Registration origins

[ManyMinors]

A lot of people have had great fun from their registration numbers though - transferring them from car to car over many years. It is just harmless fun and has gone on for about 120 years! If it is important to you to find a classic car with its original registration number still present then there are still plenty around and if it doesn't bother you then there are plenty which have been swapped.
The general condition of the car is the most important thing isn't it. The registration number is of rather less importance. A great number of Morris Minors were exported in the early days and some of those have found their way back to these shores. They have all had to re-registered with so called "age related plates" too. Does that make those cars less desirable?

[Boomlander]

My old Series 2 Jethro had his Scottish registration number SSJ 358 allocated when he was rebuilt in the late 90s....and he was extremely desirable!

[jagnut66]

A lot of people have had great fun from their registration numbers though - transferring them from car to car over many years. It is just harmless fun and has gone on for about 120 years!

It may have started as 'harmless fun' back in the day but these days I suspect it is more done to make a quick profit.
Looking at the history the DVLA sent me, the person in Romford owned her for about 3 years before stripping her registration and selling her onto the chap I bought her off in East Croydon. He'd kept her for about 4 months before putting her up for sale. I don't think he wanted to spend any money on her.
She had an MOT, as I remember. However, given the amount of bodging and fibreglass I found to be holding her together, I suspect she was bodged up purely so the then owner could get one and remove the reg.
The fact that it isn't on the DVLA database anymore leads me to suspect that (as someone else said) it went straight onto retention.
Which leaves me thinking that this was done with the view that it might be a 'nice little earner' sometime in the future.
And this is what p****s me off. It's part of the cars history. It tells you where she came from.
I think Sally will be great once she's done. So no, I don't regret buying her.
But it would have been nice to have had that missing piece of her history still with her.
Instead of it being removed to be passed around for profit and to boost some future BMW /Porsche / Merc etc. etc. owners ego.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[geoberni]

Instead of it being removed to be passed around for profit and to boost some future BMW /Porsche / Merc etc. etc. owners ego.
Best wishes,
Mike.[/i][/b]

It's not just that 'type' of owner, Basil's original registration PKV708, was transferred in 1991 and currently resides on a 2003 2Ltr Renault Clio .. ...
So a 20 year old Clio is hardly in the same category as the 'flash' motors you speak of.
Looking at the past MOT history, since 2010, the Clio has barely done 3-4K miles a year.
I suspect he was brought in 1990 just to get that PKV plate .
He then had the shame of wearing an A suffix plate until getting his age related plate in 1999.

[simmitc]

You're lucky that you got the A swapped for age-related when you did. Currently the DVLA will not do that as they argue that the A p[late was issued in accordance with the procedure that was correct at the time. The fact that procedure is now different is irrelevant. I mention this before anyone with an A-plate on an older car thinks that they will be successful in trying to change it now.

[ManyMinors]

One of the weird things about that is that one of the DVLA's own rules is that you mustn't put a registration number onto any vehicle which makes it appear newer than it is

[simmitc]

Absolutely, they won't do it now, but it was correct at the time
The DVLA do a great job correctly handing millions of transactions each year, but are definitely far from perfect, and there is a view that the only consistent thing about the DVLA is their inconsistency.

[jagnut66]

a 20 year old Clio is hardly in the same category as the 'flash' motors

True but that's why I put "etc. etc." on the end of that sentence.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[geoberni]

You're lucky that you got the A swapped for age-related when you did. Currently the DVLA will not do that as they argue that the A p[late was issued in accordance with the procedure that was correct at the time. The fact that procedure is now different is irrelevant. I mention this before anyone with an A-plate on an older car thinks that they will be successful in trying to change it now.

It wasn't my doing, it was a guy in 1998/99 who did what I believe was the only major rebuild of the car.
How he argued for it I have no idea, I only have a copy of a brief covering letter dated 6 Aug 99, confirming the new age-related registration, whilst sending him a new tax disc and returning his 'amended MOT Certificate'.
May we take it you have knowledge of people who have tried more recently and been refused...

[simmitc]

May we take it you have knowledge of people who have tried more recently and been refused...

Unfortunately at least three in the past 2 years and confirmed in writing from the DVLA.

[geoberni]

May we take it you have knowledge of people who have tried more recently and been refused...

Unfortunately at least three in the past 2 years and confirmed in writing from the DVLA.

That really sucks, I guess when Basil's PO managed it they were just realising they have broken their own rules and were happy to rectify, then probably realised the size of the screw-up so made a new rule up...