Cherished Number Plate Information

Information about cherished number plate A360 SPY.

This plate was sold at auction on 24/05/2001

This plate would be perfect for anybody wishing to spell the following: SPY, POLICE/CRIME/SPYING

The popularity of personalized car numbers has spawned a very healthy marketplace. Whereas the majority of owners purchase their numbers for pleasure, there are an increasing number of investment-conscious buyers who acquire their plates with a view to selling them later at a profit. A former BBC Top Gear presenter is widely quoted as having said that a well chosen private number can be better than money in the bank. Certainly some of Britain's most astute business people are converted to the personal registrations cause. Sir Alan Sugar, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis - they all own carefully chosen cherished numbers.

One of the most common reasons we hear for the purchase of a private registration is as a gift. At first thought it might not seem like the most obvious choice when it comes to choosing a birthday, Christmas or anniversary present, but a cherished car number plate is perfect in so many ways. How many other gifts are absolutely unique and personal, can make a personal statement about the owner, have practical benefits (such as making a car easy to spot in a crowded car park), and can offer real potential for later resale at a profit?

Given that the law compels every motorist on the UK's roads to display an identifying number plate, it is not surprising that people have found ways to turn that limitation into a bit of fun. A mandatory vehicle registration may have been introduced for tedious bureaucratic reasons, but people have come to realise that, by selecting the characters displayed on their plates, they are often able to contrive combinations that look very much like names and words. These personal touches help an otherwise mundane car to stand out from any number of identical vehicles.