Private Plate Sales

[SteveCarnell]

Are there any rules on selling private plates on this forum.  My recently purchased Audi A4 Avant came with a private plate that has no relevance to me.  Just wondering if anyone out there would like to buy it, before I offer it to the Reg Transfer web sites.  Reg number is S200FMB.

[Trevor]

Hi Steve

as you are a member and have posted a few times, I don't see a problem with the advert.

I shall move it to the correct section (parts for sale) and maybe you could edit it to add more info like price, etc

Cheers,  Trevor

[WPAWS]

what are you asking for the plates? 

[SteveCarnell]

I am looking to replace it for something that matches with my initials.  Looking to get £250 for this so that I can keep my outlay to a minimum.  How does that sound?

[Magnet]

Hello Steve,

As you are probably aware, you will first need to obtain a Retention certificate for the number and this costs around £110 (or did) and will entitle you or someone who buys it from you to transfer it onto another car without cost, but the cost will be down to you to start. You will of course then need to buy another set of number plates which will return your current car back to what it was originally, but for £110 plus the cost of the replacement plates, you will have a number to sell.

Registration Transfers (and there are far more) will value the number for you and my experience is that that valuation will be "encouraging" and they will advertise it for you without charge and offer you the agreed 'price back to you' price. Fast forward some time (and in my case it was almost 10 years before I gave up!) and it is possible you will be asked whether you want to bump it up and pay an advertising cost or perhaps reduce your 'back to you price'. You may get - as I did- a discussion about a rock bottom offer from which they deduct the cost of the retention cert ( for which I held and had paid for!) - experienced sales person turned out to be inexperienced and that info.was wrong in my case, and at which point the interested purchaser disappeared! Now it's possible to have them advertise the number while it remains on your car and a prospective buyer then pays for the transfer. Sounds fine, but I think you will, find there would be very little left in the pot for you when all is said and done - to a not worth the bother level. 

If it were mine, I would be looking on the DVLA website for similar format/layout numbers which can be bought straight from them  at a price which includes the transfer fee and it would not surprise me if around £250 might be the buying price. So if it goes to Reg. Transfers, taking the £110 transfer fee, plus repalcement plate costs for your car plus Reg.mTransfers commission  it could leave you with enough to buy a packet of !Removed!! I really would look at what DVLA are selling similar ones (including transfer costs ) for and go from there. 

I appreciate this is all very pessimistic and Reg. Transfers valuation may appear to make it seem attractive to follow up, but.... Possibly worth thinking about why the previous owner didn't sell it. I guess you didn't pay a premium for the car because of the number (hope not) so I would  take it as valueless (in real terms) and move on buying your replacemnt number. Having said all of that, it is just possible at someone may fancy it and be prepared to cover the cost of transfer plus some added funds. You could be lucky Steve.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[SteveCarnell]

Hi Gareth

I have done a bit of research on this already.  It costs £80 to take the plate of my car with the DVLA, which triggers a new reg number. I hadn't factored in the £30 to buy new reg plates.  I was hoping to make a private sale of the plate to cover most of this plus a sensibly priced plate from Reg Transfers (or the like).  

Thanks for the advice in your post though. Made me think about doing this long and hard.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Magnet]

Hello Steve,

Thanks for coming back on this, and yes I believe it (only) costs £80 to get the existing number replaced with the original number, but I believe that if you then want to retain the current number then you will need to get that onto a Retention Certificate and this costs a further £30. Without that additional expenditure you will not have any claim to the current number - and of course it will not have any value to you! Please check this though to confirm/refute what I say.

Kind regards,

Gareth.