DVLA's January 2024 auction was, as previously announced, an online event that ran from Wednesday 10th to Tuesday 16th January.
As always, prices quoted in this report include fees and taxes.
Top tier
Someone clearly had a little money left over after Christmas, or maybe they just got a lot of cash in Christmas cards from wealthy relatives. However they managed it, the purchaser of L1 BYA (Libya) was happy to part with a very healthy £102,800. This was the highest price paid in a DVLA auction since July 2023.
Second place was taken by 8 XP at £40,154. Presumably the registration was purchased for its reference to the Experience Points cryptocurrency. This was one of several similarly themed numbers we've seen at auction in recent years.
In third place was 980 S (£32,193), a cool number to display on a Porsche 980.
Car brands and models
Other car-themed personal registrations in the sale included:
- 997 GTS (for Porsche 997 GTS) at £23,911
- AMZ 2 (Aston Martin Zagato) at £15,629
- V815 LAY (Land Rover V8 Islay) at £11,623
- FER 812C (Ferrari 812 Competizione) at £10,005
- RED 911T (hopefully for a red Porsche 911) at £8,980
- DBX 707X (Aston Martin DBX707) for the bargain price of £6,513
Name number plates
The Spanish name 7 ORO (Toro) at £19,379 would have been a great number for Puerto Rican movie star Benicio Del Toro or My Chemical Romance guitarist Ray Toro, but as neither of those are likely to spend much time driving around on British roads we're guessing it went to someone else.
16 UY (1 Guy) sold for £18,120, DEV 7N (Devin) for £12,922 and DAR 10X (Dario X) for £11,366. FA73 MAH (Fatemah) went for £9,222, RY51 NGH (RY Singh) for £9,209 and PB51 NGH (PB Singh) for £8,824.
We've also been observing the trend of name numbers containing numbers that the purchasers seem happy to disregard altogether. A couple of those that appeared in this latest auction were AK17 TAR (Aktar) at £10,365 and FR18 ANK (Frank) at £8,439.
For comparison with those above, Regtransfers currently offers AKT 42R at £9,371, F244 NKY also at £9,371 or F244 ANK at £7,496.
Words
Some nice word numbers were snapped up this time out. STO 13N (Stolen) was indeed a steal at £17,427. BOS 5A (Boss A) sold for £10,172 while WAR 110R (Warrior) was acquired for just £7,283. Visually, one of the best was OCE 34N (Ocean), a bargain at £6,513.
Oddities and novelties
We think OMY 90D (O my god), which achieved £12,008, was lucky to get released. Plates with religious references, or aspects that sensitive people might consider blasphemous have been withheld in the past. On the other hand, we have seen other examples recently that probably wouldn't have seen the light of day a few years ago.
Another which could be seen as containing a cheeky message was 24 FFS which sold for £15,488. We won't spell that one out for you.
OOO 100X (£14,204) and S100 OOO (£4,610) are typical of another trend. Plates without discernible meaning but which are striking purely in their visual effect have been popular for a while now. Examples containing repetition of the letter O, the digit 0 and/or the letter X seem to attract particular interest. They have often sold for higher prices than would previously have been expected.
60 YRS (£11,007) and 1964 S (£14,217) both seem to contain nicely represented, specific time references but beyond that we have no idea.
One last cause of speculation was BMT 216G at £7,540. We suspect it may have been acquired by a James Bond fan, as it is just one character away from a Bond plate we wrote about in 2022.
The stats
January's DVLA online auction comprised 2,500 lots, 2,459 of which were sold and 41 unsold. Purchasers spent a total of £7,091,184, delivering £6,443,424 to the Treasury.
| Plate | Price * |
|---|---|
| L1 BYA | £102,800 |
| 8 XP | £40,154 |
| 980 S | £32,193 |
| 7 OMG | £32,193 |
| 511 AF | £25,773 |
| 997 GTS | £23,911 |
| 432 O | £21,921 |
| 23 YK | £21,908 |
| 2 OBE | £21,305 |
| 1 YFD | £20,329 |
| 8888 V | £20,008 |
| 7 SEC | £19,571 |
| 7 ORO | £19,379 |
| 74 RAN | £19,340 |
| 16 UY | £18,120 |
| SSS 888 | £17,915 |
| STO 13N | £17,427 |
| 160 T | £16,913 |
| 480 B | £16,875 |
| 505 A | £16,169 |
| 8 HSS | £15,758 |
| 1 VKB | £15,758 |
| 171 VAN | £15,693 |
| 1 OEH | £15,655 |
| AMZ 2 | £15,629 |
| 1111 NH | £15,501 |
| 46 DPM | £15,501 |
| 9 AFF | £15,488 |
| 24 FFS | £15,488 |
| 550 AM | £15,437 |
| 23 KAM | £14,987 |
| 774 M | £14,345 |
| 114 DAM | £14,230 |
| 1964 S | £14,217 |
| 22 SLR | £14,217 |
| 93 LF | £14,217 |
| OOO 100X | £14,204 |
| RJS 17 | £13,896 |
| 121 CM | £13,703 |
| 22 PJS | £13,575 |
| 1 YTV | £13,408 |
| 21 SRP | £13,048 |
| 1 OUA | £12,997 |
| DEV 7N | £12,933 |
| 885 G | £12,894 |
| 83 SJW | £12,804 |
| 10 SKD | £12,804 |
| AAA 8A | £12,368 |
| 104 AC | £12,304 |
| ORH 44N | £12,291 |
* Prices include fees and taxes.
The next DVLA timed online auction will take place from Wednesday 14th - Tuesday 20th February 2024.
More great number plate auction information
The Regtransfers auction
Buy and sell with our number plate auction. You can see what is coming soon or jump in to the listings.
DVLA November 2023 Auction
Learn more about personal number plates that sold for great prices in the DVLA's previous auction.
