Number plate.

[philstill]

There's a 1000 saloon for sale that I'm interested in having a look at, with the possibility of buying. It's a November 1963 registered car with a six digit number plate rather than an "A" plate. I know not all regions adapted the lettering system in 1963. The vendor claims that the number plate is it's original one and that it was registered in Lincoln. I've looked up the number and apparently it was registered in Edinburgh. The letters in the number plate resemble those that were commonly used as a replacement plate for the original plate, (which were sold off) in the late eighties / early nineties, so I'm suspicious! Suspicions were further aroused when I asked the vendor to look at the Reg document to see if the wording " non transferable number" was written along side the registration number, and get back to me. He never did! So my question is, is there any way to find out if a registration number is transferable or not? It's a nice car and I'd like to go and see it, but you can understand why I'm suspicious of it?
Many thanks
Phil.

[LUR759H]

its sounds a bit dodgy to me, why has the guy not got back to you??? I know nothing about reg plates but if you unsure stay clear its not worth the trouble....

alan

[philstill]

Yes Alan, I thought it strange, usually though, if you sell off a number plate, you get an age related plate, so I would have thought that if this car had its original number sold off, being a '63 model, it would have had an "A" plate. I think the vendor got fed up with me grilling him about it, got the ump and never replied! Anyway, I live in Devon, so if there's any nice Minor saloons for sale not too far away from me, give me a tug. Cash available for the right car up to about £4,500.
Regards;
Phil.

[POMMReg]

Look up Edinburgh regn issues - it'll provide contempory issues by year.

Those NOT used were DVLA age related regns.

New regn plates are a good indicator too!

[bmcecosse]

Put up a link to the car. If it's otherwise good, why are you worrying about the plate?

[ASL642]

Not always the case. I have a '63 car - original plate sold to fund restoration work by a previous owner. The vehicle then received an "A" plate. Owner didn't want this so applied to DVLA again and received an age related plate 3 figures 3 numbers (non transferable). I have all documents from DVLA to back this.

[The Issigonis Kid]

I also believe if you took your reg plate off your car in the 1980's and early 1990's it got issue with an A plate. Then, later on you could reapply for a non age related plate that usually contained 'SL' in the letters (I think this write). It's was very common in the classic bike circle too. Therefore, it is very possible to have an older car registered on an A plate.

[POMMReg]

Put up a link to the car. If it's otherwise good, why are you worrying about the plate?

Did you plan to sell the plate after you bought the car?

[philstill]

No, I didn't plan to sell the plate after possibly buying the car, but I wanted a car that had it's original number plate, that's why I tried to get to the bottom of the mystery. The number plate contained "SK" which was widely used in registrations that had been issued as an age related plate on cars that had had their original numbers sold off, it could be a genuine original number, but the fact is the vendor told me the car was registered in Lincoln, but in fact it was registered in Scotland, "SK" is an Edinburgh registration, that's why I smelt a rat.

[busguy]

Three letter *SK numbers were issued by DVLA as replacement numbers, as the original issued numbers barely reached ASK ** by 1963! It took them 60 years from December 1903 until 1963 to use the SK1 -9999 batch! So the SK batch was issued by Caithness originally, not Edinburgh, but anything after early ASK were issued by DVLA, some transferable, and some not, depending on the circumstances of the re-registration.

If it is not transferable it will be shown on the registration document.

[sid]

i had a 1964 Panther motorcycle with a 'pre-A reg number..621 MUP (wish i'd kept it!)

[philstill]

Three letter *SK numbers were issued by DVLA as replacement numbers, as the original issued numbers barely reached ASK ** by 1963! It took them 60 years from December 1903 until 1963 to use the SK1 -9999 batch! So the SK batch was issued by Caithness originally, not Edinburgh, but anything after early ASK were issued by DVLA, some transferable, and some not, depending on the circumstances of the re-registration.

If it is not transferable it will be shown on the registration document.

Busguy;

The reg. No. of this car is USK ... , so from what you said I think it's pretty certain that it is a re reg, so the vendor aught to amend his ad text, as he is suggesting that it's the original number plate, naughty! You can view the ad yourself on car and classic web site, look in the Devon region, and it's a maroon 4 dr. saloon.

[busguy]

Definitely a DVLA re-registration sometime in its life.

[philstill]

Definitely a DVLA re-registration sometime in its life.

Thought as much, but it's still a mystery to me that being a '63 car that it didn't have an "A" plate for its re reg, which would be age related to the car seeing as they started the scheme in '63. I have seen other cars registered in '63 that have had their original six digit plate sold off, have an "A" plate.

[busguy]

Local Motor Tax offices, up to approx 1978/9, used to issue another transferable old style reg for a cherished transfer replacement from an unused block of 'local' numbers, eg Derby's last re-issue number was around 980 FCH. They then went to changing all cherished transfers of old style numbers to the later style, eg, with either an A or B suffix.

Later, if you had a pre-1963 car you could apply to have an old style number in place of the A or B suffix, but it would be non transferable.

Some DVLA issued numbers are transferable, but often that is where the ID of the car couldn't be proven to DVLA so they would not allow the old number, but issued a replacement 'period' number. One I had was RSU 323.

[LUR759H]

Hi Phil,

I think if you're buying a morris and there are plenty about, you want one that has its own reg plate, you dont want the hassle of buying one that has a dodgy history. We all know how easy it is the change an engine and a few numbers around, my advise is if you are going to spend hard earned money on a project buy a good one and dont rush into buying the first seen. You shouldn't need to call the dvla, you shouldn't need to question the authenticity off the reg plate, buy from a seller who you can trust who has the V5.
If in doubt do NOT bother!!!! its not worth it....

Let me know how you get on.
I will keep you informed if I see anything your way.

Kind regards

Alan

[kennatt]

but surely if the rest of the car is in good condition what difference does the re reg make,even if you were looking for concourse ,can't see that it would make the slightest difference,I don't think I have ever seen a classic and thought Oh dear me.that's a re reg number . Seen many with daft mods, engine and body and thought Oh dear what a shame.If you don't like the number get the car and than buy a number that you do like.You could probably find one to match the age and original area.

[autolycus]

There have been several wrong assertions in this thread, some of which will reinforce firmly entrenched, but wrong, ideas about the process of reissuing registrations.

Two examples from my personal experience:

My late father owned an MG1100 from 1967 to the late 80s. It was a 1963-built car, originally registered 5550JI in 1963 in Northern Ireland. In the mid 80s, MG 1100s were not regarded in the least as classics, so when he was offered something like two thirds of the price he'd paid for the car, just for the registration number, he took it. I went with him to Talbot Street in Nottingham to complete the paperwork, and he was issued with a B suffix registration. So 1963 cars were not all issued A suffix or dateless plates, and could even be given plates from a later year.

Many years later, I bought an Austin 10 with a replacement registration - it had been off the road for a long period in the 70s and 80s. The V5 was not endorsed "Non-transferable", so I sold the registration, and was issued a "dateless" BAS nnn number. The V5 was still not endorsed, but I sold the car before I got round to trying to sell the registration. So not all re-issued registrations result in endorsed V5s.

It's perhaps a reflection of the transition of a model of car from banger to classic when people start referring to them by their chassis number, not their registration. I owned a 1947 MG TC from 1969 to the late 80s, and have no idea what its chassis number was, which is a great shame as I've tried to trace what happened to it and all the various registers are firmly based on chassis number. Within the owners clubs, Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars are always referred to by chassis number, although owners of later cars with 17 digit VINs may struggle to remember them.

Kevin

[mike.perry]

In the early days of swapping registrations the authorities were not so fussy about the age of the car. Cars were issued
with Q plates or the current plate of that particular year. The club chairman had an imported Series II with a XXX @@@R plate. At a later date it became a legal requirement that a motor vehicle should not display plates which were newer than the vehicle.
The Series MM Register lists the cars by chassis number, there are several instances where the reg. plate has moved from one Minor to another and some countries re register a car when it moves from one province to another

[tysonn]

I can't see what you're worrying about.If you like the car buy it.The owner could quite possibly mistakenly believe the reg is original and not trying to con people.If you have reservations about its authenticity just HPI it!