Sunday 20 January 2013

The mystery of the number plate

Well, the personalised number plate, to be exact. I cannot for the life of me understand the appeal of these. I try to suppress my prejudice, but it will keep bubbling to the surface, screaming the one question: WHY?

But reading yesterday that the plate PEN15 (geddit? Ha ha. Hilarious, eh?) is going for (wait for it) a staggering £90,000 left me speechless (well, almost).

Please, can anyone explain?

32 comments:

  1. No but it makes me wonder what D1 CK would fetch.

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    1. Adrian, don't even think of it. That one would be VERY expensive! Appaarently ORG45M is going for a small fortune, too (true).

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  2. Maybe because cars are so damn boring and all look alike? I can also see the appeal for a business. What kind of business do you think has the plate you mentioned?

    Have you anything to share about your horse? Inquiring minds want to know.

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    1. Hmm. The horse. Well, he started with a bad overreach (non-horsey people, please talk among yoursleves for a moment), then proved very naughty. Just getting to grips with that, and he was kicked - badly - in the field. Lots of vet visits, expense, box rest...you get the picture! I'll keep you posted!

      PS He's really very nice. I think...But I SO miss Titch. His was a big place to fill, and I don't think another horse will ever come near.

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  3. My car is something to get me from A to B - end of!

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  4. Do people buy and sell their number plates like paintings or antiques? Canadians can get personalized plates by paying extra to the provincial government, but we can't sell them to the guy next door. My husband Richard might like the one Adrian suggested above, though.
    K

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    1. They're status symbols, Kay. Pure and simple. A very expensive way of telling the world you're rich!

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  5. Simple. Some people are egomaniacs, or have more money than they have good sense.

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    1. My feelings exactly, Susan. But when I think what else that money could be spent on....

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  6. Personalised plates are common in New Zealand where any 6 unit combination is permissible provided it is 'acceptable'. In the UK most 'unacceptable' plates are withdrawn by the DVLA before issue. I am astounded that the one you mention escaped.

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    1. Apparently this one has received a lot of publicity, and not been banned. Nor do I think it should be. But anyone with that kind of humour should normally be too young to drive a car!

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  7. I have never been able to understand why people want to have these on their car. I worked for a man once who was obsessed with trawling through the lists to find one he could afford and eventually he raided all his and his wife's and their baby son's savings accounts to buy it. It was two of his initials. That was it. As he was struggling to make ends meet at the time, I couldn't begin to make sense of it.

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    1. Did she divorce him? The he could have bought DIV 1...

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    2. What a crazy man and a show off, he couldn't have thought much about his family's needs.

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  8. I don't get it either. If a person's the type to spend £90,000 on a registration saying PEN 15 I wouldn't have thought they'd need to as surely anyone who met them would soon realise they were a complete PR1...

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  9. NO1 DEA but I do like making up names from people's number plates as we drive along the motorway. Well it's better than I Spy.

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    1. My mum used to engage us (on long car journeys) in thinking up words in which number plate letters occur in the order in which they appear. Harder than it sounds. I do it with the grandchildren sometimes.

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  10. Since I don't even have a driving license (let alone a car), I don't get it, either.
    Here in Germany the system of number plates is that the first letter is for the city where the car is registered, followed by a combination of two letters and three digits.
    Stuttgart is "S", and there are quite a few people who pay extra to have their number plate read "S-EX 666" or something like that. Do they think this makes them more attractive for potential playmates?

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    1. Our nuumber plates refer to the year of manufacture, but you canuse any plate you like, provided it's unique to you. And people do!

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  11. No, I don't get it either and I'm guessing it's usually certain men who do this - can't imagine females bothering.

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    1. I know at least two women with them. But the aren't my friends....

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  12. A personalised plate has never appealed to me, but I do use the letters to make things up to help me remember my number plate - for instance I once had a car called A Manky Tart :-) x

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  13. Oh, Teresa...what does that say about you...?

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  14. I don't get it at all. But then I'm not a car person either. What's the big deal?

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    1. Money, Fran! But it would be cheaper to buy a sticker that said "I have more money than sense". Much cheaper.

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  15. I bet you'd find there's a market for a sticker like that:)

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    1. I always wanted a sticker that said "my other car is a horse", but there doesn't seem to be one. I'm sure you'd like one, ER...?

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  16. So in fact the plates are worth more than the car :-) Me I just want a nice car that doesn't cost the earth to run, loves the planet and gets me safely from A to B.

    Forget about telling the world and its wife how rich or poor I am.
    Love life, be Happy:-) You're a long time dead then the only plate you'll have then will be 'R25T 1n P2ac2'

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    1. Ah, but if you spent that much on the number plate, you'd have it on your Porsche, which would have cost even more....wouldn't you? I have a very battered Ford KA, old and covered with moss. A personalised plate would look plain ridiculous (or should I say, even more ridiculous).

      But I like your idea, Paula! (Of course, you could opt for plain old DE4D (I wonder how much that would fetch?)

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    2. Good question, Frances :-)

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