Telegraph Article - April 30th 2005

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P1 ATE 3 NVY?

In response to James May's recent dig at personal number plates, Ruby Speechly defends the thousands of people who love them

You're driving down the motorway when a sleek Mercedes cruises past wearing the registration TOP 1. Do you shake your head and remark to your beloved that some people have more MON 3Y than S3 NSE, then secretly drift into a daydream about driving a sports car with a fantastic plate?

How many people who claim to dislike personal plates would actually admit to suffering from PI ATE 3 NVY? Would their opinion be openly different if they could choose their favourite number?

The British have always loved their cars, be they a humble Mini Metro or a delectable Rolls-Royce. The most desirable finishing touch for any motor has to be a personalised registration. But if you can't afford solid gold, you don't buy it, do you? It's good to know that you can spend a few hundred pounds for a plate like X1 RPB, instead of an astonishing £500,000 for X1.

True, cherished-registration enthusiasts prefer the original issues (such as X1) to some of the more inventive numbers, such as B1l MBO, M4 TCH or the incredible ORG 45M. The Registration Numbers Club (RNC) holds a rally every year where you can see the best numbers gathered together for one day, and even a CYN 1C would be impressed with the turnout. The RNC was formed in 1977 to protect the right to hold and transfer personalised plates, and has since evolved into a strong and friendly association that produces an informative quarterly newsletter, available free to members.

Interest in personal number plates goes back more than 100 years, to when the first British numbers were issued. In December 1903, The Car magazine reported: "There has been some amount of competition for the securing of the number plate A1." Chronologically Britain's first number plate, A1 was famously acquired by Earl Russell for his Napier. No doubt plate envy existed then too.

Probably the first "celebrity" registration was T8, owned by Harry Tate, a popular music-hall artiste who featured the number in his comic motoring sketches. Later, Arthur Askey owned AA 10 and Norman Wisdom was proud to show off 1 NW. In the 1960s, it seemed that everyone who was anyone had a personalised number. X-rated model Fiona Richmond used FU 2, Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, had YG 1 and James Bond film producer Cubby Broccoli owned CUB 1.

For many, self-publicity has always been the motivation for owning a personalised plate, even if sometimes they represent a previous incarnation. Jimmy Tarbuck always has the last laugh with COM 1C, Paul Daniels gets one up on Harry Potter with MAG 1C but ventriloquist Keith Harris is stuck with his feathered friend ORV 1L.

You don't have to be a comedian, or mad about numbers, to appreciate that a good choice can be the ultimate accessory for your car. John Madejski QBE, founder of Auto Trader and chairman of Reading FC, says: "I'm certainly not fanatical about number plates, but I do see them as an essential finishing touch to any prestigious car. If you see a Rolls-Royce, for instance, with an ordinary number, it just doesn't look as good as one with a personal plate."

Likewise, award-winning entrepreneur Nasa Khan, founder of The Accessory People (TAP) in Chessington, Surrey, admits he has a passion for cars and plates. "I think personalised plates are the ultimate accessory," says Khan, who owns a fleet of top-marque cars, all adorned with "TAP" numbers, including 2 TAP and 8 TAP.

Phillip Haslam of Derbyshire found out how important getting the R1 GHT number plate can be. He bought a 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans from America and was keen to find its original registration. "The car was purchased new by Sir Malcolm Campbell shortly after he took the World Land Speed Record," he says. "One day I happened to glance at a listing advertised by Regtransfers, and I couldn't believe my luck: ALW 1, the missing number, leapt out of the page at me. My car was finally reunited with its original plate."

These days number plates can be a serious consideration for investment purposes, and businesses are buying whole collections. Sussex-based D Sankey Pest Control Services, for example, owns more than £50,000 worth of plates, including Ml CES, Ml TES and LI CES. Parents and grandparents are also thinking ahead and choosing cherished registrations, rather than baby bonds, for their children. Marion Money of Gravesend lived up to her name when she recently sold 1 MPM for £25,000 after paying £7,500 for it in 1998.

When buying a personal plate, it is vital that you use the services of a dealer who is a member of the Cherished Numbers Dealer Association. The CNDA was set up in 1971 to represent reputable and responsible dealers and to protect the interests of their customers. Members of the CNDA adhere to a strict code of practice, and are regularly monitored by the association.

So whether you love them or (pretend to) hate them, the next time you feel plate envy sweeping over you, just shut your eyes and remember that you can make your dreams come true. It's easier than you think.