Do you think I'm CLA55Y?

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Personalised plate sales netted £1.2bn for the government last yearMotorists wanting to add some cache to their driving experience have been bidding in a government auction of personalised number plates.

They won't get you from A to B any quicker, and will probably earn a sneer from fellow drivers, but what do Betsy, Paul and Roy care?

The licence plates BET 55Y, PAU 111L and 34 ROY were among several hundred personalised registrations sold off this week by the DVLA.

Personalised number plates are nothing newFor thousands of car drivers personalised number plates are a prize possession; a statement of individuality in a world of faceless conformity, and a neat investment.

To others though they're an ostentatious waste of cash; a self-aggrandising statement of ego over commonsense.

It all started with the first ever number plate, A1, issued in 1903 when the Motor Car Act came into force. Earl Russell is said to have camped outside the vehicle registration office to get the prestigious plate.

Somewhat paradoxically, personalised plates have become so common these days they have lost their exclusive tag, says Andrew English, motoring correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.

"They are total vanity and incredibly naff, but it's a market worth millions. I have no idea why someone would want one, they are so Dallas. You could actually spend that money on making your car better."

Offensive

The boom in personalised plates goes back to the late 80s. Before then, new cars were registered by the local authority in which they had been bought.

There had long been a lively second-hand trade in classic or "cherished" personalised plates. But in 1989 the DVLA took charge of issuing plates and began marketing them itself.

The DVLA stocks an estimated 25 million number plates for sale. People can also ask for specific number and letter combinations, which are issued provided they have never been sold or allocated before.

WHAT WE BUY A surname plate is worth more than a first name oneShort plates are more valuable than long onesPlates bid for at the end of an auction sell for less than those at the start Source: Andrew Oswald and Matthew Corder Not every combination is allowed. Those with religious connotations, like JE55USS, are banned as are rude words. It's also illegal to play around with the spacing of the numbers and letters.

As Arthur Daley might say, it's become a nice little earner for HM Government - raising £1.2bn to date.

So why do people buy them? Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics at Warwick University who has studied such sales, not surprisingly concluded it's all about status.

"Basically we are all competing in a giant monkey pack, trying to stand out," he says. "The reason most people buy a personalised number plate is for an ego boost.

"If someone buys a Porsche they can claim it's because it is a high-performing car, as well as a status symbol. You can't say that about these plates as they do nothing, it makes them a very pure indicator of how people see their status.

"Often they are not aware of this, it's not a conscious thing. It doesn't make them bad people, it's just human."

Less is more

Short plates that spell out names are the chief status earners, according to his research. People pay the most for those that spell out a surname. The single digit 1 at the start of a plate is highly prized, as is one beginning with the letter S. One beginning with the letter F is one of the least valuable.

It's not only a lucrative business for the Treasury. Hundreds of companies buy and sell the plates for big profits.

ThePrivatePlateCompany sells 400 private plates a month, says owner Marin Davies. Prices start from £185 and most people spend around £300, but he has customers who are willing to pay over £100,000.

"They say less is more and that applies to number plates as well," says Mr Davies. "Short plates are the most valuable, initials are popular and those with single numbers. People buy them for so many reasons - to stand out, as a marketing tool, as a present."

Such plates are often considered naffBoy racers are the "least likely customer", says Mr Davies, whose customer base takes in doctors, lawyers, van drivers and cleaners.

And often viewed as a "total vanity" purchase, a personalised plate can be a shrewd investment "if bought wisely".

"They are unique, there will only ever be one," says a spokesman for the DVLA. "This means they retain their value and are a great investment. A much better investment than other things people don't turn their noses up at."

Stigma

According to one industry tale, a haulage company had a fleet of lorries that all had personalised number plates with the company's name in them. The plates ended up being worth far more than the actual business.

But the only acceptable reason for someone to buy one is to avoid a dreaded Q number plate, says Mr English. A Q plate is issued when the DVLA do not know the manufacture date of a car. It is associated with badly-made cars and as a result it has a stigma, which can reduce the value of a vehicle.

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