Dvla chose a brand new venue for their 2009 auction held on January 28th, 29th and 30th . Whittlebury Hall in particularly appropriate for an auction of number plates since it is situated adjacent to the Silverstone racetrack. Sadly, the 2009 formula 1 Brittish Grand Prix will be the last to be held at Silverstone.
The first lot of the day on Friday, was ‘1 O’. Dvla now arrange their catalogue in alphabetical order so, ‘1 O’ was destined to be auctioned at ten to nine in the morning so heaven help any keen bidder who slept in or got lost on the way to the venue.
Anyway, it can only be hoped that the winning bidder was well and truly awake since the cherished registration mark was eventually secured at £170,000 on the hammer. After the auctioneer’s premium of 7.5% and VAT is added the grand total to be paid is £210, 163 – recession, what recession?
Apparently, Dvla intend to release ‘2 O’, ‘3 O’, ‘4 O’ etc. through auction in the future. It will be interesting to see what prices these distinctive number plates achieve.
Whittlebury Hall is near town centre and so there are racing associations with the area as well. Investing in a private number plate may be seen by some as a gamble but, with these times of low interest rates and savings, data shows that there is more chance of making money than leaving your cash at the mercy of the banks.
Congratulations to the proud new owner of ‘1 O’ – wonder what car it will be displayed on?
