NOTE: The following article is written for people who live in a place where license plates can be traded privately. In many U.S. States (like my home state of Colorado), this practice is not allowed. So, you should check with your local motor vehicle department
Ever wondered how much your car’s number plate is worth? Here’s some pointers to consider if you want to find out.
How many digits does your number plate have?
The fewer digits your registration plate has, the higher its potential value.
Does it spell a word?
If your number plate spells a word, it’s going to be worth something, yet how much depends largely on the word. The wider appeal the word has, the more the plate is likely to be worth. If your number plate spells ‘cool’ or ‘sexy’ you’re in luck.
Does it spell a name?
Again, if your number plate spells a name (both first and last), it’s going to be valuable. The more common the name, the more it’s likely to be worth. Look for shortened versions of names such as ‘Rob’ or ‘Sar’ too.
The number of digits on your plate will of course affect its value significantly. ‘Rob’ surrounded by 3 or 4 other digits will be worth less than ‘Rob’ alone or accompanied by 1 or 2 digits.
Of course, even a very rare name could be worth thousands – if you can find the right buyer.
Does it spell a car model?
Needless to say, registration plates that spell out the model of a car are highly sought after.
Is it dateless?
People love to hide the age of their car, so dateless plates are nearly always worth something.
Is it rare?
If there are lots of similar plates on the market, the value of your registration plate could be adversely affected.
How much are similar plates worth?
If you know a plate similar to yours sold for a certain amount, you can have a pretty good guess at the value of your own.
Say ‘LE55 LEY’ sold for £7,000 in Great Britain. If your registration plate spells out ‘LE5 LEY’ yours will probably be worth a few thousand more.
Keep an eye on the media
You never know how a new film or television programme might suddenly make your previously worthless plate valuable.
Even changes in slang could be the key to your fortune.
You never know your luck
Even if it doesn’t look as if your registration plate is worth anything; you can never be too sure. For instance, those seemingly random letters might just be somebody’s initials.
Of course, finding a buyer will be difficult, and your number plate will only be worth something if you can actually find that buyer. Yet at the end of the day; goods are worth precisely what people are willing to pay for them; find the right buyer and your registration plate might be worth a small fortune.
Get it valued
Needless to say, the best way to know for sure is to get your registration plate professionally valued. Many retailers of registration plates will offer to value your plate for a small fee or even for free. However, keep in mind that they will probably encourage you to sell it through them too!
This article was written by Amy Fowler on behalf of The Plate Market, who offer cherished number plates for sale and can also value your registration plates for free.
