Cheap Today, Classic Tomorrow?

Fancy a cheap classic to put your personal plate on but want to shell out as little as possible? What makes some cars reach classic status before others?

Brand plays a big part. Take a look at the Volvo P1800 coupe (the 'Saint' car) and the Jaguar E-type. In the sixties, they cost roughly the same, but now an E-type is worth ten times a P1800.

Often the first version of a car is considered the most desirable. That's why Mk1 Golf GTi's and Mk1 Mazda MX5's have been appreciating for the last five or ten years - if you can find ones that haven't been mucked about with.

Rarity is important. You can still pick up an original Mini for a reasonable sum but the pickup and first Mini Coopers have gone through the roof.

The impact a car makes has a bearing as well. Classics tend to be bought by people that loved them as kids but only now can afford them. Hence the Mini Cooper, the GTi and the MX5 - all were revelations but appeal to different generations.

Most of these are performance cars: for example, a Ford Capri 1300L will cost a lot less today than a 2.8i. Two-door cars and convertibles always appreciate faster than family saloons.

The top five to watch

To finish, we've used these factors to identify five cars which have reached rock bottom prices but in a few years will be appreciated by the people who adored them as children.

1. Mini Cooper S - the later BMW version, go for the earlier one with a supercharger rather than the later turbocharger.

2. Alfa Romeo 156 - possibly the best-looking four-door car ever, which handles superbly too.

3. Chrysler PT Cruiser - dramatically different looks and bargain prices.

4. Audi TT - early Quattros can still be found for around for £2,000.

5. BMW 3 Series convertible - the early Nineties ones (E30) are already well over £5,000 but the slightly newer ones (E36) are still cheap and unlikely to depreciate any further.

Of course, the beauty of putting a private plate on one of these is that it will help disguise their age until trends catch up with you. Contact us today if you're interested in a private plate for your soon-to-be-classic car.

SOURCE: https://www.theprivateplateco.co.uk/news/general/cheap-today-classic-tomorrow.html

https://www.flickr.com/photos/13907834@N00/">Jaguar E-Type 4.2 by MSVG licensed underhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative commons 4

Ultimate Private Number Plate Shows Charity Total

Keep your eyes peeled for a new four-wheeled way to make a contactless donation to a major UK cancer research charity. From the end of May, you will be able to tap your credit, debit or Apple Pay device at a very special, one-off car.

Hyundai Motor UK has shown very visible support for the Stand Up To Cancer campaign by creating a special zero-emission IONIQ Electric car. It's the world's first car that can gather contactless charity donations.

The IONIQ has five contactless donation points embedded into it. As it travels around the UK, members of the public can tap their cards and Apple Pay devices onto it, to securely donate to the campaign. They will be able to specify an amount of either £5 or £10.

The jazzy vehicle also features the ultimate personalised number plate as it changes to show a running total of the amount raised by the car.

The IONIQ even thanks each person who donates, as a contactless payment triggers audio and visual transmissions and electronic movements on the vehicle.

"The world's first contactless car" will be launched on May 22nd at a celebration at London's Kings Cross station. It will then tour the UK up until November 2017.

This will include featuring at various events when the public will be encouraged to sit in the vehicle and take "selfies" to post on social media.

Stand Up to Cancer is a joint campaign between Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 television. The idea to gather donations via a contactless vehicle grew from a trial to equipment the charity's fundraisers with payment devices alongside their traditional "buckets". It appears 25% of the donations during the trial period came from contactless payments.

Hyundai has officially said this is a one-off and has no plans to add contactless technology (and constantly changing personalised number plates) to any other vehicles.

It is believed to be the first car in the world to collect payments. However, it is not actually the first to employ contactless payment systems. Jaguar has a variation in some of its models – such as the F-Pace and XE – to send payments outwards, so drivers can pay for fuel in Shell garages via their infotainment.

SOURCE: https://www.theprivateplateco.co.uk/news/general/ultimate-private-number-plate-shows-charity-total.html

Five of the Most Controversial UK Personalised Number Plates

What's in a name? Well, quite a lot as it happens. Who could ever forget the classic episode of The Simpsons in which Homer changed his name to Max Power and reaped a variety of benefits, including promotion at work and the gaining of trendy, famous new friends?

Of course, you don't have to go to Homer's lengths in order to get a ridiculous moniker – personalised number plates are a great way of standing out from the crowd. With plenty of cheap private plates on offer you won't have to worry about breaking the bank in order to get the personalised car registration you deserve.

DVLA Number Plates: how far is too far?

While almost anything goes as far as personalised number plates are concerned, the DVLA do have a number of terms and conditions which ban certain combinations of letters and numbers from being used, on the off-chance that they might offend people.

With this in mind, we've decided to give you a run-down of some of the most inappropriate private plates requested in the UK over the past few years that have actually managed to pass DVLA guidelines:

1) AR15 OLE

It's clear what this personalised registration is attempting to convey. It might be immature, but it's certainly eye-catching – and let's face it, when it comes to attracting attention on the road, there can fewer easier ways then purchasing a cheap personalised registration plate!

2) BO11 LUX

After paying £399 for this number plate, Alan Clarke from Chesterfield faced a backlash from the DVLA – however, the 49-year-old Telecoms Director appealed and won! He's now free to spread amusement across the UK's roads without falling foul of the law.

3) POO 11E

An unnamed Lexus owner has owned this particularly smelly personalised number plate for a number of years – it's possible they were looking for the registration to read "Poolle" without having the foresight to understand how it would be construed by daily commuters.

4) P3RV P

This number needs some serious rethinking in our opinion – but each to their own! After all, it could just be an in-joke between friends – personalised number plates make great gifts, so this might've even been a joke birthday present.

1) PEN 15

It's hard to believe, but a marketing manager in London actually drives around with this registration on his car. It's certainly an eye-catching (albeit embarrassing) means of getting his company noticed!

SOURCE: https://www.theprivateplateco.co.uk/news/general/five-of-the-most-controversial-uk-personalised-number-plates.html