I've always wondered what people think about personalised plates.
Do you find them worth it? Have you seen any ridiculous ones?
Are they wanky? Are they douchey? Are they cool? A waste of money?
Please discuss.
Edit:
Do you think some number plates could increase the risk to your car being keyed or scratched?
The Americans call them vanity plates because that's exactly what they are.
I've got some, I'd not pay the annual fee that some states do for the plates, however for a one off payment then sure.
In cases of transferring car regos interstate etc when you already pay for the plates (VIC Standard size: $40.80, Slimline plates: $191.60) a couple hundred more isn't a big deal for many.
I also bought mine when they were much cheaper than the min $545 cost in VIC. Same in NSW, had plates before the annual fee was introduced.
I'd not have done it if it was an annual fee, seems like another one of those vampire subscription costs that suck money from you.
Pointless in reality, but people do pointless things all the time.
Pretty douchey
Invest in heritage or signature plates if you have spare $$ to splurge.
Didn't know they cost $500 a year in NSW. Now I think they're even more pointless and stupid than I did before.
I don't like attention seekers in general and this sort of wanky stuff is very much in their wheelhouse.
To the OP's question, are they worth it?
Some are (e.g. Heritage and Signature plates) while others are purely for the owner's enjoyment and have little to no value after purchase.
Custom plates are a good way to be easily remembered for people to report you to police for small driving mistakes
Are they worth it? Depends what "it" is. You have to look what value they offer you compared to the cost.
The most ridiculous ones I saw were something like “4MYWFE” or “4MYMUM”.
it gets dumb when people cant get their combo, eg "sandman" so they have to swap for letters like 54ndm4n and you looking at it and wondering what the hell it is. if you can not get it as all letters then dont bother, you look like a wank. mine is my nickname which is not sandman its something else and its all letters and its awesome because i know my rego when i gotta tell the service for car or hotel for check in. i know it always and forever. think i had a standard plate for 2 years after i got my P in 1998 so pretty much since 2000 i have had my nickname as my rego on all my cars. PS for people selling cars with their plates left on it. replace the places before you take pics and post pics. so much hassle is avoided.
FULLY6
OMGWTF
EPICMNT
SXYRXY
👑 (Governor-general)
I see some as an investment. Personalised in the sense of initials/DOB/meme ect definitely no but for a specific car model, engine (eg. S55, S58) or heritage (if you wanna call them personalised) will always be sought after and will fetch alot of money
It's called a "vanity" plate for a reason. It's worth it if you're vain enough to want one. Others who don't care will definately see it as a waste.
What if you just can never remember what your plate was back when it was S948-DFH?
Others who don't care will definately see it as a waste.
Who gives a toss what others think. I see waste on this site everyday of the week with people buying stuff because its cheap and say they may never use it and openly admit to it. Do I care? NAH
I buy things I need, not what I want because it's it 40% off.
@CurlCurl , Exactly! We all see intinsic value in things that others see no value in. If it makes OP, or you, happy then go for it.
Hate personalised plates, only have one as standard plates are too big to fit JDM cars without bending them.
Give me a size option on a generic plate, I take it in a heart beat.
I made sure my number plate has no meaning, people still ask what it means, seems every personal plate has to mean something.
Depending on which state you are in they have JDM and USDM plates.
I don't know why you're surprised people question you considering that the main purpose of buying personalized plates is literally to give them a meaning
it is common for Chinese to get numberplates with 888 or somesuch hoping it will help them get rich
'The number 8 is considered the luckiest of numbers in China and they believe the more 8's the better. The Cantonese word for eight, which is pronounced “ba”, sounds similar to the word which means “prosper” or “wealth”. In regional dialects the words for “eight” and “fortune” are also similar.' - https://www.lanternclub.com.au/blog/history-lucky-number-8-a…
'Eight' (八) in Chinese is pronounced ba and sounds similar to fa (发, traditional character: 發) as in facai (发财), meaning 'well-off' or 'becoming rich in a short time' - https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/lucky-nu…
also for bragging
aso pronounced bag-ging
Banging?
ICU81MI
overall i'd have to say they're pretty bogan-y, and there are some out there that can genuinely ruin your day through loss of hope in humanity.
that being said, there are some funny ones that i enjoy. the ones that i will always remember are:
NO HSC - some sort of two door AMG machine driven by a young wog bloke who looked pretty pleased with himself lmao
GR8BUY - always used to see this character on my commute. i feel like the driver was an older bloke, but the car was a mid-2010s lexus sedan. not super fancy or anything. i'm just a big fan of the vibe: sensible dad saves for years to buy his dream car, a fancier toyota sedan, and it's everything he hoped for.
young wog bloke who looked pretty pleased with himself lmao
😂
5UPRJ122
Ordered. Cheers
I see the future that you’ll have Camry’s and Tesla’s to let you in traffic and some people who bought bought monitors at ridiculous prices to give up their parking spaces for you.
Doesn't even cost that much. Just do it if you like it.
Why give any government more money than you already do ?
I think this is the best reason for me. Can't stand to give the government a single cent more by choice. I choose the basic (not even slimline) for most of my cars out of spite.
Hence my shock at spending $600-1000 on a number plate.
"Look at me, Look at MOIEY"
Really expensive ones, traded privately, are considered a secure investment. No need to insure against theft or secure them in a vault etc like you would need to secure art or other physical investment items. as even if they are stolen, Vic roads will just send you a replacement set.
for example VIC 1 (Vic - $165k in 1984 - est $3M now), 26 (vic - sold $1.11M in 2020) , 4 (NSW - sold $2.45M 2017)
VIC 1 would easily sell for far more. I'd be surprised at less than 10M. "388" sold in VIC for 665k recently.
Personalized plates are as stupid as stickers on the rear window. Most people couldn't care less, but they slightly increase the chance somebody will take a disliking to you based on that personal expression, including cops.
Can someone please explain why the "Blokes Advice" sticker drivers are always dumb, trashy bogans, driving trashy cars?
ive always thought the best personalised plate would be one like
II1I11I1
or
BB888B8B
or
ZZZ22Z2
Something that was difficult to identify/remember just in case you were spotted doing something stupid.
I think they're valuable because they help me identify the douche nozzles on the road.
Ever since they changed the system to be an annual fee instead of a one off payment I've always thought it's for suckers.
Now whenever I see a personalised number plate I just think the owner is a dumbass.
Isn't it only NSW that does the annual fee?
They are pointless but then again I spent a couple of grand to make my car red which is equally pointless
Did it not go faster?
When I bought my car years ago I went with custom design but kept the standard rego number. I just wanted the cat design plates for cheap.
Best numberplate I saw on a 90s 'super' car: STOLEN
A friend has had custom plates on his car for over a decade. We had a laugh and giggle at them at the beginning… but after a few weeks no one cared. But the state government loves them. Extra $200 tax per year for free.
I like them but on the other hand i wouldn't get them purely on the fact they make remembering your number plate too easy. There are just too many road rage incidents and (profanity) on the roads these days. Wouldn't want to cut someone off and then a few days later find a scratch on my car after coming back from grocery shopping.
I purchased signature plates as alternate investments (3 characters) - I have three sets, with "8" in them - I don't intend on mounting on a vehicle but will sell. I was offered $5,500 each for 2 of them in November 2022
No
co work with plate is (profanity)
that would be the extreme rarest of examples… the other 23984203948 arent worth a pinch of shit.