car registrations
car registrations
For those thinking of buying personalised number plates, the UK car registrations market is dynamic and eventful. There are constant exciting changes taking place, which buyers must contend with.
For example, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) plans to release a new series of car registrations during the upcoming month of October, 2008. This new line of car registrations is known as the F-prefix series. It is highly anticipated among those looking to individuate their vehicles with personalised number plates. The uninitiated may wonder what's so important about the new series of F-prefix car registration numbers. The answer requires a brief history lesson.
car registrations
UK Car Registrations, Past and Present
From 1963 until 1983, car registration plates ended with a letter that indicated the year in which the plate had been issued. No vehicle could carry a plate issued at a newer date than when the vehicle itself was produced. The registration plates issued during this period were known as "suffix style" plates.
By 1983, the DVLA once again ran out of letters. It started putting the letter indicating the registration plate's release date at the beginning of plate's sequence of letters and numbers, instead of at the end. Plates of this type were called "prefix style" plates. They continued to be released until 2001.
Since 2001, the DVLA has been releasing number plates featuring a two-digit code marking the plate's release date. Many of the new-style number plates aren't considered to be as valuable as the older prefix style, or the even older suffix style plates. This isn't only due to the more recent release dates of the newer-style plates. Part of the reason newer-style plates are often worth less has to do with how much more difficult it is to incorporate a mandatory two-digit code in into personalised number plates. Too often, the two-digit code looks awkward in the middle of a personalised plate.
The F Series of Plates
In October of this year, the DVLA will address these concerns among buyers of personalised plates. It will do so by releasing a series of plates that use the older prefix system--namely, a series of plates beginning with the letter F. The F prefix indicates a number plate issued in 1989, so it will only be available to car models made after that year.
During 1989, a series of registrations plates with the F prefix had, in fact, already been produced. However, number plates beginning specifically with the letters F1 through F20 have never been released before. It is precisely these plates that the DVLA plans to release in October. Buyers are excited about this development months in advance, to the point that many dealers have already started pre-selling F-series plates. The release of this series is exciting because it represents an as-yet untapped potential to buy unique personalised number plates.