Does a 'D' plate add resale value?

DubJJ · 09-12-2017 12:59AM #1

I'm in the process of buying a new car and was wondering whether the registration plate makes any difference to the resale value in the future?
I've recently moved to County Wicklow but was wondering if it was worth registering the car at a friends address in Dublin initially?

colm_mcm · 09-12-2017 01:11AM

yes, despite what anyone might say, a D reg is universally accepted anywhere in the country.

mickdw · 09-12-2017 01:15AM

colm_mcm wrote: »

yes, despite what anyone might say, a D reg is universally accepted anywhere in the country.

Yes but if it's a common car being kept a few years, any advantage would be negligible.
On the other hand, if it's an Audi A8 or something like that, it would be very wise to have a dublin plate on it.

colm_mcm · 09-12-2017 01:15AM

mickdw wrote: »

Yes but if it's a common car being kept a few years, any advantage would be negligible.
On the other hand, if it's an Audi A8 or something like that, it would be very wise to have a dublin plate on it.

Oh yeah, but the point is you'll never be worse off having a D reg.

allthedoyles · 09-12-2017 01:16AM

Personally I would'nt buy a car based on the attractiveness of its reg. plate .

Dublin reg cars are well known to suffer early clutch repairs due the massive usage daily .

colm_mcm · 09-12-2017 01:18AM

But the reality is that to get the best deal on the next car come trade in time, you'll have to shop around, say you go to Kildare or Limerick to chase the next car, the D reg will be worth more down the country than a WW. And in Dublin itself, it's def worth more.

Peatys · 09-12-2017 01:23AM

DubJJ wrote: »

I've recently moved to County Wicklow but was wondering if it was worth registering the car at a friends address in Dublin initially?

No, a Dublin or Wicklow reg car selling in Wicklow, reg won't make any odds

DubJJ · 09-12-2017 01:49AM

Wow, thanks for all of the reply so quickly.
I'm buying a Mercedes CLA so it's not the most expensive car but not the cheapest, as I'm in north County Wicklow there's a good chance that I would eventually be selling it in Dublin so I was more concerned about Dubs being a bit apprehensive buying a WW plate.

Squidgy Black · 09-12-2017 01:50AM

Definitely a plus if you're selling the car in Dublin, I know my auld fella always looks for a D reg for some reason.

Some silly reasoning about cars from other counties being driven harder or something.

darragh o meara · 09-12-2017 01:57AM

And if that plate happens to have a 4 beside the D then the value goes through the feckin roof

Atlantic Dawn · 09-12-2017 01:58AM

darragh o meara wrote: »

And if that plate happens to have a 4 beside the D then the value goes through the feckin roof

Please tell me they did not spend a grand for that and it instead naturally got that plate by sales order? & it's a jaysus diesel.

darragh o meara · 09-12-2017 02:04AM

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Please tell me they did not spend a grand for that and it instead naturally got that plate by sales order? & it's a jaysus diesel.

Them D4 lads think a bit different to the rest of us, who knows ðŸ˜€

09-12-2017 02:07AM

colm_mcm wrote: »

Oh yeah, but the point is you'll never be worse off having a D reg.

You will if your job sends you to Cork.

bazz26 · 09-12-2017 02:28AM

Trading a D reg car into a Dublin dealer in the future will always be easier to sell on as the Dubs are really funny about their D reg. That especially goes for high end stuff as the main market for high end cars is where the majority of wealth to afford such cars is in the Pale.

JoeA3 · 09-12-2017 10:42AM

allthedoyles wrote: »

Personally I would'nt buy a car based on the attractiveness of its reg. plate .

Dublin reg cars are well known to suffer early clutch repairs due the massive usage daily .

My car has a D reg. it’s been in the vicinity of Dublin maybe twice in 3 years :pac:

From real personal experience:
- a humdrum run of the mill car - it makes no difference.
- a “premium” badged car, a hot hatch, anything even vaguely exotic - it absolutely makes a big difference. A D plate is a wise move on a car like that.

James Bond Junior · 09-12-2017 10:47AM

I had a 530d with a ky reg and a dub bought it happily enough. Got a decent price too. That said in Kerry branch of the family there are high end cars bought new every 2nd year ie 7 series, A8 etc and a D reg is a requirement when buying as it is always mentioned at trade in time as being a factor on value.

Panrich · 09-12-2017 10:52AM

I’d be wary of a D reg on a diesel as the stop start nature of Dublin driving is not what they were designed for.

boardsuser1 · 09-12-2017 10:54AM

My motor is a D reg,I live in Cork but don’t see what difference it will make. The car was originally purchased in Limerick by a Dublin based firm.

I traded in a C registered Ford Focus with 12 months tax and 23 months nct, the same car is still sitting on the forecourt in Cork as I type, so I’m not one to believe it’s all in a reg.

Neilw · 09-12-2017 12:03PM

allthedoyles wrote: »

Dublin reg cars are well known to suffer early clutch repairs due the massive usage daily .

Same as every Donegal car has been doing rings at the crossroads for its entire life.

Not everyone in Dublin sits in traffic all day.

JoeA3 · 09-12-2017 12:20PM

Panrich wrote: »

I’d be wary of a D reg on a diesel as the stop start nature of Dublin driving is not what they were designed for.

You’re missing the point I made a few posts ago. A lot of D reg cars never see O’Connell street.

Panrich · 09-12-2017 02:40PM

JoeA3 wrote: »

You’re missing the point I made a few posts ago. A lot of D reg cars never see O’Connell street.

Maybe I wasn't addressing your point and just making a point in general.

demanufactured · 09-12-2017 02:41PM

DubJJ wrote: »

I'm in the process of buying a new car and was wondering whether the registration plate makes any difference to the resale value in the future?
I've recently moved to County Wicklow but was wondering if it was worth registering the car at a friends address in Dublin initially?

No.

demanufactured · 09-12-2017 02:42PM

_Tyrrell_ wrote: »

Definitely a plus if you're selling the car in Dublin, I know my auld fella always looks for a D reg for some reason.

Some silly reasoning about cars from other counties being driven harder or something.

Horseshyte.

NIMAN · 09-12-2017 02:57PM

allthedoyles wrote: »

Personally I would'nt buy a car based on the attractiveness of its reg. plate .

Dublin reg cars are well known to suffer early clutch repairs due the massive usage daily .

People have a belief that every DL reg is trashed to within an inch of its life. This of course is nonsense.

Using that logic, I would never touch a D reg diesel car, as it's been sitting in slow moving, stop start traffic all its life and is likely to be a DPF nightmare waiting to happen.

colm_mcm · 09-12-2017 02:59PM

It's not joe public that will be deciding what trade in value you're getting down the road though, it's the garage you're trading into.

Panrich · 09-12-2017 03:04PM

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's not joe public that will be deciding what trade in value you're getting down the road though, it's the garage you're trading into.

So in effect if that is the case, you are not getting fair value when buying a D reg car as second hand. An otherwise identical non D reg represents better value for someone who plans to keep a car for all it's useful life.
If traders value D reg cars above others based on spurious nonsense, then it does make sense to register your new car as a D reg.

gctest50 · 09-12-2017 03:07PM

Panrich wrote: »

I’d be wary of a D reg on a diesel as the stop start nature of Dublin driving is not what they were designed for.

Idle stop-start

Squidgy Black · 09-12-2017 03:30PM

demanufactured wrote: »

Horseshyte.

Yup I 100% agree with you, but that's what he believes and it seems to be something a lot of people up here believe.

boardsuser1 · 09-12-2017 03:39PM

NIMAN wrote: »

People have a belief that every DL reg is trashed to within an inch of its life. This of course is nonsense.

Using that logic, I would never touch a D reg diesel car, as it's been sitting in slow moving, stop start traffic all its life and is likely to be a DPF nightmare waiting to happen.

The diesel D reg i have has never seen a day of its life in Dublin traffic would you believe.

I agree with you on the DPF issue though.

acronym Chilli · 09-12-2017 06:06PM

If it really does make such a difference, then you're paying too much for your car if you buy it used with a Dublin plate.

DubJJ · 10-12-2017 12:41AM

Thanks for all of the advice, I think I'll get it registered to Dublin address just in case. I know in theory that it shouldn't make any difference to the resale value but as a few posters on here have stated there is a bit of a snobbery about numberplate in Dublin and it's not worth the risk.

Does a 'D' plate add resale value?

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