Registering car - question

ClaptonBay

Quick question, ive purchased a car and want to know would I be better to register it with a D plate or MO plate? ie At resale time would it be better if its registered D? Address in both counties.

colm_mcm

D reg will appeal to a lot more buyers. Even in Mayo, a D reg won't look out of place, whereas a MO reg will be less desirable outside of Mayo, which will limit its appeal

biko

If you were to sell it in Dublin, then D. Dubs are picky about the plate.
If you were to sell it in Mayo then either is fine. They are not picky.

So D.

ClaptonBay

Cheers for the replies. Thats what I was thinking in my own head, just wondered if other thought the same

shietpilot

I don't even know how buyers have time to pick the best looking reg when there are literally thousands of more important things to look at when buying a car.

I also don't understand why first time buyers care about what the 2nd hand owners will want. The reg won't affect the price by more than €100 IMO. If you're already making such a loss in purchasing a new car at least make sure you buy it for yourself and not for the next owner!

Just my 2 cents

aaakev

shietpilot wrote: »

I don't even know how buyers have time to pick the best looking reg when there are literally thousands of more aimportant things to look at when buying a car.

I also don't understand why first time buyers care about what the 2nd hand owners will want. The reg won't affect the price by more than €100 IMO. If you're already making such a loss in purchasing a new car at least make sure you buy it for yourself and not for the next owner!

Just my 2 cents

Its a vwry important thing for a lot of people. Iv lost count of how many people from down the country wanted a D reg. Its nothing to do with the price as it wont actually affect that at all but what it will do is limit your market, dublin is the biggest market and as was said above a dublin reg doesn't look out of order anywhere in thw xountey but a MO reg would and a lot of people wont want a car for that reason.

Speedwell

Eh, count me as someone who'd rather save money with an SO reg than pay extra with a D reg, then. All other things being equal. I don't have the cash to blow on what amounts to a vanity license plate. I'll use my car until I can't use it anymore, then sell it off cheap to a college kid who knows a mechanic or something.

colm_mcm

shietpilot wrote: »

I don't even know how buyers have time to pick the best looking reg when there are literally thousands of more important things to look at when buying a car.

I also don't understand why first time buyers care about what the 2nd hand owners will want. The reg won't affect the price by more than €100 IMO. If you're already making such a loss in purchasing a new car at least make sure you buy it for yourself and not for the next owner!

Just my 2 cents

Lets say you've got a 2 year old MO reg focus and you want a new one, you tried your local dealer and they're only giving you a lukewarm deal to get a new one, next thing is calling a Galway dealer, they won't be too enthusiastic about a mayo car, you call the Dublin dealers and they just won't give you as much as they would for Dublin as the car just won't be as easy to sell. Same with all surrounding counties of Dublin, they'll happily drive a d reg, but a 2 year old 'culchie' reg car has to be a good bit cheaper before they'll buy it.

shietpilot

colm_mcm wrote: »

Lets say you've got a 2 year old MO reg focus and you want a new one, you tried your local dealer and they're only giving you a lukewarm deal to get a new one, next thing is calling a Galway dealer, they won't be too enthusiastic about a mayo car, you call the Dublin dealers and they just won't give you as much as they would for Dublin as the car just won't be as easy to sell. Same with all surrounding counties of Dublin, they'll happily drive a d reg, but a 2 year old 'culchie' reg car has to be a good bit cheaper before they'll buy it.

I guess you're right. Cool beans, I'll buy the cheaper registrations so. Why would anyone even want a Dublin car that has been sitting in traffic every morning like... 100,000 miles for example which doesn't take into account the engine running time in traffic.

ClaptonBay

aaakev wrote: »

Its a vwry important thing for a lot of people. Iv lost count of how many people from down the country wanted a D reg. Its nothing to do with the price as it wont actually affect that at all but what it will do is limit your market, dublin is the biggest market and as was said above a dublin reg doesn't look out of order anywhere in thw xountey but a MO reg would and a lot of people wont want a car for that reason.

This is the reason i was asking, i dont know if it will affect resale value..probably not, but it might affect the number of people that would be interested in it and thats why id be going with a D reg.

aaakev

ClaptonBay wrote: »

This is the reason i was asking, i dont know if it will affect resale value..probably not, but it might affect the number of people that would be interested in it and thats why id be going with a D reg.

Na it shouldn't affect the price but it will make it less desirable. Someone who doesn't care will pay the same for it no matter what reg it had but outaide of monaghan that will be a smaller number than if it was a dublin reg. I think your your right to go with the D reg if you can

readytosnap

shietpilot wrote: »

I guess you're right. Cool beans, I'll buy the cheaper registrations so. Why would anyone even want a Dublin car that has been sitting in traffic every morning like... 100,000 miles for example which doesn't take into account the engine running time in traffic.

Wouldn't it be better sitting in traffic for a couple years than lumping bales of hay and towing cattle trailers? they put tow bars on micra's down here

CiniO

biko wrote: »

If you were to sell it in Dublin, then D. Dubs are picky about the plate.
If you were to sell it in Mayo then either is fine. They are not picky.

So D.

I'd be ashamed to drive with D plate.
Only MO!!!

colm_mcm

aaakev wrote: »

Na it shouldn't affect the price but it will make it less desirable. Someone who doesn't care will pay the same for it no matter what reg it had but outaide of monaghan that will be a smaller number than if it was a dublin reg. I think your your right to go with the D reg if you can

Desirability and price go hand in hand.

aaakev

colm_mcm wrote: »

Desirability and price go hand in hand.

It definatly does which is why i said he would be limited to people who didnt care about it. Someone who didnt care would pay the same as an identical D reg car

colm_mcm

in the same way as if you got a pink car instead of a silver one, there might be someone out there who prefers pink

aaakev

Might be a few more people want a pink car than a Monagahan reg :pac::pac:

Carson10

I have a D reg car and live in the West of Ireland. I just think a D-reg car just looks better and has a certain more upmarket appeal about it. And my next car I will only buy a D reg. Nothing to do with trying to look posh I just think it suits certain brands. e.g. BMW Mercedes etc..

selous

I thought the car was registered to the address where the car insurance was, or can you choose now?

Del2005

selous wrote: »

I thought the car was registered to the address where the car insurance was, or can you choose now?

Like most Irish laws no one enforces it. IIRC it's supposed to be registered to your primary residence, but there's no requirement to register your residence anywhere.

bazz26

They will register it to the county of the address on an up to date utility bill you provide them.

colm_mcm

If it's a new car, there's no proof of address needed.
As long as you can pick up the VRC when it comes out you can essentially register in any county.

CiniO

bazz26 wrote: »

They will register it to the county of the address on an up to date utility bill you provide them.

Which is bit of a nonsense, because.

a) utility bill might be very easily forged.

or

b) person might have utility bill from different county than he/she actually lives in.

CiniO

Carson10 wrote: »

I have a D reg car and live in the West of Ireland. I just think a D-reg car just looks better and has a certain more upmarket appeal about it. And my next car I will only buy a D reg. Nothing to do with trying to look posh I just think it suits certain brands. e.g. BMW Mercedes etc..

If you think that D reg looks better, and that it suits certain brands, then it's nothing else that just trying to look posh. Just pure silly snobbery.

JoeA3

When buying a new car you can give the dealer any old address to register the car. It doesn't need to exist and you don't need to provide proof of address. You could also simply tack "Co. Dublin" onto the end of your real address rather than "Co. Mayo" or whatever and that'll do!

Then when you go to tax the car online you simply correct that mistake. Simple.

As others have said, for certain cars, particularly anything with a "badge" or anything that's niche (performance cars, etc), it just makes sense to put a D plate on it.

mickdw

Have a look around the country and see what do the dealers put on demo high end cars - All D reg.
Local audi dealer will register demo A4 on a mayo plate but if he has an A8, it will always be on a D plate.

Autosport

If I was to buy a new car I wouldn't be putting a D reg on it. I'm proud of my county and they're the letters I put on it. To hell with the next owner it's should be the car they want and not the reg.

And I've never had any problems selling mine either

Esel

colm_mcm wrote: »

in the same way as if you got a pink car instead of a silver one, there might be someone out there who prefers pink

Pink over brown anyway. :eek:

biko

I hope one day they will change the system away from year and county.
Maybe take after mainland countries and have random numbers/letters instead.

It would do away with the "D" snobbery and the "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude about the year.

zilog_jones

Or they could just go back to the pre-'87 system. It still had country identifiers but wasn't as obvious.

eezipc

Carson10 wrote: »

I have a D reg car and live in the West of Ireland. I just think a D-reg car just looks better and has a certain more upmarket appeal about it. And my next car I will only buy a D reg. Nothing to do with trying to look posh I just think it suits certain brands. e.g. BMW Mercedes etc..

Is that a serious post?

CiniO

zilog_jones wrote: »

Or they could just go back to the pre-'87 system. It still had country identifiers but wasn't as obvious.

There's hardly a point in having county identification of it only stays with first owner and is not changed when owner moves or car changes ownership to someone from different county.

Del2005

biko wrote: »

I hope one day they will change the system away from year and county.
Maybe take after mainland countries and have random numbers/letters instead.

It would do away with the "D" snobbery and the "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude about the year.

Not a good idea the reg plate snobbery makes for great value 2nd hand cars, making it better value for people who buy a car not the 0.06m^2 on the front and back.

mgbgt1978

mickdw wrote: »

Have a look around the country and see what do the dealers put on demo high end cars - All D reg.
Local audi dealer will register demo A4 on a mayo plate but if he has an A8, it will always be on a D plate.

That's usually because the high end models are owned (and registered) by the importers rather than the local dealer. They are then rotated between different dealers, or one allocated to the north west for example.

CiniO

biko wrote: »

I hope one day they will change the system away from year and county.
Maybe take after mainland countries and have random numbers/letters instead.


It would do away with the "D" snobbery and the "keeping up with the Joneses" attitude about the year.

The only country I know where number plates are completely random is Spain.
Possibly there are more, but not sure.

Most Continental countries base number plate on residence region of the owner.

F.e. in Poland you get first letter for Voievodeship (equivalent to Irish county) and second (and third) letter for local district on a plate. Plate is changed every time when owner moves address to different district or when car is sold to someone from different district. That way plates always should show the district where the owner lives.

However this is not really a good idea, firstly because of a need to change plates every time you move further or buy the car. This is handy money for city offices who issue the plates.
And secondly because it creates snobbery as well.

F.e. Krakow would have reg. KR-xxxxx, but surrounding small towns and villages would be KRA-xxxxx. When people see someone with KRA reg in Krakow, they would consider him to be a culchie/redneck or whatever is the best term for it...
Sometimes cars from certain regions of the country could get vandalised if parked overnight in some unfriendly locations in Warsaw... etc...

Also plenty of cars on leasing or HPA contracts registered in bank's name, with number corresponding to bank location, not the owner.

Completely random like Spain does is the best way to go IMO.

colm_mcm

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

That's usually because the high end models are owned (and registered) by the importers rather than the local dealer. They are then rotated between different dealers, or one allocated to the north west for example.

Yep, was in Audi Limerick and their demos were D reg, they said they could get demos from other garages for sale if the colours they had didn't suit. I would assume these are owned by Audi Ireland rather than the dealer.

_Kaiser_

Right or wrong the D makes a difference and the points above are right - it just suits certain cars better.

I'm still (3 years later ) slightly annoyed every time I walk out to my A6 about the G! I'd actually pay (up to say €250) to be able to re-register it.

shietpilot

Screw the water tax and add a fee to get a D plate so!

biko

I drive a D car but would rather have G.
D is by no means bringing my car down but it would be nice to have a G.

John_Rambo

biko wrote: »

If you were to sell it in Dublin, then D. Dubs are picky about the plate.
If you were to sell it in Mayo then either is fine. They are not picky.

So D.

Good advice, but the highlighted part is incorrect. Any time I go to trade a car the first thing the sales person asks is "Is it a D reg". I asked a few why (Galway, Athlone, Drogheda, Mayo and Sligo) and they told me locals would rather a D reg car. Why? I don't know.

I also have three friends not from Dublin that give my address when buying high end cars new so they can have a D reg.

Edit... unless Biko's actually on the ball and everyone's thinking a future buyer will be from Dublin, so everyone wants a D reg and it's a vicious circle.