Could this be the UK's most expensive private number plate?

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Certain Private plates

www.theprivateplateco.co.uk

can command astonishing prices when sold, with the UK's record currently standing at £518,000 for the plate "25 O".

Sold in 2014 to a Ferrari dealer, it's believed that this plate now sits on a Ferrari 250SWB formerly owned by Eric Clapton, worth in the region of £10m.

Now, though, it's looking like this record is set to be smashed, with the latest in a line of expensive DVLA number plates expected to fetch in the region of £1m at a private auction. 

This auction has fuelled plenty of controversy, as it is open only to individuals and organisations who have been invited. If the plate failed to sell at this private auction, then and only then would it be made available to the general public at auction in 2018.

The plate, which reads SR18APS, honours the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Hindu temple in Neasden, London, with its valuation having been given as £995,000. Bidding at the private auction was expected to end on Christmas Day 2017, but the outcome has not yet been revealed. The latest news was that the highest bid to date in early December was £551,000 - already smashing the previous record sum paid for a private plate. 

The fact that the plate is being sold at private auction has upset members of the Hindu community, who have stated that many Shri BAPS followers have the funds to bid on the plate, but have not been invited to do so. And with no reserve value placed on the SR18APS plate, it's looking like there will be no opportunity for them to do so in 2018 either.

This isn't the first time that a private number plate has commanded a huge price within the Hindu community. In 2015, a plate reading KR15 HNA - or Krishna, the Hindu deity - was sold at auction in Chesterfield. Bidding started at £27,000, but the plate was eventually snapped up by an Indian businesswoman for a staggering £233,000 - which made it the most expensive modern plate ever sold by the DVLA at the time. At the same auction, a similar plate - KR15 HAN - also sold for £98,500.

I Spy Number Plate by I See Modern Britain licensed under Creative commons 4

Source: http://privateplateco.hatenablog.com/entry/2018/01/25/233343

New Year, New Car, New Private Plate?

We're now into 2018 and if you're thinking of buying a new car this year, you might not be aware that you can select new '18' private number plates right now.

New number plates issued in January and February will still use '17' because the next change in the sequence of DVLA number plates, bringing '18' plates in, isn't until 1st March 2018. Many people have been waiting for the 18 plate to come out but won't have realised they can actually buy them already.

Get ready for March now!

DVLA regulations mean an '18' plate has to go on a car first registered on or after 1st March 2018, so you'll have to buy a new car then register it on or after this date. A dealer will be able to help you order a new car then hold it until it can be used legally with your new plate.

But you can already buy an '18' plate and keep it on a retention certificate until the car is ready. In fact, it's been possible to purchase the rights to '18' plates since 1st December 2017. The DVLA releases upcoming number series on the 1st December and 1st June each year.

What's so special about 18?

People often buy cherished number plates as gifts and 18 is a special year for teenagers. So an '18' plate with a child's initials would obviously be very special. The only caveat is that parents or other relatives will have to buy a new car and wait until 1st March to register it.

Another benefit of '18' is the ability to create words and names using "IB", "LB" or, at a pinch, "IO" and "LO". So people with surnames like Dalby, Dolby, Welburn, Baldry or Talbot might finally be able to find personalised number plates that suit them. As many suitable surnames aren't that common, demand could be low, meaning relatively cheap private plates.

Search for your '18' plate now

If you're one of the people who's been waiting to get an '18' number plateThe Private Plate Company, is here to help. Just use our easy search function to select the plate you need and we'll do the rest.

SOURCE: https://www.theprivateplateco.co.uk/news/general/new-year-new-car-new-private-plate.html