Can You Make Money From Personalised Number Plates?

How many times do you notice a car number plate in front of you reads slightly differently to a normal plate? Maybe it spells a name, is shorter than the average, or simply does not give any clue as to the age of the vehicle it adorns. Whatever your point of view on the concept of owning a personalised registration, there can be no escaping the fact that they remain a highly popular personal car accessory with thousands of UK motorists.

People buy personalised registrations for a wide variety of reasons. They can perhaps represent their initials; advertise their business or profession; bear an amusing message or simply disguise the true age of a vehicle. For many buyers though they are seen as a wise long-term investment.

Whatever the reason behind purchasing a private number plate it seems the popularity of owning one just keeps increasing. UK number plate auctions continue to attract interest, with many bids far exceeding reserve prices and continuing to sell for record fees. While the price of a car generally depreciates, a personalised number plate can retain its value, and in some cases even increase.

So what makes a number plate valuable?

Personal number plates vary in value from a couple of hundred pounds to tens of thousands of pounds. They are usually more expensive if they spell a particular word or name. In the world of personalised number plates 'less-is-more' and the fewer letters and digits a number plate has, the higher its value.

The more valuable number plates are from the earlier issues, before registrations numbers became associated with a particular year of vehicle manufacture. These highly desirable 'succinct' registrations usually have fewer characters within them and are extremely distinctive. They are much rarer than modern registrations due to the simple fact that few were transferred to newer cars. Consequently when the vehicle was taken off the road, its succinct registration number also came to the end of its life. This means there are relatively few in circulation and only a handful on the open market.

It is very difficult to determine the value of a personal number plate as the saleable value is purely market driven. An accurate valuation of a private number plate is usually demonstrated quite quickly by the amount of interest shown in it by potential buyers.

Creating and fulfilling buyer desirability is the main key to determining the value of a private registration. You need to bear in mind that a personal plate is exactly that - personal! So a plate that spells a specific name or set of initials will have a more limited market than one that spells a general word. Another factor is how many other number plates display a similar message to yours?

Generally, the accuracy with which a private registration spells a word, name or phrase determines its value to the buyer; as does the level of availability of similar number plates for sale at the time the buyer is looking to purchase.

Like many other investment opportunities a personal number plate cannot guarantee a profitable return, indeed there are some people who simply regard personalised number plates as a waste of money and cannot understand anyone's desire to own one. But it is a growth industry and has remained steady even during the current economic climate. This suggests there is still an opportunity to capitalise on the UK car owner who wants to stand out from the crowd.

Further information is available at http://www.exclusivenumberplates.com

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