Numberplates as an investment.

Investing in numberplates has become a serious prospect along the lines of investing in fine art or wine. A decent knowledge of the numberplate market and the approximate values of numberplates is essential if you intend to make any significant financial investment in numberplates.

Generally numberplates which clearly and simply read words or very old/short numberplates such as B1 or Y1 carry the highest prices; as with anything however, the value of numberplates is dictated by the marketplace and buyer sentiment. Some very expensive numberplates have appeared at DVLA auctions an in the private markets- K1NGS was one of the most notable plates- selling for £233000 and allegedly bought by the sultan of Brunei- this plate broke the mould and raised the bar for numberplate values.

At the time of writing the most recent expensive numberplate was F1- purchased for over £400k when all fees have been paid- more than double the cost of the supercar on which it is assigned.

numberplate investment

So how can you tell which plates to buy and what's going to make money? Well as numberplates are all unique the market allows for "look-alike" and second best numberplates- there can be only one J4MES for example, but J44MES and J444MES would have a proportionate value in the marketplace.

Vehicle specific numberplates are also a good prospect- when car manufacturers announce new vehicles to be launched there is an opportunity to purchase numberplates which would be suitable- notable vehicle specific plates are M3 BMW / X5 BMW and N15SAN.

Asian numberplates have also seen a surge in recent years- any numberplate resembling an Asian word or name- SINGH in particular- carries a premium.

See also..

Top tips for investing in numberplates

Numberplates for business