number plate

G Luxel

Today I noticed a brand new model. I wont say what it is but what i did notice is that it was registered something like eg 08 L 44. By the way that number is just an example. The car is brand new, only launched a week ago but it has a january number plate. I thought that numbers could only be issued in sequence ie january , not november, or else it had to be bought straight away, ie in january and fitted on the car? Ive noticed this on new cars launched say september and wearing the previous january number like say 08 D 5.

On a related topic, I see that garages do not fit their green trade plates on the front and rear of the car, only stuck on the windscreen. I can only assume that it is just pure laziness on the part of the garage as they would have to take the plate off again and fit its proper plate. Although when a new car is in a showroom the car name, eg New Fiesta , is screwed into the reg plate space front and rear....... Ive seen the guards stopping these cars on the road because the number plate isnt displayed......

colm_mcm

Re: trade plates: You're hardly gonna screw trade plates onto every car you drive that isn't registered or taxed. They come from the tax office with suction cups for sticking to the inside of the windows. Guards will often stop dealers with trade plates to verify that the plates are genuine and not stolen.


Re: cars in showrooms: Showroom cars will often be in a showroom for weeks, it's common sense that spending a few minutes to fix on dress plates is worthwile if they're gonna be on it for a long time. It isn't required for trade plates to be screwed on (think of all the different patterns of pre-drilled and threaded holes on different makes of cars and how many holes would have to be on the trade plates, or the security aspect of having something as valuable as trade plates accessable to any scumbag who wants to drive any car without tax or test) so it's hardly fair compare is it?

Silvera

Trade Plates regulatons state that they MUST NOT be permanently attached to any vehicle (i.e. screwed on). This is to stop the practice which was common with the old-style plates whereby dealers would fix the plates to their own cars and drive on Trade Plates all the time.

Trade Plates must be displayed using the suction cups provided (i.e. in the front and rear windows). Where there is no rear window (e.g. some trucks and vans) the rear plate must be temporarily attached by another means, e.g. wire, masking tape, twine, etc.


(UK trade plate below similar to old-syle Irish plate)

colm_mcm

I heard of a pickup driven on trade plates for 5 years.... back in the day.

Do-more

G Luxel wrote:

Today I noticed a brand new model. I wont say what it is but what i did notice is that it was registered something like eg 08 L 44. By the way that number is just an example. The car is brand new, only launched a week ago but it has a january number plate. I thought that numbers could only be issued in sequence ie january , not november, or else it had to be bought straight away, ie in january and fitted on the car? Ive noticed this on new cars launched say september and wearing the previous january number like say 08 D 5.

This would have been a number booked for €315, probably last Nov/Dec, but you can get unissued no's under 200 right up till the end of the year by paying the €315. The rules state that a reserved no. cannot be used before it's sequence has been otherwise issued. But the only limit on after the no. sequence is issued, is that it must be used by Dec. 31st. in the year of issue.