Beware of cheap number plates
If you need a set of number plates made up for your car, or other vehicle, you need to know what you're buying.
Not all number plates are made the same
The quality of number plates varies a lot. The end result depends on the equipment used by the supplier of the plates.
We've all seen the plates you can have made up, on the spot, at car shows and markets. These are often poor quality, and will start to peel apart pretty quickly. And that's without taking into account that they probably fall outside DVLA number plate law.
The images on the left are of number plates made at a make-shift stall. The finish is quite rough, and you can see that the layers are peeling apart. So it won't be long before you have to replace them! If water gets between the layers and distorts the letters, that can be a MOT failure.
The number plates images on the right are better quality number plates. You can clearly see the finish is smoother and the quality is better.
You need ID to have number plates made up
Don't be fooled into thinking you can get number plates made up anywhere. You can't. Any reputable supplier will ask you for ID and proof of entitlement to the registration number you have asked for. They are required to do this by law.
Some suppliers claim the number plates they supply are 'road legal'. We've seen them advertised on auction sites and other websites. We've previously also blogged about a large company being fined well over half million pounds for supplying illegal number plates.
Beware of buying number plates online where no ID is requested. And check the quality of the number plates you're getting. They may be cheap...but it could turn out to be false economy.
