Personalised registration plates more common in some parts of UK

It seems personalised registration plates are more common in some parts of the UK than others. Scotland, and more specifically Stirlingshire, came top as the most likely to have a personalised number plate.

A recent survey by elephant.co.uk discovered that as many as 14% of car owners in Stirlingshire had a personalised number plate, compared with less than 1% in areas such as Cumbria and some parts of Greater Manchester. That's quite a difference. And BBC Scotland were quick to pick up on the popularity of personalised registration plates in Scotland.

There's no doubt that personalised registration plates are more popular than ever. Since the DVLA made them more easily available, at a price point many can afford, they're no longer the preserve of the rich. Having said that, they're still more likely to be found on high value luxury cars than an everyday runaround. Perhaps it's not surprising that Ferraris, Mercedes, Porsches and Jaguars appear at the top of the list of most likely to have personalised registration plates. The least likely cars to have a personalised registration plate were Skodas, Rovers, and Daewoo's. We'll leave you to draw your own conclusions on why that might be....

Not only does the percentage of personalised registration plates vary depending on where you live, but it also seems to depend on occupation too. Nursing home owners came top, as the most likely at 13.4%. Next came Local Government Chief Executives, haulage contractors, and sub-postmasters. At the other end of the scale, it seems newspaper photographers, park rangers, and road sweepers are amongst the least likely to have a personalised registration plate.

Overall, these figures suggest that around 4% of us across the UK currently own a personalised registration plate. Significanlty less than Stirlingshire figures. That would seem quite low... so we may need to do some spot surveys of our own.

Buying a cheap personalised registration plate

So you want to buy a cheap personalised number plate? What is cheap? £100? £1000? Budgets will vary from one pocket to another. In reality, whatever our budget we want to make the most of it.

Usually at the bottom end of the price range, Irish number plates are great option for a cheap private number plate. They can start from as little as £100. Though some of the more presitigious ones have sold for £1000's. They're cheap because there are usually many of them available for sale, so there's plenty to choose from. And they're popular because

1. There's no age identifier so they can be used to hide the age of a vehicle without the usual restrictions, and
2. They're a much cheaper option for getting a name on a personalised number plate. KAZ, GAZ, or LIL for instance.
   

The current style number plates are cheap too. Or at least, they can be. And again, this is partly down to the abundance of these plates on the market. With 2 releases of each letter combination every year there seems to be plenty to go around. They start from as little as £159. The more common initials annd popular letter combinations disappear quickly, so you do still have to be on your toes. And it sometimes pays to buy as soon as the combination is released rather than waiting till you own a vehicle that's new enough to assign it to.

Generally speaking, prefix number plates can be cheap. Again from around £159. But the more common initials and short names have been bought up, and they're back on the market at much higher prices. So prefix style number plates are not the cheapest personalised registration plates for the majority.

Of course, the key to making the most of your budget is to get the best price you can. And that means hunting around so you get a feel for what would be a reasonable price. Comparing number plate prices, you'll find that they can seem to vary wildly. There can be some good reasons for this of course - and they're not always obvious. Other times it can just be down to the level of commission fee added by the dealer. Though, of course, if you buy the personalised number plate direct from the owner, you'll also save on the dealer premium.

The quickest and easiest way to get a cheap personalised registration plate is to check number plate prices and keep track of what you've seen. Use a number plate price comparison service. Big dealers, small dealers, and private sellers from all over the internet - in one place.