Irish Number Plates Make Your Car Look Younger
Number plates with the letters “I” and “Z” are released by the DVLNI (Driver and Vehicle Licensing, Northern Ireland), Coleraine, the equivalent authority to DVLA, Swansea. These plates are known by the term “Irish number plates”, though they are not to be confused with plates from the Republic of Ireland that are not transferable to DVLA registered cars. NI number plates actually follow the same rules set in 1903 to be used by all of Ireland, with I and Z acting as county and city codes respectively, which is why they are still called “Irish number plates” within the private number plate industry.
Irish number plates have become very popular in recent times amongst both dealers and private buyers. This is largely due to two things, first being their usefulness. Irish number plates are classed as dateless, which means they can be put on any car of any age (personalised number plates cannot be used to make a car look younger, but this isn’t a problem for Irish personalised number plates). The characters “I” and “Z” are also incredibly useful when creating a car number plate. The second reason is that they are ideal for buyers on a budget; an NI number plate with three letters and four numbers would cost as little as 115 pounds, a steal all things considered.
Fact is, the exclusivity of “I” and “Z” to Irish number plates gives them quite an edge in the current market place. “I” is of course one of the most commonly seen letter in the English language and can be used to spell many names, such as “JIL” or “BIL”, that the DVLA, Swansea cannot cater for. “Z” on the other hand becomes very useful for nicknames, take for example “AZ”, the city code for Belfast, and how it can be used to create a “GAZ” plate for a person named Gary.
One of the market’s current trends sees private buyers investing in Irish number plates based on their potential future value. Using “1 IL” as a guide for this potential, it is currently valued at 50-60 grand after being sold at auction in 1997 for 7,500 pounds, it is no surprise then that “BIG” and similar plates have become very popular. Dealers have also got in the trend, purchasing Irish number plates into stock or selling Irish car numbers cheap to private buyers to gain future re-sale business. The plausibility that these Irish number plates will increase in market price speaks for itself.
If you choose to buy an Irish number plate, start your search with a number plate dealer who has experience dealing in Northern Ireland transfers.
There are many ways to buy your own Irish number plate if you wish to get in on the trend. There are many plates on offer from private sellers and National Numbers can help you in acquiring an Irish plate.