68 Plates – What are They?

If you’re someone that likes cars but isn’t quite sure about how the whole automotive industry works, you’ve probably heard some talk recently about the new ‘68’ private number plates.

Just one of many things happening in the UK motor industry of late, these sprung up in the UK in September last year. While you can buy a whole host of new cars from places like Peter Vardy Holdings, if you’re unsure of what makes a ‘68’ plate Corsa different to an earlier version, you may just end up getting more confused.

So, let’s talk you through how number plates work, what the characters on the plates mean, and how the ‘68’ plate could work for you.

Reading the Plate

First thing’s first, knowing how to read a UK number plate will always come in handy. This is because it’ll help you work out the age of the vehicle you’re purchasing. It can also help you work out where the car is from.

So, what do the numbers mean? Well, the numbers on the car are the year in which it was made. However, this is also broken down into months. So, if a car was made in March the last two numbers will outline the actual year – so cars made in March 2019 will have ’19’ on them. However, those made in September will feature the two digits from the end of the year, plus another 50. Which means cars made in September 2019 will feature the digits ‘69’ on the number plate and is why cars made in September 2018 feature 68.

How About Letter

Of course, the number plate also features a combination of letters, which also means something. These are broken down as such:

  • The first two letters of any plate in the UK are a ‘local memory tag’ used to identify where the car is registered
  • The last three letters are then randomly selected by a computer, before being allocated to car dealerships once the vehicles have been registered
  • However, personalised plates are an exception, as people pay extra to have their own unique plate number

The Plate Change and You

Obviously, the custom plates change can affect you in a few ways, which all depends on what you’re looking to achieve.

One way is when it comes to buying a used car. If you do this in the run-up to new plates being released, you can often grab yourself a bargain on the vehicle, because car sales tend to dip around February and March – right before new plates are released.

If you’re looking to get a new car, doing so a little before a plate change is also advised, because your car won’t be considered as old, meaning you’ll get more money for it.