Putting on my private plate but have a few questions?

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A3_TOBES

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Got a few questions about adding my private plate to my 2005/05 A3.

What records will I need to update with Audi for warranty/recalls/Audi breakdown etc ?

As a matter of interest does the service book have the original numberplate in there (can't have a look because i'm away on work at the moment) or is it just the chassis number?

Will I need to notify my insurance of the change?

Are A3 plates a standard size because I will be ordering the new plates over the internet?

Just wondering because don't want to miss anything.

cheers for any advice :)
 
Good question - I have just a private plate for my S4 - gonna watch the response myself! Thanks, Geoff
 
You can just tell your local service department and they will sort it out for you.

Or when I called out Audi assist because my bonnet catch was broken their records had my previous car down against my plate. The lady just updated it over the phone.

When I went to book my car in for it's service a few months later they had the correct details.

J.
 
I just gave the local dealer a quick e-mail.
No idea about the service book.
Of course you have to notify your insurance.
Plates are a standard size.
 
I have a personal plate on my A3 as you may have seen from my logon name. My service book has a copy of the vehicle data sticker in the front with the VIN number, model description, colour, options etc. The registration number is not mentioned.

Again my dealer changed the details on their system and updated the central Audi systems as necessary. Your insurance company will have to send you a new Certificate of Insurance showing the new number. If you value your plate make sure that your new number plates are legal and use the correct typeface and spacing as, if you are stopped by the police, you can be fined and the DVLA can take away your abilility to use that number.

So far my current A3 is the 7th car to have my number on it. I bought it back in 1991 when the DVLA first allowed us to purchase a new number direct from them. I also purchased, again direct from the DVLA, a matching H5 plate for my wife's car and a month ago another H5 for my new Honda 125cc scooter.
 
h5djr said:
If you value your plate make sure that your new number plates are legal and use the correct typeface and spacing as, if you are stopped by the police, you can be fined and the DVLA can take away your abilility to use that number.
Click to expand...

In my experience,it's only vital to have the correct spacing at the back.
Although I have the correct typeface and size,I have blatantly illegal spacing on the front.
So far,nothing has been said.
I have heard they will pull you over pretty sharpish if you beggar about with the back ones though.
Maybe it's just a case of them noticing illegal rear spacing more readily,I don't know.
My friends Alfa is exactly the same.
Dodgy at the front,fine at the back.
Until either of us get stopped,they'll stay that way.

One thing that hacks me off about private plates is the cost of transferring them.
My wife tends to change her cars a lot and,in the 5 years since I bought her plate,they have had over £500 in transfer fees off me.
The ****** plate only cost me half that...
Really,£110 a time just to change some info in a computer is a horrendous rip-off.
 
If you transfer direct from one car to another, without putting the plate on retention as it's termed, the transfer cost is only £80.00. That's all I've ever paid each time but I agree it's still a rip-off. Only once has the DVLA Local Office asked to see one of the vehicle when transferring but I understand they do carry out a random vehicle checks every so many applications.

As far as the spacing is concerned you should be OK unless you keep a car long enough to need an MOT. My friend's car failed it's MOT just because the plates were wrongly spaced. Worth having a second set of plates, correctly spaced, just for the MOT.
 
As an aside David,I dunno if I'd be advertising my plate on t'internet.
Not with all this 'cloning' that's going on.
Up to you like,but an ex-girlfriend and friend of mine have both been victims of this cloning lark,and that was without the 'help' of the internet.
The ex-squeeze had to prove she didn't drive away from a petrol station without paying,but my friend's case was much more complicated.
The first thing he knew about it was when coppers turned up at his door and started accusing him of being involved in a Devon robbery !
 
bowfer said:
Really,£110 a time just to change some info in a computer is a horrendous rip-off.
Click to expand...

Thats a little unfair! It's £110 to to hand write a receipt, hand write a tax disc... Those bic's are pretty expensive you know :D

J.
 
marriedblonde said:
Thats a little unfair! It's £110 to to hand write a receipt, hand write a tax disc... Those bic's are pretty expensive you know :D

J.
Click to expand...

LOL !
They don't even hand write the tax discs any more !
All computerised now.

It's £110 for us,as we never trade cars in.
If you sell privately,you have to put the plate onto retention first,to enable you to sell.
Would only be £80 if we were trading it in and it was a straight swap off one onto another.
 
I take your point about the 'cloning' Bowfer but I tend to look at it this way. If someone wants to clone my car, then if the see it parked on my drive, they have got my car, it's number and my address. Very easy after that to get my name. The better option would be to drive around without any number plates on the car, but I not sure the police would accept that as a reason !

I agree about the £80 or £110 cost of transfer. I have always traded my cars in at a dealer so it only costs me the £80. It quite strage going to collect a new car and seeing two cars at the dealers with the same regisration number. I sometimes take a photo of both together just for the fun.

A3-2000-march03-800.jpg
 
h5djr said:
I take your point about the 'cloning' Bowfer but I tend to look at it this way. If someone wants to clone my car, then if the see it parked on my drive, they have got my car, it's number and my address. Very easy after that to get my name.
Click to expand...

You're right that a lot of cloning comes as a result of just being seen driving around.My ex and my friend were both victims of cloning long before the internet arose.
I still don't think it's a good idea to post pictures of your car,complete with plate,on a public website though.
In fact I know websites where photos that show the reg would be instantly removed by the mods.
Photos with the reg blanked out are fine though,as there is no issue there.
 
Personally I think identity theft on the internet is much more of a problem that cloning a personal plate. If I was going to clone a car number for some reason I would pick a normal current plate rather that a much more easily spotted and remembered personal plate.

A bigger problem with a personal plate is that you are very easily noticed. If you are ever somewhere when you are supposed to be somewhere else and a friend says something like 'I saw you the other day in XXX' its much more difficult to deny that you were there. Not that I've ever been in that situation of course ! (I don't think my wife ever reads this forum).
 
I agree with Dave - cloning personalised plates must be a rare crime indeed!

The only cloning I've ever heard or read about occurred with cheap mainstream models, like Fiestas and Corsas. Few people would take the trouble to spend thousands on an Audi and then go to the trouble of fitting false plates.

Having said that, any pictures I post to the web of my Sportback always have its registration blanked off, just in case.
 
Cheers guys good info, much appreciated.
 
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