How To Choose A Private Number Plate Dealer |
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Matthew Kirkman
March 5, 2013
These days, there are many different ways you can buy DVLA cherished plates - from online websites to printed publications to official DVLA auctions - and choosing where to get your plate from can be just as overwhelming as choosing which registration you want to get.
Private Number Plate dealers are another option when seeking the perfect accessory to make your vehicle stand out from the crowd. Many people tend to avoid looking at dealers - thinking that going through other channels instead seems more 'official' - but this is simply not the case. Many dealers are small operations - sometimes even one-man operations - and the main advantage of this is the personalised customer service (this is also true of websites and other ways of purchasing plates, but some customers prefer to deal with 'real' people when it comes to buying any product or service that they may not be well versed on).
Having a single point of contact is the most important thing for many people - especially those who don't like dealing with a huge company with lots of employees. They want to speak to the same person each time, and they want to know exactly what kind of service they're going to get from that person. Some local dealers may offer you the very valuable service of actually accompanying you to the DVLA office to help with the number plate transfer or any other questions you may have. They can be more flexible in the ways they help their customers and can offer a much more personalised service than many other types of number plate businesses.
If you want a particularly desirable or exclusive number plate, then private dealers may be your best option - this is because the most wanted plates have usually been bought and sold several times over due to their popularity. A private dealer may have more chance of locating your desired plate, so it's always worth looking at the types of registrations they've dealt with in the past. If they have any customer testimonials, read them to see what type of services they offer and if they're likely to be able to help you with your specific needs.
In order to choose which private dealer you want to approach, it may be worth looking at the various associations which many dealers will be registered with. You can find lists of these types of associations online.
Many dealers may list their number plates on auction websites where you can bid for a plate from the comfort of your own home. These auction sites also include registrations from private sellers, and you'll need to consider the procedure you'd need to follow when buying from a private seller: the DVLA website tells you all you need to know about transferring number plates, and getting a retention document or a Certificate of Entitlement. You can also buy personalised plates as gifts, with you as the 'purchaser' and the gift receiver being the 'nominee'.