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Steve Martin with his private number plate 787 SM

Car pool

Steve Martin inherited a love of cars from his father.

“Over the decades, when I was growing up, my dad changed his car every two years. From Cortinas and Granadas for the family, he moved on to RS Turbos, Capri 2.8 injections, Jaguar XJS, Mercedes SL and others as we got older, so I was always involved with cars. My dad wanted to buy an Aston Martin back in the 1970s and '80s but he could never justify or afford it but I remember going with him to see DB4s and DB5s when I was a young boy.”

“My own portfolio of cars started with an XR2, then an RS Turbo, a BMW 325i Sport, a BMW 330i Sport and then a 440i M Sport, but I always wanted an Aston Martin and for my 50th birthday I decided to treat myself.

“I'd been looking for a couple of years and then, while sitting around the pool on holiday in Croatia, I saw the Vantage in a picture on a website. It was three years old, had done just 1900 miles since new, and the specification was as high as you could get, especially with the sandstone beige leather interior. That was it: it was a no-brainer.

“I phoned the showroom in Edinburgh and asked them to send a video of the car. Once I'd seen that I put down a deposit on the car. You can imagine the discussion I had with my wife, Sarah, who was sitting with me by the pool!”

Steve Martin's number plate 787 SRM

The purchase may have been a big one, but Steve has certainly taken good care of his investment. “The car only comes out in dry weather,” he says, “and, even today, it has only 3400 miles on it.

Steve Martin's number plate 7847 SM

“I had a personal plate, 7847 SM, which started life on my BMWs over twenty years ago but then went onto Sarah's car. When I got the Aston Martin, I transferred the plate off my wife's car and onto the Aston, which left my Sarah's car a bit bare!

“I decided to get another plate for my wife, which led me to Regtransfers to source 787 SRM (Sarah Rachel Martin) for her BMW X3 M40i. Then I wondered if there was something similar to match it, so I asked Regtransfers to see if 787 SM existed, which it did.”

787 SM now adorns Steve's Aston Martin but he retained his original 7847 SM personal number plate and has recently placed it on his latest acquisition - a 911 Carrera GTS.

It's really nice to have the matching plates. The service provided by Regtransfers was excellent, especially in sourcing the two unreleased registrations.

Steve Martin

Create your perfect personal number plate easily with our 'Make Your Own' tool. Build your own custom registration by selecting the characters you want, then submit your choices to see if your perfect registration is available!

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The role of DVLA

Car registrations and number plates, including personalised number plates, in the UK, are the responsibility of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, usually known as the DVLA. It issues new registrations twice a year and also maintains the central database that records details of all vehicles licensed to drive on UK roads, along with their keeper and registration information.

Regtransfers works closely with DVLA to complete registration transfers as quickly and efficiently as possible. Regtransfers is a DVLA-registered supplier of personal car registrations and number plates and is listed on the DVLA Registrations website. All number plates supplied by Regtransfers comply with DVLA's prescribed standards and regulations.

DVLA administers all UK registration transfers and issues updated registration documents when the registration number of a car is changed, or when a registration is removed from a vehicle and placed on a retention document in accordance with the DVLA Retention Scheme.

DVLA is a registered trade mark of the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency. Regtransfers is not affiliated with the DVLA or DVLA Personalised Registrations. Regtransfers is a recognised reseller of unissued Government stock.

Number plate regulations

When a car is on the road, it is an offence to display number plates bearing any number other than the vehicle's officially recorded registration number. If you purchase a private registration, learn how to transfer private plates before displaying the new number.

All registration number plates displayed on UK vehicles must comply with the official number plate regulations. DVLA oversees enforcement of number plates display regulations and maintains a register of approved manufacturers and retailers of vehicle number plates.

Regtransfers is not part of, and is not formally affiliated with DVLA.

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