Ok was looking on the DVLA site for something suitable for the impending WRX purchase and narrowed it down to two (I dont want to put the exact reg down as some nasty person might go buy it).

The first is a 3:3 format S reg ending in WRX to associate with the car and is only £250 - plus I can use 2 digits of my name.

The second is a 2:3 format V reg ending in WRX and the first two digits have no meaning, this costs £399.

Option 1 is good as I can make my name to an extent and it is cheaper, however its 3:3 and they dont stand out as much as s 2:3. Option 2 is good because V reg makes the car look newer and the plate stands out more as there are only 5 digits in total.

My question is - does it matter what letter your personal reg starts with? Will this devalue the resale value (i.e. it being an S reg when it is really an xx02 or xx52) or is the motoring trade usually fairly knowledgeable in this area? Im thinking option 1 is the one to go for but thought Id get some opinions first.

Simon.

p1

at the end of the day in my opinion it doesnt matter what reg your car is,its what it is if you get what i mean,i know what your saying cos i looked into this and thought why get a v or s prefix plate when i have a 51 reg,it makes my car look older,but really its stupid cos a w or y plate my01 dont look any more out of place than a 51,so why should a v s or t etc,go for it,but then im not the type of person who waits till 1st of march/september so i can have the new type plates i.e 02 etc

mike

ps there is still 3 S600BY * plates available at a cheap price on various sites

[Edited by mbc - 3/3/2002 2:11:49 AM]

Yes I saw one of the S600BY* plates for £250 on DVLA but TBH they look out of place and you have to illegally space them to get them looking right. I think Im lucky that I can get my name and WRX on the same plate all for £250 so will probably end up getting that.

Personally would go for the V plate. It is shorter...period. :):)

Ultimately it is a matter of taste when it comes to this though. IMHO (and that's all it is) it you want a plate to be an investment it should be like the following....for example:

• AB 12
• ABC 123
• 12 AB
• 123 ABC

These are more expensive than the 'A1 BCD' style but clearly more exclusive. Not followed reg values since the new ones came out, but I reckon it must have made the 5 or 6 figure plates more valuable as they are all the more obviously shorter than the standard reg length.

If I'm not making sense & rambling it is because I'm soo tired....

H.

Incidently I bought THH 609 for my car (back on retention at the mo) in July 1999 for £850. It is probably worth anything between £900-£1500 now... depends how many people after a plate have my initials I suppose.

Also.... if you really want a plate why not hold out for a real good un, maybe spend a bit more & get exactly what you want.

I only say this because I think they become quite a personal thing, and once you get you will probably keep it for a long time/forever.

Wouldn't matter if I was offered £5k :o for mine tomorrow... It is personal to me now wouldn't sell it.

Simon

I had Y9 WRX for sale a short while ago for slightly over 400. If your looking at paying 399 for V*WRX then you could buy my Y plate for that.

Nathan.

[Edited by Nathan L - 3/3/2002 7:07:30 AM]

Well Im thinking that there are obviously a fair few peeps out there with the name Simon so a S1 plate is also a good investment. A pity S15 WRX has already gone (read SI'S WRX) :(

try wrx 55s still availbe not listed on dvla site but can be added to an auction thought dvla lots of the numbers availbe are not listed i got AJF 3D for £400 two years ago.all 1964 plates with single numbers were not issued

V7 WRX is still available and as the new WRX is the one after version 6 even though its technically not 7 ;). £399 all in

Doesnt really matter because when you come to sell it you can always take the plate of and been given a new age related one, ie a 51 or an 02. Costs you 105 to put you PP on retention and then you can sell it on. Most dealers wont give you anything for a PP anyway and tell you to take them off or they take them off and sell them.

You could of course have S15 REX for 250 ;) and its still available :D

Major problem though.

You are not allowed a numberplate that makes the car look newer than it aleady is.

e.g. if you have an "S" plate car, you can NOT have a plate that starts "T", "V" or "X" (as in "Txxx ABC").
Even if there is only 1 number, the DVLA will not allow it.

P.S. I am in the middle of putting a private plate on my "G" reg car - c11umw....how cool is that?


Callum http://www.smilies.nl/eek3.gif

I was aware of that cheers Callum. The car would be new so S or V reg no problem. I think Ive narrowed it down to the V and the S reg with the V edging it so far due to be less digits.