Is a puzzlement

[avevale_intelligencer]

Back in the old days when I was a boy, cars in Britain had simple number plates. Three letters, three digits. No messing.

Then, some time around the late seventies I think, they brought in the single letter before or after the three digits to indicate the date of manufacture or possibly of the first licence. That scheme ran till recently when they made it two letters and two digits, for some reason.

So here's my question; how does an old-style, three-letter three digit number plate end up on the nearly new Lexus I saw today? A make, I believe, which didn't even exist back then.

Comments

[keristor.livejournal.com]

In 1963 the year letter was added (at the end: ABC123J was 1970-71 for example, since there was no I). It was reversed in 1983, starting with A123ABC. The current system, xxNNxxx, was introduced in 2001.

However, all schemes are still valid as 'vanity' plates, providing the number either belonged to a car which has been destroyed (as is the case for most of the earlier cars) or the number plate has been transferred or swapped. For instance, if someone else didn't have it, I could buy CHR15C (CHRIS C) -- since someone bought that as a vanity plate, they probably aren't willing to sell it. Vanity plates can cost vast amounts for rare or desirable ones, even 15+ years ago when I saw that particular plate it was worth several thousand pounds.

So it is not at all uncommon to see obviously new cars with 'old' plates.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

And as has been said by others, you can't make an older car appear newer by putting on a year letter later than the first registration of the car, but it's perfectly ok for Keris to buy a brand new Bugatti Veyron and put CHR15C on it even though that's a number plate from 1965.

My car is an "R" reg, so over ten years old ... I could not put MR 05 HEA on it because that would indicate it was a car that was only five years old (or younger) *and* because that sold at auction in 2005. My initials 05 HEA is available, but it's £3,299 plus tax and transfer fees, and I don't have a car that recent ... so I'm not buying it!

[occams_pyramid]

Years back I saw OO 8
I gather the one before that was owned by a film company.