Let Regtransfers do the hard work!

Meet father and son John and Elliot Tyler, who live on the Isle of Wight. John started collecting personalised registrations in 2014 when he purchased J60 TYL, his first private plate.

John's number plate journey did encounter a few bumps in the road at the beginning. The same year he bought J60 TYL, John was offered 4444 JT as an unsold lot in the DVLA auction. He could have had it for its auction starting price of £2200 but the call came while John was at work, and he declined the offer.

"I hovered," he says, "but I said no. It sold in October 2022 for £10,200 plus fees. I still kick myself for not buying It”.

John’s next purchases were two registrations with local relevance, DL numbers were issued on the Isle of Wight prior to 2000.

“I owned DL 38 and DL 1001 for a while", John says, "but I sold them on, both through Regtransfers".

We are very grateful to be able to count John amongst our fans. “I find the Regtransfers team great to deal with. Everyone is friendly and helpful as well as very knowledgeable. I usually buy from Lauren, as she has a wicked sense of humour, and manages to get me some terrific deals. We always have a good chat before getting onto the serious stuff of my next sale or purchase. But Rebecca, Zoe, Brad, Derek and Arun are also very well-informed, and I’ve bought from them in the past too”.

John has amassed a collection of 24 2x2 format numbers. “I prefer the original registrations as they represent a piece of history. My oldest registration is WS 83 - bought from Regtransfers - which dates back to 1903. I often wonder what type of car the registration first appeared on over 100 years ago.”

John and Elliot are both keen runners and John recently bought 7 RUN. "Lauren got me that at a fantastic price. 6 RUN sold in the DVLA auction for twice the price I paid for 7 RUN, and that was just days later."

John has also acquired some original issue 1x3 format plates. “Lauren managed to find me D 132 and Rebecca sold me a Glasgow registration, G 343. For a while, I owned 99 OO as well, but I sold that earlier this year. I only had that registration for eight months, but it netted a tidy profit.”

The three registrations in the photo, taken at Bembridge Airfield, are JT 31, 72 ET and 39 B. 39 B is my latest acquisition. Lauren said at the beginning of 2024 that she would find me a 2x1 by the end of the year and, true to her word, she did”.

Elliot now owns 72 ET, an excellent initials plate, and John owns his initials on JT 31.

“My only regret is that I didn’t start doing this sooner,” says John. “It’s great fun researching the best deals and letting Regtransfers do the hard work.”

I find all the Regtransfers team great to deal with. Everyone is friendly and helpful as well as very knowledgeable. I usually buy from Lauren, but Rebecca, Zoe, Brad, Derek and Arun are also very well-informed.