A whole new level of buyer stupidity...

[whiznumber6]

OK - to set the story up: I collect vintage car number plates (amongst other things!), specifically Victorian ones between 1953 and 1977. As with most collectibles, someone will put up a batch of ten items, which I purchase in order to get the one item I actually need. The rest of the batch go straight back up on Ebay...

Perfectly legal to collect, buy, sell, and trade these, by the way (subject to a few simple conditions, which are no hassle).

So, a guy bought one (yay!!). I was just about to write the address on the package when I noticed he'd left me a note. I clicked on it, and couldn't believe what I read.

This is the plate he bought:



The note said that he wanted the plate to read AJW-384 instead... Seriously.

Now, I'm not sure if the guy is just genuinely dumb and has mis-read the ad thinking that I offer a service reproducing number plates to order (I don't - it's highly illegal), or if he's a shonk trying to save money in replacing a damaged plate by buying a second-hand one rather than get a replacement from VicRoads (again, illegal).

Zero feedback buyer who became a member the same day he bought the plate. Surprise, surprise...

[marwi_3023]

Maybe 2005. I can't remember exactly which year but definitely had "on the move" originally

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

---

@marwi_3023 wrote:
18 years ago the slogan on Victoria number plates was "on the move"
"place to be" is about 2006.
My 2000 AU QCD... had "on the move" plates until I replaced them in 2006 and they have "place to be".

---

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Victoria

Regardless of what these Wikipedia entries say, my AUII Falcon that was first registered in late October 2000 had the prefix QLS.

Spoiler

how do I know for sure it was late October?  I have an old rego certificate here that I looked at.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

from the same Wikipedia page

[davewil1964]

It always annoys me that both Victoria and New South Wales stole other states' prefixes.

Originally, from memory, NSW had A-G, Vic K-M, Qld N-Q. SA R-V?, WA whatever the local council felt like at the time, ACT Y, CofA Z.

These days any state, read Vic and NSW, seems to consider the whole alphabet available.

[*tippy*toes*]

I don't know about other states, but these days in NSW, car yards seem to be issued with a pile of rego plates for new cars (often bearing their logo). We had to buy a new car a few months ago due to an altercation with a kangaroo. The new rego plate started with a Y. They are 3 letters, 2 numbers and a letter. So many cars around town have the same 3 letters, just the last 3 characters change.

Other car yards have their own plates, also starting with Y, but a different sequence of letters and numbers. At a glance, it's easy to see from a distance where people have bought their new car from, even before seeing the car yard name at the bottom of the plate. 

Even visiting cars from Sydney I'm seeing plates starting with Y, or neighbouring towns, also starting with Y. It seems to be the current trend with new cars at the moment.

[davewil1964]

Because they have used up the alphabet and are now up to Y. Not true, actually. I have seen NSW Z-cars.

We went YAA-YZZ, then went to Yxx00x. We are up to YL I believe. The problem is if your car has been out of rego for 12 months, you have to get (and pay for) new plates and surrender the old ones. So there are a poopload of inactive numbers out there.

[countessalmirena]

I think (but am not sure) that in that case, davewil, the owner of the car can get the same registration number and keep the old plates, but the cost is a lot higher than simply paying for new number plates.

(Anecdotal information only.)

Spoiler

“Away with the joint-stools, remove the court-cupboard, look to the plate.— ”  (Court cupboards as used in the 15th and 16th centuries displayed the household's silver flagons and ewers. While there weren't any registration numbers in Shakespeare's time, there were definitely identifying marks. Not on modes of transport, though... Can you imagine riding a horse that's got a licence plate number stamped onto its rear end?)

When it comes to a plaque d'immatriculation, one shouldn't keep it in a solander.

Spoiler

This has been a Fancy Foreign Historical Literary (FanFoHisLit)® post.

[okiseeu]

Or is it? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[high_energy_automotive_components]

Victoria started with GAA-000 in 1953, then went through H, J, K, L, and I before starting at A in 1977. They didn't use the letter Q or I in any plates between 1953 and 1974, as they believed Q could be mistaken for O and I could be mistaken for 1.

They also also didn't issue GOD as a prefix, although they did issue HUN, JAP, JEW, and KKK.

[high_energy_automotive_components]

---

@k1ooo-slr-sales wrote:

---

 

Regardless of what these Wikipedia entries say, my AUII Falcon that was first registered in late October 2000 had the prefix QLS.

Spoiler

how do I know for sure it was late October?  I have an old rego certificate here that I looked at.

---

Plates were issued in batches to various areas - some areas (notably country) cycled through their batches far more slowly than others. So, while Melbourne may have been issuing QNG prefixes on brand-new cars in mid-October 2000, regional areas could well have still been issuing plates in the QLA - QNF range at that point.

I've got a list of all MGB's registered in Vctoria between 1963 and 1973, and on that it's not at all unusual for cars sold within a week of each other to have rego prefixes that are technically several months apart.

(Note: third different account I've used in this thread now! Keep forgetting to check which one I'm logged in as...)