When I meet someone for the first time and they find out that I buy and sell personalised number plates, they often comment that they would not be prepared to spend several thousand pounds on personalised number plates. Let me point out I fully understand that having your name or initials on your car number plates does not appeal to everyone.
Personalised Number Plates – so what?
The secret benefit to owning personalised number plates
There is a hidden benefit to owning personalised number plates and many people fail to appreciate this very important fact. One of the best ways to explain this hidden benefit is to tell you about how I used to be very ignorant on the subject of premium watches.
I thought anyone who spent thousands of pounds on a premium watch was just being flash. Your local high street jeweller could supply a very nice looking dress watch for less than five hundred pounds. I then sold a couple of very expensive personalised number plates to a gentleman who happened to own several premium watches. When I had the pleasure of meeting him he educated me on the finer points of timepiece ownership.
I learned that certain premium watches actually hold their value incredibly well. Not only that, limited edition models can actually increase in value. He told me that if you have the funds available it actually makes financial sense to invest in a premium watch costing several thousand pounds, as opposed to buying a nice looking, mass-produced watch for less than five hundred pounds.
But what if you secretly had a desire to own personalised number plates and only the price was putting you off?
I could liken the watch scenario to the man who buys a brand new luxury car costing tens of thousands of pounds. Let us call him Stephen Michael Johnson for the purpose of this story. He is interested in the personalised number plates 8 SMJ which represents his own initials with a single digit, but does not want to spend five thousand pounds.
In three years time Stephen’s car will be worth less than half of what he paid for it when it was brand new. If Stephen had gone ahead and purchased the personalised number plate 8 SMJ it would still be worth at least what he paid for it.
The message here is that if you do harbour a desire to own a prestige personalised number plate, please do not decide against it on the basis of cost. If you choose wisely and most dealers will be happy to advise you, it may not actually ‘cost’ you anything in real terms.
It is not uncommon for someone to have the pleasure of owning personalised number plates for many years and to then recoup their original investment, plus profits when the time is right to let it go. So if you are reading this Stephen, pick up the phone and secure 8 SMJ before someone else parts with five thousand pounds with a view to recouping their original investment in a several years time. Let us not forget that you will also have the pleasure of seeing your initials proudly displayed on your shiny, new (depreciating) car every day, for as long as you decide to keep it.
More information about personalised number plates including some of the most frequently asked questions is available at www.simplyregistrations.co.uk/personalised-number-plates-faqs.php.
