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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu re personalised number plate? Yes or no

397 replies

RocketQueenP · 08/02/2017 09:39

DH has bought me one as a surprise, it's just a random letter and number followed by my initials (wasn't mega expensive)

But I'm just not sure about it! He thinks it's the best gift ever 😳 But he says we can just not register it and sell it on if I don't want it. I don't want to be ungrateful but what's the general consensus? Are they for twats or not?

OP posts:
PoisonousSmurf · 08/02/2017 12:29

It's easy enough to get a private plate via the DVLA. Put in the initials and letters you want and see what comes up. All for £250 at the most.

Whywonttheyletmeusemyusername · 08/02/2017 12:35

Totally agree with everything said, re being naff

I have one
My initials
On a flashy sports car

Its tripled in value since I bought it and I bloody love it !!!!!!

lakehouse · 08/02/2017 12:37

I have 4 with varying levels of twattery! The most expensive one is just one number and one letter. I love it on the car and it never gets recognised by machines so I can overstay in max 10min waiting areas! Grin I think this divides people as generally people that can't afford them will hate them. It's difficult to consider it chavvy when it's on several hundred thousand pounds worth of car! If you like it OP, get it.

lakehouse · 08/02/2017 12:40

That's a good point whywont, as an asset they go up in value each year. While there's lots of money floating about that is - which there clearly is given the current insane car market.

CaraAspen · 08/02/2017 12:41

"RaptorInaPorkPieHat

There's one in near me which is something like MR5 GR3Y

It appeared around about the time of the 50 shades franchise just to compound it's twattery grin"

Bleurgh

CaraAspen · 08/02/2017 12:44

Ooh. There is a whole lot of defensiveness on show here from the chavtastic posters!

Enkopkaffetak · 08/02/2017 12:47

I am odd on this
As generally I don't like them. However as dd3 has grown up and her toy rabbit now "naps" more and more. I find i want one with "his" phrase on
Its not that noticeable however froends and family would know.

BarbaraofSeville · 08/02/2017 12:48

Some private plates do go up in value, but I don't think anyone is going to make a fortune out of the £250 plates or those that are something like Y5 XYZ, where XYZ is the owner's initials, which it sounds like the OPs plate is like.

For most of the cheaper plates there will be nothing other than an expensive vanity item.

CaraAspen · 08/02/2017 12:51

Vanity!? That must mean also connote lacking in class.

CaraAspen · 08/02/2017 12:52

Grrrr

CaraAspen

Vanity!? That must also connote lacking in class.

blueskyinmarch · 08/02/2017 12:55

I have one. It is the initials of my eldest DD who died, and her age when she died. I adore it as it is, for me, a daily link to her. People on here can mock all they like but i will never give up my personalised number plate.

Newtssuitcase · 08/02/2017 13:01

Dh has just sold his car.

The plate (which came on the car and reflects the type of car rather than the owner) sold for seven times the value of the car.

balence49 · 08/02/2017 13:03

I wouldn't want one. All the folk I know who have them, are twats. Most of them have personalised plates to fit in with their mates or to hide the age of their car ( why is that a thing??)

CaraAspen · 08/02/2017 13:10

"balence49

I wouldn't want one. All the folk I know who have them, are twats. Most of them have personalised plates to fit in with their mates or to hide the age of their car ( why is that a thing??)

Are they boy racers in baseball caps?!

NotTheMrMenAgain · 08/02/2017 13:17

Hi OP, I'd say it really doesn't matter what random strangers think - how do you feel about it? I think they're sometimes cringy, sometimes okay - folk can personalise their cars however they like, nobody else's concern.

I think if DH gave me one as a gift I'd accept it in the spirit it was given and display it happily (but then I don't give two hoots about about strangers opinions of me).

There's a car round by me with a plate that's meant to spell out 'BOSS MOM' and it makes me cringe a tiny bit whenever I see it - don't know why I'm embarrassed on behalf of the driver!

My dad is a big time radio-ham hobbyist - they're allocated a call sign when they pass relevant exams and it identifies which part of the world they're transmitting from etc. Hams identify themselves by their call signs, send each other contact cards with their call signs on etc. DF has had his call sign for approx 40 years. For a special birthday DM and I got him a plate that's his exact call sign - he cried with happiness. It's just 5 letters / numbers and doesn't mean anything to most people, but to DF it's a big part of him and other radio-people spot it a mile off.

Whywonttheyletmeusemyusername · 08/02/2017 13:23

Blue sky - my plate is also personal to me for a similar reason to you. (Flowers)

Barbara - you are quite right - the cheaper plates won't go up in value as much as the 1/2 letters/numbers types of plate

Lake house - yes, agreed. Maybe I should sell mine now !!!!!!!!!!

chocatoo · 08/02/2017 13:27

I have one and I love it. Present from DH years ago. Means I never have to memorise another one.

I like to think I'm not a total twat ;-)

NavyandWhite · 08/02/2017 13:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 08/02/2017 13:29

Mine was a present- totally unexpected and certainly not asked for. But it's been on several cars including three sports cars and I don't care if anyone thinks it's twatty. I can't forget it, so it's one less thing to remember. It's probably not worth that much, but that doesn't matter.

MrsHathaway · 08/02/2017 13:41

I always used to think they were desperately naff. Then I realised that it's only the naff ones you notice.

DH bought one for my car last year. It's one of the invisible initial ones, with the initials of both of us plus the year of our marriage, so eg SH06 JNH. It doesn't take much to spot that it isn't the original registration of the car, which is far younger, but it isn't as obvious as SALLY 1 or anything. I doubt anyone would deduce anything if they didn't know it was mine IYSWIM. It was also pretty cheap - had never actually been put on a car so was just sitting at the DVLA and he paid some nominal amount to release it, whatever the minimum is. It's the first plate I've had no trouble remembering Blush although I can remember part of DH's plate because it's an MN acronym Grin

I think the obvious ones are great when they match a liveried van, for example, so when all the vans for John Smith Engineering end in JSE even if the first bit is random.

Someone I know bought a plate to match her baby DC1 - eg B5 SAM. Then when DC2 came along she also bought eg J28 TOM. By the time she was pg with DC3 she was narrowing down names to those which would also fit on a number plate ... and now has eg LL14 AMY. She has a business and the plates are on business vehicles. So you wouldn't know if you didn't know her and them, but every time I see one of her vans I have a little smile to myself.

QuinionsRainbow · 08/02/2017 14:41

Never heard of anyone having one to hide the age of their car.

You can't, making a vehicle look newer than it really is explicitly prohibited.

"Where the personalised registration number has an age identifier . . . you can only put that number onto a vehicle of equal age or newer. For example, if you purchase a 62 current style registration, it can only go onto a vehicle that was first registered as new on or after 1st September 2012."

BarbaraofSeville · 08/02/2017 14:51

You can have a plate that says XYZ 23 on a car of any age though.

So if you had a car that was 10-15 years old and still in good condition, no-one would realise it was that old with a plate like the example above.

They might think it was nearly new as some cars haven't changed that much in shape over the years.

balence49 · 08/02/2017 14:54

No they are not boy racers in baseball caps... 😂
Some are the school mums, very snotty, obviously better than every other person in the yard brigade.

19lottie82 · 08/02/2017 14:56

Navy of course you can use one to hide the age of your car!

My DH had one that reads something along the lines of J44 SMT

His first initial, the day and month of his birthday then an abbreviated version of SMITH.

So how do you know how old his car is?

Newtssuitcase · 08/02/2017 15:02

Exactly. DH's "new" car is not new. It is a couple of years old. Nobody would know though since it looks immaculate and has a private plate on it.

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