Can you reserve a ZV plate??

BSPOKE20

Just wondering if it is possible to reserve a ZV plate like you would a standard registration number with the Vehicle Registration Office for €315??

Also does anyone have the list of ZV numbers available for each county?

Thanks:)

PaulK_CCI

BSPOKE20 wrote: »

Just wondering if it is possible to reserve a ZV plate like you would a standard registration number with the Vehicle Registration Office for €315??

Theoretically you can indeed reserve a ZV reg number, but because the amount of classics registered in one particular county is a lot slower than regular cars, it can take a very long time before a number is up.

The number cannot be issued BEFORE it is in fact up for issuing, so if the number count for your county is currently at ZV 3409 and you are waiting for ZV 3 911 for example, you will have to wait until another 502 Classic vehicles have been registered, before the number you have reserved will be up and can be issued...

I'm not sure the VRO's are allowed to tell you at what number they are at the moment, but maybe things have changed in the meantime.

A possible trick is to register the vehicle with a 75 D xxxx registration number, and then change that into a ZV registration with the number you have reserved is in fact up. You are allowed to change from a 75 D style registration into a ZV style reg number, but NOT the other way around.

corktina

the VRO will tell you what number is next...i always ask before I choose ZV or normal....(hence 73 C 900 on one of mine).

alpina

It is actually quite amazing that a country that will attempt to screw you left right & centre at every available avenue are ignoring this obvious 'cash cow' Example; I wanted a particular # for my classic but as earlier explained such # had yet to come around so no joy. Now the problem is that such # will most likely, (in all fairness will never come about) as the chances of a couple of hundred extra cars originally registered in the same year as mine being imported into this country & then into my county, for me to achieve my desired # is not going to happen, ever...

I along with plenty of others have offered the €315 to reserve a specific plate with the hope of receiving now as per previously explained, is never actually going to come around. The great thing about personal plates is that it is only relevant to the holder, one person may not have a clue why one individual wishes to have '635' '911' etc etc In the instances where the # is never likely to come around Revenue are just ignoring thousands upon thousands of €'s that this time we are actualy willing to spend....

Dades

alpina wrote: »

In the instances where the # is never likely to come around Revenue are just ignoring thousands upon thousands of €'s that this time we are actualy willing to spend....

I suspect the number of classics about with people willing to fork out extra for a number doesn't make the admin worthwhile. A few thousand a year isn't much of a cash cow!

alpina

Dades wrote: »

I suspect the number of classics about with people willing to fork out extra for a number doesn't make the admin worthwhile. A few thousand a year isn't much of a cash cow!

??? The admin is already in place, I personally know of six guys who would like this avenue to be available, multiply it by 26 etc etc If there is a # that one would like but cannot get even though such # will never come into existance plus the fact that one is willing to pay for such, it should be posible!
The potential to earn a few thousand a year by literally ammending a rule, qualifies as a 'cash cow' in my dictionary...
Guess the dept views this as you do:rolleyes:

mustang68

if you do it for classics you'll have to do it for "normals" too, that's a bit more of an admin headache.

Dades

alpina wrote: »

??? The admin is already in place, I personally know of six guys who would like this avenue to be available, multiply it by 26 etc etc

Not sure where you get your numbers from, but I think it must be noted that ZVs are finite, and a large amount used up already. There is a limited pool of desirable plates.

alpina wrote: »

The potential to earn a few thousand a year by literally ammending a rule, qualifies as a 'cash cow' in my dictionary...
Guess the dept views this as you do:rolleyes:

'Amending a rule' hardly encompasses all the elements that need to be addressed when changing an existing system. Though you've clearly checkmated me with your rolleyes.

alpina

Obviously to be feasible it cannot just exist for ZV plates alone.
As I said earlier 65XX#635 78xx#911 & so on...
Upon actually speaking with rev. in Wexford there is vey little to change to allow this ammendment, they release the #, they don't. The system to monitor is pre existing, this is their view point not mine, it's just the fact that is not been proposed by the powers that be, yet..
As for checkmating anyone, not the intention...check the board for another move it's merely a discussion & point forum.:) Anyhow point has been addressed, plenty more interesting topics to take up cyber space...

carchaeologist

Dunno why anyone wants one of the new zv plates anyway,no matter what way you put them they look totally wrong and historically incorrect,going by the examples above,if you had a 911 i wouldnt see the plate ZV45911,or a 635 BMW ZV45635 as a desirable plate,its not worth reserving in my eyes anyway.I know most people dont mind the new ZVs though.
As iv said before,the government should have used unissued series' from other counties as historic registrations,take for example..
Carlow:****IC not used
Kildare:****IO not used
Leitrim ****IT not used
Longford:****IX not used
Louth:****IY not used
Waterford:****WI not used
Thats 60,000 unused registrations,that are original 1903 issues,ZV was only "invented" in the 80s as dublin was running out of numbers rapidly,it was next in line after ZS but the 87 changeover meant it wasnt needed.
I know they are suffixes not prefixes,but i think its a small price to pay for a proper four digit registration,id much prefer 1234IC to take an example than ZV12345.And besides,alot of imported cars are 70s cars anyway that would have had suffixes when new,so they wouldnt look that out of place....

G Luxel

Why does a ZV plate now have 5 digits? Does it mean that if it read ZV 89758 that there are 89,758 imported classic vehicles in the country?
It would be better to replace the 5 digit plates with 1-9999 ZV or maybe
AZV 123 etc.

carchaeologist

G Luxel wrote: »

Why does a ZV plate now have 5 digits? Does it mean that if it read ZV 89758 that there are 89,758 imported classic vehicles in the country?
It would be better to replace the 5 digit plates with 1-9999 ZV or maybe
AZV 123 etc.

Well,the 1-9999ZV would work,bur id say its too similar to the existing ZVs really.
AZV to YZV was used between march 1985 to january 1986.
People have mentioned ZVA 123 too,which isnt too bad,it would continue on like ZVA123, ZVB123, ZVC123, ZVD123 etc
A reg ZV 89758 doest mean theres that many cars imported,each county got its own allocatoion say wicklow has 88201 to 91200.
The 5 digits are only used because the 4 digits were nearly used up.

Dades

carchaeologist wrote: »

Dunno why anyone wants one of the new zv plates anyway,no matter what way you put them they look totally wrong and historically incorrect...

... not to 99% of the population who aren't reg plate purists!

All most people see or care about is a cool "olde type" number, and want to know the year!

alpina

Can I ask so...Is it looked upon as 'proper' to have a ZV plate in the Classic world. Currently have 81 CE & three digits which astecially looks well (I think?) so pretty close to classic status but am tempted to leave as is, but in the eyes of a classic should I......

BSPOKE20

I'm glad I have found other reg plate purists - I thought I was the only anorack!!

I think the number plate completley balances a car and makes a huge difference, so much so that I was put off buying a car purley because it had a 13 on the end of the reg and it just bothered me and just couldn't get over it!!

One big plus for the ZV plates is that they are black and they look more sutble than radiant white plates.

Dades

BSPOKE20 wrote: »

I'm glad I have found other reg plate purists - I thought I was the only anorack!!

Ha! Don't worry there's a couple more in here, tsk tsking at the erroneous use of numbers!

carchaeologist

BSPOKE20 wrote: »

I'm glad I have found other reg plate purists - I thought I was the only anorack!!

I think the number plate completley balances a car and makes a huge difference, so much so that I was put off buying a car purley because it had a 13 on the end of the reg and it just bothered me and just couldn't get over it!!

One big plus for the ZV plates is that they are black and they look more sutble than radiant white plates.

Ha,as dades said,theres a few of us here alright:p

I wouldnt go to the extreme that a number would put me off a car,the only reason i dont like the new ZVs is that they are 5 digits.(i know its only a small thing in the greater scheme of things but howsever!:P)

And ZVs dont have to be black,many are white or red and white in the old raised letter style,im sure legaly they have to be a certain way but i dont think anyone cares...

RE:alpina
I dont know if its "proper" to have ZVs for classic status,either a ZV or year plate will show the car was an import anyway.:)

GubMan

carchaeologist, I'm not sure how the legality thing in terms of colour of the plate applies. Maybe it does if you're replacing a plate. Isn't there a law that states that your plate must be visible and reflect? I had to replace a plate on a modern roadcar years ago for that reason.

There's a guy I see at various events that seems to do a lot of plates, he's probably the guy to ask. He's under the autojumbler name, has helped me with an old plate for a classic and knows the score (no link by the way) He's at www.autojumbler.ie if anyone's interested.

MercMad

GubMan wrote: »

carchaeologist, I'm not sure how the legality thing in terms of colour of the plate applies. Maybe it does if you're replacing a plate. Isn't there a law that states that your plate must be visible and reflect? I had to replace a plate on a modern roadcar years ago for that reason.

There's a guy I see at various events that seems to do a lot of plates, he's probably the guy to ask. He's under the autojumbler name, has helped me with an old plate for a classic and knows the score (no link by the way) He's at www.autojumbler.ie if anyone's interested.

.................yes the laws were updated in 1991, prior to that they were a bit vague regarding the whole "reflective" aspect, since none of the black and silver plates are !

macplaxton

MercMad wrote: »

.................yes the laws were updated in 1991, prior to that they were a bit vague regarding the whole "reflective" aspect, since none of the black and silver plates are !

I didn't think it was vague, just optional. Reflective plates became permissible from 1st December 1969 (under S.I. No. 205/1969 — Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations, 1969.)

Anyway, any thing on ZV plates (or pre-1987) can have plates that comply with the third schedule of S.I. No. 311/1982 — Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 1982 and given the dimensions of the digits required, big 89mm / 3 ½" lettering, that only makes room for 6 characters/digits on plate.

[Incidentally, that's why the UK reduced their digits to 3 1/8" in order to accommodate 7 letter combos and also why they narrowed the width of the characters and stroke of the font to fit the euro banding in]

I don't know what all the fuss is about original Irish registration marks, when very few bother to even display them correctly on a period plate....

I'll get my anorak...........

carchaeologist

macplaxton wrote: »

I don't know what all the fuss is about original Irish registration marks, when very few bother to even display them correctly on a period plate....

Very good point.
And thanks for all of the above too.:)

BSPOKE20

I rang the Vehicle Registration Office today.......you can't book a ZV plate:(

Also they are dishing out ZV1234 numbers for Waterford city but ZV12345 numbers for Waterford county - so the 4 numeric ZV plates are still available.

Just thought I'd let you know:)

carchaeologist

BSPOKE20 wrote: »

Also they are dishing out ZV1234 numbers for Waterford city but ZV12345 numbers for Waterford county - so the 4 numeric ZV plates are still available.

Ah,thanks for that info..
There cant be many left in waterford city,they only had 200 in the original allocation,5001to5200

Silvera

Im reg plate anorak # ?

I too dont like the 'ZV nnnnn' plates...they are just not in keeping with old style plates...which never exceeded six digits on a plate!

They should issue a reversed ZV plate series, i.e. 'nnnn ZV' - or start the aformentioned 'ZVA nnn', 'ZVB nnn', 'ZVC nnn' etc etc etc series.

Personally I would like to see reversed ZV plates being issued to pre-1960 classics and the 'ZVA nnn' series being issued for post-1960 classics (with 'nnn ZV' plates being reserved for pre 1920 vehicles, Why ? Well, Ive seen a 70's Alfasud with the reg 'ZV 250', and yet a 1920's car with a 'ZV nnnn' reg - which doesnt make sense?!)


To me a reg plate is an important part of a car ...after all it's with the car for life!

It's a shame to see so many classics cars (and modern ones!) with shabby and inappropriate plates...it really takes from the look of a car IMHO.

carchaeologist

Silvera wrote: »

Im reg plate anorak # ?

I too dont like the 'ZV nnnnn' plates...they are just not in keeping with old style plates...which never exceeded six digits on a plate!

They should issue a reversed ZV plate series, i.e. 'nnnn ZV' - or start the aformentioned 'ZVA nnn', 'ZVB nnn', 'ZVC nnn' etc etc etc series.

Personally I would like to see reversed ZV plates being issued to pre-1960 classics and the 'ZVA nnn' series being issued for post-1960 classics (with 'nnn ZV' plates being reserved for pre 1920 vehicles, Why ? Well, Ive seen a 70's Alfasud with the reg 'ZV 250', and yet a 1920's car with a 'ZV nnnn' reg - which doesnt make sense?!)


To me a reg plate is an important part of a car ...after all it's with the car for life!

It's a shame to see so many classics cars (and modern ones!) with shabby and inappropriate plates...it really takes from the look of a car IMHO.

+1