DVLA's October 2024 auction was an online event that ran from Wednesday 16th to Tuesday 22nd October 2024.
As always, prices quoted in this report include fees and taxes.
October's top 5
Top performer this time was a really nice Natasha plate, NA74 SHA, which was snapped up for an all-in price of £45,033. In second place was 8055 M (Boss M) at £32,193. The top car-themed plate in this auction was 330 S which sold for £30,267. At that price, it seems likely that the purchaser may plan to display it on a Ferrari 330. Two name registrations round off the top five with AYA 9N (Ayan) which sold for £28,970 and 55 UKH (Sukh) at £28,854.
Words
The usual variety of words was on offer. The first, D199 GER (£12,933), could serve as either a nickname or as a great plate for a JCB operator or enthusiast. Next comes KLA 55Y (£11,649), clearly an alternative spelling of "classy". BAN 3D (band or banned) achieved £9,209, while the appropriately Halloween-themed GH05 STX sold for £6,500.
The purchaser of CU55 TOM parted with £7,810 probably intended the word 'custom' rather than suggesting that we insult someone named Tom. The word 'ballast' has many uses in the worlds of construction, electric circuits and shipbuilding, but without additional clues, we can't decide what the buyer of BA11 AST (£7,810) had in mind.
GAM 2E (£6,782) would suit a gamer, game designer or retailer, while MED 18A (£5,229) would be a great plate for a journalist, an online content creator or an advertising exec. UN74 MED (£5,088) and HOR 11D (£4,613) seem to imply that the drivers of the vehicles bearing them should, perhaps, be approached with a degree of caution.
There were also a couple of interesting registrations that may reflect complaints about the leisurely progress of other drivers. We wonder who SHE 510W (£6,513) and UUU 510W (£4,266) are aimed at.
Names
We've already acknowledged NA74 SHA, AYA 9N and 55 UKH. Other name plates sold in this latest auction included AKE 6LM (Akeel) at £20,624, BHA 4V (Bhav) at £19,545 and AFZ 81 (Afzal) at £19,353 and MRS 41F (Mr Saif) at £17,581. SOH 9L (£17,427) is clearly a 'Sohal' plate, and RHE 2A (£16,400) works nicely for the name 'Rhea', despite the superfluous numeral 2. It's a great example of an 'imperfect' representation that still works.
The mind's tendency to pick out familiar patterns means that the eye pretty much slips over the extra character.
HAR 155K (Harris K) and BR17 ONS (Britons) both sold for £14,217. We've seen so many 'Singh' plates over the years, such as J851 NGH (£10,365), that it almost seems surprising that there are still variations available. It's just one of those fortunate names that crops up in many registration configurations.
Cars
We mentioned 330 S in our summary of the top performers, above. We suspect that 488 JP (£15,527) may also be destined for a Ferrari. There are usually a few Porsche plates on offer and this month saw quite a few.
992 SW sold for £12,920, 911 HW for £12,419, 997 JAY for £12,291, 911 LRH for £10,378 and POR 911W for a modest £4,176.
Sports
For football fans there were AR57 NAL (£9,081) and W657 HAM (£7,335), two very effective club plates for really not that much money.
Others
As usual, the auction included some plates that were not obvious representations of names or words, nor references to anything easily deduced. These are usually chosen purely for the visual appeal and impact of symmetry or repetition of characters. As we have seen before, the letters X and O and the digit 0 are particularly popular in this kind of registration. These are illustrated very well in OO14 OOO (£5,807) and XXX 777X (£4,009).
Top 50 sales
| Plate | Price * |
|---|---|
| NA74 SHA | £45,033 |
| 8055 M | £32,193 |
| 330 S | £30,267 |
| AYA 9N | £28,970 |
| 55 UKH | £28,854 |
| YSJ 1 | £23,436 |
| 96 RSS | £22,049 |
| 1 RXR | £20,919 |
| 11 YT | £20,765 |
| 58 OO | £20,663 |
| CYZ 1 | £20,637 |
| AKE 6L | £20,624 |
| BHA 4V | £19,545 |
| AFZ 81 | £19,353 |
| 4 TLR | £19,340 |
| 105 SB | £19,340 |
| 1 PVB | £19,224 |
| 1 XXP | £18,788 |
| 1 XMR | £18,069 |
| 1 OGE | £18,056 |
| 932 O | £17,735 |
| MRS 41F | £17,581 |
| SOH 9L | £17,427 |
| 2 HGV | £16,785 |
| 881 A | £16,785 |
| 512 B | £16,785 |
| 4 YAT | £16,772 |
| RHE 2A | £16,400 |
| 488 JP | £15,527 |
| MEH 6R | £15,514 |
| 158 A | £15,501 |
| 624 B | £15,372 |
| 28 DJM | £14,332 |
| HAR 155K | £14,217 |
| BR17 ONS | £14,217 |
| 220 G | £14,204 |
| 1 RCX | £14,088 |
| HAA 81B | £14,024 |
| 1 LXE | £13,613 |
| 66 MJB | £13,190 |
| 121 DC | £13,190 |
| 4 CKY | £13,061 |
| 8 OWE | £13,036 |
| 909 GT | £12,933 |
| 44 YDN | £12,933 |
| 17 JSK | £12,933 |
| 7 NEW | £12,933 |
| 1 NVN | £12,933 |
| 25 ADY | £12,933 |
| D199 GER | £12,933 |
* Prices include fees and taxes.
The stats
September's DVLA online auction comprised 2,000 lots, 1,978 of which were sold and 22 unsold. Purchasers spent a total of £6,087,092, delivering £5,699,192 to the Treasury.
The next DVLA timed online auction will take place from Wednesday 20th November to Tuesday 26th November 2024.
The Regtransfers auction
Buy and sell with our number plate auction. You can see what is coming soon or jump in to the listings.
DVLA September 2024 Auction
Learn more about personal number plates that sold for great prices in the DVLA's previous auction.
