GP20 said:2 Zero said:I am from the US and don't understand the XX plate. Please explain
+1.
Well, I understand that the plate means when they're first registered. (Am I right?) I just don't understand why it's of any significance and why it's mentioned over and over. Shouldn't the "model year" of a car be more important?
We never pay much so attention to model year in the UK as it's deceptive (IMHO). We're on '09 models now for some cars, which has nothing to do with how long it's been on the road.
Our car valuations are all based upon the date of first registration, so that number gives us a 6 month window and when used in conjunction with a year down to a few months. So someone advertising a '57 2008 we'd know it had been on the road (or at least ready in the dealership forecourt) from between January 1st and Feb 28th 2008. Actually fairly accurate.
Where the system does have a weakness is a car could have sat in a field for a year or so, be registered and appear new.
Any wiser??