1. Have a Budget
You are going to spend money on getting a private number plate, and it is a good idea to know how much you are ready to spend so you don’t go over that limit. If you have the budget and you are ready to spend more than the cost of the car, go ahead, nothing is stopping you. But most people don’t want to spend hundreds of thousands to get a personalized registration or private plates. You need to have a firm limit on how much you are going to spend before you get started with the process. You can search online with a price limit so you can only see results of plates within your budget.
2. Being Flexible with Plate Options
Before you get started with the process, you need to remember that you might not end up getting the exact combination you want. Private plates are very popular today, and this might force you to choose something a little different from what you wanted. If you are inflexible when it comes to choosing a plate, then you can end up being disappointed, and you might start feeling like you need to spend more just to get what you want. You should have your options open because it makes the entire process easy.
3. Understanding the different styles
There are different number plates for sale in different styles, and you are going to see them when searching for the best one for your car. Know the different styles so you can choose the one you think is best in terms of combinations and cost. You are going to be limited by the registration year of the car, and this is why the most popular option is dateless style. This is also the most expensive option. They come in four different styles; current, dateless, suffix, and prefix. There is no date displayed on the dateless number plate, while current number plates are laid like the regular ones but you can choose the letter and number combination to be displayed. You can choose your lucky number, year of birth, your name, or initial so you can end up with a number plate you like. The current style is the most affordable option.
4. Choosing an appealing plate for you
The private number plate is going to appear in the back and in the front of your car, and you are hoping is it is going to last for a long time. It is important to choose something that is going to appeal to you for more reasons than just its pricing. There are some who want to get the most expensive plate because it is a status symbol for them, but it is important to keep in mind that the appeal might go away after a couple of years. It is best to choose an option that is suited to your personality or the car. It is not a good idea to choose a plate because it is popular or trending at the time. If you have a plate that is meaningful to you, it is going to be worth your money.
5. Do not ignore extra fees
Before you commit to but a private number plate, make sure you know that the price they are advertising is going to be less than what you are going to pay for. Dealers usually add VAT when you buy the plate. There are also others fees you need to pay to the DVLA to register the plate. You are going to be charged both the assignment fee and also the fees for changing the registration details on the plates. The fees are going to cover the costs involved with transferring the ownership of the plate and the assigning into the vehicle. The fee is mandatory, so make sure you have included them when calculating the total cost and coming up with a budget. Most dealers are going to inform you about the additional fees. If the fee is not displayed, then you should get in touch with the dealer then find out. Do this before committing to buy so you don’t have to deal with any surprises during the process.
6. Don’t try to make the car look newer
You might be tempted to make the car look newer when you choose a private number plate, but keep in mind that it isn’t allowed. Unless you decide to go with a dateless number plate, you cannot hide the age of the car. You are not allowed to have a plate that has a newer registration date than the original. If for example, the registration number of your car is ‘SL56CXN’, you are allowed to only use ‘56’, ‘06’, or lower in your new plate. You cannot use ‘18’ to make the car look newer. You should know these rules before you go out and buy a private number plate.
7. Never use a plate that hasn’t been assigned
One thing you never want to do is to display a private number plate that hasn’t been assigned yet to the car. This is illegal and you are going to put yourself in legal trouble. It can be tempting to swap your plates the moment you get them. It is nice to put the new plate on your car and you might not have the patience to wait, but you have to. Imagine if you display the private number plate then you get pulled over by the police. How are they going to respond to a vehicle with a registration number that hasn’t been registered to the vehicle? Always make sure you pay the DVLA fee and fill in the required paperwork so you can be done with the process. You have to get the official confirmation of the assignment before changing the registration plates. Once you have bought the private plate, you are going to get the V750 certificate of entitlement and this is proof that you have the right to that plate.
