SWANSEA, UK. February 8th, 2024 - The best gifts are often personalised, thoughtful, and long-lasting. So Plates4Less has a solution for those shopping for a special Valentine's Day gift - even if they’ve left it until the last minute!
A private number plate ticks all of these boxes, and Plates4Less has now revealed the extent of their popularity as gifts. Statistics show that around 2 in 5 of their customers are buying private number plates as gifts - and the majority of those are bought for partners to mark anniversaries, birthdays and even for Valentine’s Day.
The only real barrier is that some people are confused about the process of finding, purchasing and assigning a private plate to a loved one. But Plates4Less has developed the Plates4Gifts Guide which explains every step in clear language!
What Are Private Number Plates?
Private number plates are sometimes called personalised number plates, private registration marks, or cherished number plates. They are life-long gifts which can be used to add personal meaning to a vehicle and can be investments too.
Private Number Plates are more popular now than ever
“We’ve seen a big increase in the demand for private plates over the last five years with a 30% increase in marketwide activity since 2017,” explained Antony Clark, number plate expert and Marketing Manager at Plates4Less.
With Valentine’s Day on the way, he’s shared some insights into the industry. He said: “Since cars are more expensive than ever but also more reliable and comfortable, it seems that some people prefer to purchase a new plate, rather than change their vehicle.
“People also enjoy private plates because they are personal and unique, so they can make their mass-produced vehicle more individual and special to them.”
How to Find a Private Plate for someone else
There are a few tried-and-tested insider methods that the Plates4Less team uses to find the perfect number plate. Starting with personal attributes like the recipient's name, initials or a hobby, is always a good idea..
Once you’ve got the basic idea, you can add in fillers like significant dates or initials!
Things like K155, XXX, XOX, LUV, HOT, 69, TNT, WOW, SX51 or MI55 are cute, romantic and even raunchy, so they help complete the plate!
You can find many tips for gifting in the Plates4Gifts Hub Search Guide, but finding a good partner plate is pretty simple.
Popular Partner Plates - ME04 YOU/ YU04 MEE?
In their efforts to define plates into categories, Plates4Less have coined the phrase “Partner Plates” for those which combine two peoples names or initials plus a significant number.
Clients who share a vehicle can both be featured this way and sometimes customers choose two plates with their initials swapped at opposite ends for each of their vehicles.
The best place to start is with your partner's name/initials. From there, you can develop the ideas further!
Here are some useful layouts you can follow to match plates that are actually issued by the government:
Your initials + 04 + Partner’s Initials
Your initials + significant number* + Partner’s 3 initials
First Initial + significant number* + 3-letter Abbreviated Surname
Marriage Month Letter + Day + 3 initials
MI55/ MR MR51 + Initials/ 3 letter name/ 3 letter Abbreviated Surname
* significant numbers can be; marriage year, house number, lucky numbers, birthdays, birth years, or any relevant number you can think of!
For those with loved ones who perhaps do not currently have access to a vehicle, or even a driving licence, generating potential private number plate ideas may be a completely free and thoughtful way to show them that you care. You can do this on the Plates4Less website - where you can also put a shortlist together to see which plate they prefer.
VRM Swansea - Plates4Less is a well-established agency for buyers and sellers of private plates in the UK. It has over 67 million registrations on its books, and the most technically advanced smart search engine to help clients find the perfect plate. Trading since 1997, the company has more 5 star reviews on Trustpilot than any other agency in its field of expertise.
Despite the name, Plates4Less hold the UK record for negotiating the sale of the most expensive private sale to date in the United Kingdom, at in excess of £600,000 in 2022.