My last two new cars have both had rubbish number plates.
By which I mean low quality sandwiches of plastic which start to delaminate within months.
The edges are not finished off properly, so the bit of clingfilm on the top is bound to come away.
Anyone had the same experience?
And is it possible to buy good quality number plates?
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I've always used carnumberplatesonline when I have needed to replace a broken plate or get one for a trailer.
No fussing with documents, and they seem to last well. Also cheap.
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hiltek plates seem to be quality but are still made in the normal manner
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB5krKAP0OI
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IIRC there was a planned crackdown on non BS AU made plates and maybe a MoT fail ?
Your number plates should be made up by a manufacturer who is registered on the DVLA's Register of Number Plate Suppliers (RNPS). They will ask you for your documents (V5 logbook, and personal ID), as proof that you are entitled to use the registration.
The British Standard also requires each number plate to be permanently and legibly marked with the following information:
•The British Standard number (currently BS AU 145d)
•The name, trademark or other means of identification of the manufacturer or component supplier (The company that made the plate)
•Name and postcode of the supplying outlet.
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The plates on my Focus ST were delaminating. On the other hand those on the Mondeo were fine after 8.5 years and 140k miles. When I sold the Mondeo I took the private plate off it and needed new plates, I got them from the Ford dealer (so as to be car relevant branding) and they were great quality. Likewise when I put the private plate on the BMW I got plates from the BMW dealer and they are similar quality and a couple of pounds more expensive.
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I remember making them years ago with the following method:
Laying the letters on backings out by hand onto the white or yellow reflective starting from each end.
Peeling off the letter backings
Placing the self adhesive perspex on top and running the two through a mangle to stick them together
Finally hand trimming the excess reflective from round the edges with a Stanley knife
Definitely an art to it to get them bang on straight and always thought it would have been a good Generation Game task!
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Demon Plates claim to make a truly first class product. www.demonplates.com/
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I have just ordered a pair of road-legal number plates for £8.49 delivered. The plates I bought from the same place 3 years ago are still fine.
goo.gl/S7z68
They've gone down since! No reason to suppose they areen't the same quality - the last ones cost £6.49.
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Framptons(they're on the net) make metal plates to the latest legal requirements-not cheap tho'-but a very quick service.
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P.S.
The plates have just arrived - ordered Monday, in the post yesterday, here today. They look perfect.
They have the suppliers name (Flashplates) and postcode in small letters bottom centre, and "JEPSON BSAU145d" lower right. You can buy from the Flashplates website but they are half the price on ebay.
The last set passed three MoTs.
Last edited by: Manatee on Wed 27 Apr 11 at 21:09
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My Panda has the same problem. The problem is who provides the warranty on them? FIAT or the supplying dealer?
BSAU145d is the code that needs to be printed on them to be legal.
I bought the Fiesta ones from a local factors a couple of years ago, paid £10 each I seem to remember but they are perfect quality no issues with them at all.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 27 Apr 11 at 21:18
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>> My Panda has the same problem. The problem is who provides the warranty on them?
>> FIAT or the supplying dealer?
Supplying dealer.
Fiat are unlikely to have had anything to do with the plates, as most dealers source their plates from one of 3 or 4 numberplate suppliers.
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That is what I had assumed, now the dealer was in Birmingham but is a part of a national chain. But my nearest FIAT dealer in that chain is the one in Birmingham :(.
My local dealer in the chain is a Vauxhall one. Either way it looks like its coming out of my own pocket :( Not a major issue but it might put people off if a reg plate is from a factor and not the supplying dealer.
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>> might put people off
I doubt it. Just write it in the service history booklet with a reason, and include the receipt for the new ones.
I need to get both ends for the Mondeo before its MoT this autumn, they are the printed and stuck to a backing - variety and they're both wrinkled with grime in the wrinkly bits.
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Mine just has lots of black dots on it, they are from the inside rather than out too, so its a fault during manufacturing rather than external damage.
Don't really fancy drilling into the bumper of a new car either :( On the Fiesta I didn't care I just drilled into it.
At the moment its perfectly readable and I assume legal it just looks a bit of a mess.
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>>Don't really fancy drilling into the bumper of a new car either
It's probably plastic and anyway, aren't most now stuck on with double-sided tape?
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Mine is screwed in, I know on the tailgate it has to be done properly or it can cause it to rust, thankfully I've checked and they have done it according to FIAT guidelines.
Yeah the front is just plastic filled with sponge I assume, a very easy job to do.
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Quite right, Iffy. My daughter's Mini is not quite one year old and has rubbishy peeling number plates, allowing dirt to get underneath the top layer, which is basically just sticky tape. Makes my blood boil considering what the damn car cost ....
I'll be encouraging her to remonstrate with the supplying dealer when it goes in for its first service and ask why BMW fit crappy cheap plates that started to come apart after just a few months and, of course, whether they would be so kind as to fit some new solid plastic ones.
Can't help wondering why a BMW dealer would want to have their name proudly printed on peeling plates, for the sake of saving a few pence? I suppose they'll say no-one has ever complained before.
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>> That is what I had assumed, now the dealer was in Birmingham but is a
>> part of a national chain. But my nearest FIAT dealer in that chain is the
>> one in Birmingham :(.
>>
>> My local dealer in the chain is a Vauxhall one. Either way it looks like
>> its coming out of my own pocket :( Not a major issue but it might
>> put people off if a reg plate is from a factor and not the supplying
>> dealer.
>>
Talk to your local dealer about it.
If they are a decent lot they should help you out, either by replacing them as a goodwill gesture, or trying to claim the money back from the supplying dealer.
Well worth asking them... or failing that get on the phone and moan to the supplying dealer yourself... you wont loose more than the cost of a phone call.
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I might actually phone FIAT customer services to see what they say. I just have a feeling if I go to my local Vauxhall dealer and say my Panda needs a new number plate they will laugh at me.
There is just lots of black nots at the bottom of it, properly where dirt as got in as mentioned above.
I know its only a £10 registration plate but it just shouldn't have happened.
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Most dealers get them from their local accessory shop or crash repair firm-my dealer supplied a new set after less than one year on a new car but told me the replacements(their bodyshop foreman rejected the first replacements that were supplied) were only supplied with a three month warranty-I've now got metal plates.
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All Ford plates are screwed on-not into plastic but into proper sockets in the bodywork.It's a legal requirement in some countries,so they do it for everywhere.
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You were saying, Duncan...
:-)
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Many short lived number plates are down to the drilling of the two holes.
Drill from the back to front they should be ok.
Drill from the front to the back the drill tears the backing and pushes it away from the plate allowing water ingress.
Have a look at your plates you will see the de-lamination starting around the holes.
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My son got his plates from Halfords.
The reason was that they are the least cluttered legal plates I have ever seen.
Only by viewing the plates at a certain angle can even the Halfords name bee seen.
I like them.
In spite of several attempts at sticking one of them on with lots of bits of double sided tape it still fell off.
This was in spite of cleaning the surfaces. The answer was to gently heat it with an electric paint stripping gun, gently bending the plate and then holding it until it cooled in a gentle curved state.
As part of the overall task I noted that the front of the BMW M3 did not originally have a number plate plinth. The plinth was a plastic addon and was riddled with past poor attempt at screwing on plates.
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Rubbish number plates - Cliff Pope
