction you wanted. But, it will lead you to severe troubles. Make sure that you have paid the fee charged by the DVLA, have all the paperwork done, and bear an official confirmation of the assignment before you change the number plate. You will get a V750 certificate of entitlement once you have bought the personalized number plate. This certificate is proof that you are eligible to use the specific plate on your car.

Choosing a number plate that suits your car, and personality rather than going for a random trendy one. A meaningful private number plate can prove to be reasonable for your money paid.