Selling car number plate?

[Doug71]

My parents have an old classic standard 10 car (think registered in the late 50's), it is a bit rough but has a current MOT. The car is probably not worth much but think the number plate (NHL 88) will be. Does anybody have any experience or advice on selling number plates, there seems to be plenty of companies out there willing to advertise and sell it for them but I don't want them getting ripped off.

Thanks, Doug

 

[dynax]

as far as i know, unless they have bought the registration from the dvla, it belongs to the dvla, so they can't sell it unless they buy it from the dvla, i would get in touch with the dvla just to be sure,

 

[Rorschach]

Rather than sell the number plate, why not sell the whole car and let the new owner do the transfer?

 

[Hot stuff]

Don't be too hasty, it may be worth more than you think. A nice restored one will get between 3.5 and 4K so it may well be possible to simplify things for yourself and as suggested, sell the whole car to an enthusiast for restoration.
Obviously depends on condition, mileage, geography etc.
It'd be a better end for it as well rather than seeing it scrapped I'd have thought?

 

[Harbo]

All number plates belong to the DVLA, if they are not “attached” to a registered vehicle you have to pay a retention fee.
It used to be £80 for three years but I think they’ve changed that to “life”.
I was approached, out of the blue, by a firm offering a number plate that spelled out my name.
They wanted £1000 for it, after a search I found that the DVLA still had it unregistered and available for £200!!

Rod

 

[Lons]

The number is assigned to the car and as advised I would see what it's worth selling the car with the plate first and as also said don't be in a hurry to sell.

If sold complete then it's a simple matter and just one transaction, if you split from the vehicle then the car will be worth less and I think might need to be scrapped ( check that out with the DVLA). I'm not sure if it still applies but the donor vehicle had to have been taxed or SORN declaration over the previous few years, 5 years rings a bell!
I sold on my MIL car complete with plate and got an extra £500 because of it.

It's easy enough to transfer a plate to another, must be younger vehicle either as a direct transfer if the recipient vehicle is new or it's quick and easy to put it on retention which is your right under normal circumstances as the DVLA will not refuse. It can these days be done on line within just a few minutes and the payment as said is £80. I think there is a retention time limit of 10 years but you can renew it and should or you lose the registration.

My private plate has been on my last 7 cars though never held on retention for more than a few days.

NHL 88 is a nice number and should easily be worth 4 figure sum, possibly quite a bit more as double numbers are sought after especially on pre 1963 plates.I believe NH prefix was issued in Northampton BTW.

Depends who wants the number, mine is A3 *** and I was recently offered £1000 for it by a guy in the street, yours is more valuable imo.

Type it in to several of the specialised companies to get a valuation but ideally use a different email address as they will keep sending you email reminders. You can also sell on gumtree and ebay, plenty do.

Bob

 

[Phil Pascoe]

8 is the Chinese lucky number. It could be yours.

the relevant letters are HL - Wakefield.

I don't think I've ever owned seven cars.

 

[Lons]

Quite right Phil it's Wakefield, don't know where I got Northampton from.

I wear out my cars by washing and polishing them

 

[Lons]

Just had a quick look and Regtransfers have NHL 88 listed at £5395

 

[Doug71]

Yes, they said that some company was advertising it for them. Regtransfers have suggested if they pay a certain amount a month they will get a bigger advert, more promotion and sell it quicker, I don't know the full details but it sounded like it could get expensive..

I will suggest they try selling the car with the plate, long story but basically the less hassle the better.

Thank you for all the advice, Doug

 

[Lons]

Yes, they said that some company was advertising it for them. Regtransfers have suggested if they pay a certain amount a month they will get a bigger advert, more promotion and sell it quicker, I don't know the full details but it sounded like it could get expensive..

I will suggest they try selling the car with the plate, long story but basically the less hassle the better.

Thank you for all the advice, Doug

Reason for keeping it with the car Doug is that if someone buys to restore they prefer the original plate.
There are a number of enthusiast sites around and I think classic car auction sites so maybe a bit of research is called for as I'd be very surprised if you couldn't sell the car to a collector.

I've never sold a plate via those companies but I'd avoid extra charges as you're only likely to get someone with the initials NHL so if a potential buyer is looking they will find it anyway just by googling as I did. The companies will in any event email anyone on their list as a matter of course.
Extra charges are imo just a way of extracting extra profit as they'll get nothing without a sale so will push it anyway

Unless your relatives have agreed to a solus sales agreement there is nothing to stop them placing it with other companies and make sure it's a no sale no fee agreement anyway.

I sold on the MILs car because we had persuaded her to give up driving at 90 years of age as she was a liability. Needed to sell quickly before she changed her mind. She's nearly as bad on her mobility scooter though. :roll:

Good luck with the sale

 

[thick_mike]

Find yourself a rich, uk based Edmonton Oilers fan. They won the National Hockey League in 1988.

 

[GCS-Creations]

Not wanting to hijack this thread* but I've got a question regarding to number plates in the UK.

I recently bought a vintage motorcycle with it's original late 30s number (three letters, three digits). It's currently SORN and the bike is being exported as I type this.

I've been wondering for a while now what will happen with the registration number?
I'm assuming that I won't sell the motorcycle again and that it'd only be back in the UK if I move, but it'd be a shame to lose the 'rights' to the original registration number without at least having sold it. Obviously I don't want to sell the bike though.
Does anyone happen to know how this is handled?


*I'm new here and waiting to be able to post links in relation to a question I have, so thought I'd have a look around in off topic.. - I can't seem to find an introduction thread?

 

[sunnybob]

If the vehicle is permanently exported you have to return the log book with the approproate space filled in and the number will be removed from the database (to be possibly reassigned later).
If you dont declare it permanently exported then you as the last owner are fully responsible for any future problems involved with that vehicle and number.

 

[GCS-Creations]

I think I'll have to look into that carefullym because I'll need the logbook for the registration here in switzerland!
I had always been under the impression that a number "belonged" to a car as someone once told me that years ago, never gave it much more thought.

 

[Harbo]

When you want to reassign a number ie transfer your personal one to a different car, you have to obtain a number for your old vehicle and obtain new registration documents. You can then sell the car with the new registration.
You can then reassign your personal number to your new car or keep it unassigned.
The process costs about £80 plus the price of new number plates.
All done online with the DVLA.

Rod

 

[sunnybob]

When I moved to Cyprus I took my motorcycle with me.
I filled out the appropriate section of the log book and sent it to DVLA. Never heard a word from them, ever.
In Cyprus I had to get a temporary permit to ride on the UK plate untill such time as the (incredibly slow) government department could get away from their endless coffee breaks half day closings and approve a new plate. Despite my best victor meldrew storming attitude it still took 3 months and two trips to the capital get agreement for the bike to be registered here.
Then I had to take it to a dedicated type approval station that checked all serial numbers and things like oversized wheels before actually being given the privilege of buying a new plate.

The only enjoyable part was at the type approval station when a well dressed jobsworth wanted to check the engine serial number. Kawasaki V twins have their engine number on the bottom side of the crankcase, completely obscured by the side frame rail as a security issue (no one can restamp a number without fully removing the engine, which is about 5 hours work).

When I told him he had to lay on the floor and use a torch and a mirror, he suddenly became my best friend and waved me through.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I recently bought a vintage motorcycle with it's original late 30s number (three letters, three digits). It's currently SORN and the bike is being exported as I type this.

https://www.gov.uk/keep-registration-number
is worth a look.

 

[GCS-Creations]

Getting a vehicle registered in Cyprus sounds about as fun ans getting it done here in Switzerland.. I remember my mate trying to get a moped registered that had a frame number that was 'one digit too short'. No chance. He ended up selling it again. In retrospect we should have punched an additional number, but we were 15 and not quite as daring!

Phil P: Brilliant, I'll have to look into that when I've got all the documents here!
Cheers