Strange number plate coincidences?
Discussion
I’m the proud owner of a make / year / model registration (TVR 89 S), one of only eight which can exist, because the production run of the S was 87 to 94. I only ever saw one of the other seven advertised, TVR 91S , during the 8 years it took me to find and buy mine. Yesterday I was wondering where the other seven plates are now, so I looked them up on the DVLA website – and found something odd.
First, the simple ones – 91S is on a red TVR with 2933 cc engine, obviously a V6. 87S is on a 1997 TVR with 4546 cc engine - perhaps an S owner who upgraded to a Griff or Chimaera and didn’t want to lose the plate. And 90S is somewhat wasted on a 2009 Landrover. But after that, it gets quite strange ...
88S is on an August 1977 registered Ford Granada, untaxed since June 1987.
92S is on an August 1977 registered Ford Escort, untaxed since Jan. 1991
93S is on an August 1977 registered Ford Escort, untaxed since Nov. 1987.
94S is on a September 1977 registered Ford Escort, untaxed since Feb. 1989.
Either that is a massive and weird coincidence, or I have overlooked something obvious – what’s going on?
First, the simple ones – 91S is on a red TVR with 2933 cc engine, obviously a V6. 87S is on a 1997 TVR with 4546 cc engine - perhaps an S owner who upgraded to a Griff or Chimaera and didn’t want to lose the plate. And 90S is somewhat wasted on a 2009 Landrover. But after that, it gets quite strange ...
88S is on an August 1977 registered Ford Granada, untaxed since June 1987.
92S is on an August 1977 registered Ford Escort, untaxed since Jan. 1991
93S is on an August 1977 registered Ford Escort, untaxed since Nov. 1987.
94S is on a September 1977 registered Ford Escort, untaxed since Feb. 1989.
Either that is a massive and weird coincidence, or I have overlooked something obvious – what’s going on?
The DVLA site shows the CURRENT cars to which the numbers are allocated, not the original cars when the registration was first brought into use. Again, unless I have overlooked something ...
Surely those Fords can't all be sitting in barns somewhere, the cars of no value but wearing plates worth several thousands ... ?
Surely those Fords can't all be sitting in barns somewhere, the cars of no value but wearing plates worth several thousands ... ?
As said above, dealers get blocks of consecutive registrations to go on new cars.
As all those Ford were registered within day/weeks of each other it looks like they had those plates from new.
I suspect that many of them are actually now scrapped/unroadworthy/destroyed rather than being safely stored waiting to auctioned off as barn finds. A ten year old Ford escort in the eighties was not worth much so easily written off through crash and/or rust.
As all those Ford were registered within day/weeks of each other it looks like they had those plates from new.
I suspect that many of them are actually now scrapped/unroadworthy/destroyed rather than being safely stored waiting to auctioned off as barn finds. A ten year old Ford escort in the eighties was not worth much so easily written off through crash and/or rust.
"These number plates were never worth big money.. ,"
No - they are very rare, giving a unique make / year / model combination. Mine sold for £1895 in 2000, within one week of being advertised, when I missed buying it by a couple of days. Four years later it sold again - to me - within a couple of days of being advertised. I paid £2000 17 years ago, and it was recently valued at £3000 by one of the large dealers.
No - they are very rare, giving a unique make / year / model combination. Mine sold for £1895 in 2000, within one week of being advertised, when I missed buying it by a couple of days. Four years later it sold again - to me - within a couple of days of being advertised. I paid £2000 17 years ago, and it was recently valued at £3000 by one of the large dealers.
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