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12 Jan '13
The Number You Simply Can't Afford
We all know it, well most of us know that personalised number plates can have many combinations and each combination varies in price. The more close to being perfect, the more demand it has, and when there's more demand for it, then it means more money needed to make it yours. Custom number plates can be difficult to purchase for some as their desired combination is simply out of their budget.
If you're after a number plate with your name on it, the more common means more demand. Take a name like Sarah as an example. Sarah is one of many common names and a much wanted combination when it comes to searching for number plates. Because this name is a 5 character name, searching for a combination means a one off chance to secure it, and once secured you can be pretty sure no one else will have anything similar. However a combination like this would mean the rest of the world bidding to get their hands on it too, so you the individual either needs to be very lucky to escape with it cheap, or rich enough to pay any price you are given.
At DVLA's 2012 number plate auction in Warwick, the auction produced more than £3.7 million. The number plate 'SM11 THY' got a lot of attention at the auction for being close to one of the UK's most common surnames (Smith). The number had a reserve of £2000, but was bided and sold for a massive £28,500 under the hammer.
One suggestion is to use a 'leetspeak' or 'l33t' combination for your number plate, whereby some letters in a word is replaced by its numerical likeness or other letters that have a similar sound e.g. the name Aaron would translate into 'AAR R10N'. So why not try your luck in making a l33t combination number plate, your options will be greatly increased.
The longer a word or name, the more precise the combination for custom number plates has to be. So if a combination does tick the perfect plate box, your sure to know it will be auctioned and not sold on the cheap. Small words or names, such as 'Rob' have only 3 characters, so these kind of plates are not the most difficult to find if you don't mind random letters or numbers placed before or after the name 'Rob'. Again, if your after for the perfect 'Rob' number plate, you either got to be lucky to get it on the cheap, or rich enough to make it yours. Consider a combination that is unique and you will find the right registration plate that is within your budget.