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UK classic number plates

Started by marku, 22 December 2020, 11:47 AM

marku

They are now legal on the W116. UK introduced reflective plates in 73 and made them mandatory. However the W116 is 74 but I put them on any way. Often thought I might get pulled over as the police drive round checking car details. We have here "Classic car status" which is on a rolling 40 year period. So to stop everyone being able to use the classic plates they have decided that only pre 1980 cars can. So mine are now legal. Much prefer them
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof

rumb

'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

adamb

This is the first time I see your car. The vinyl roof looks great but what happened to the wheels?  :o

marku

Thought someone would mention that. The wheels are off to stop getting flats on the tyres. You could also have said no exhaust which is also off as it is being replaced. Got the rear section but not the middle.
The colour is silver green metallic which the photo doesn't do justice and the vinyl roof I really think works well. Did think of removing it once.
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof

Howard60

Yes, they look so much better with these black pressed aluminium plates, it was the first thing I did to mine last year.
Previously: 280ce W123, 450slc C107, 350se W116, 230e W123, 250ce W114

marku

Does look so much better and now legal.
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof

Type17

Quote from: marku on 22 December 2020, 11:47 AM
They are now legal on the W116. UK introduced reflective plates in 73 and made them mandatory. However the W116 is 74 but I put them on any way. Often thought I might get pulled over as the police drive round checking car details. We have here "Classic car status" which is on a rolling 40 year period. So to stop everyone being able to use the classic plates they have decided that only pre 1980 cars can. So mine are now legal. Much prefer them


So, you're saying that the '74-on mandatory yellow plate cut-off has moved to 1980?


Great news if so, I always remember people giving out about it in classic car magazines.


Your W116's (now) look great without the yellow plates.  :)


Never had an issue with it here in Ireland - when the UK and Ireland both joined the EEC in '73, and the UK went yellow, Ireland went red (at the rear, white at the front, see below), but the rules weren't enforced so if you wanted, you could fit anything with a legible typeface. One popular alternative were the ACE-brand plates that I have on my W116 - back in the day, my dad specced them for his new 1981 car ('only' a Toyota, not a Merc), and it always looked better than all of the other daily drivers with their red/white plates...





'76 350SE in Silver-Green

ptashek

License plate format enforcement in Ireland is pretty much non-existent. In the nearly 20 years I've lived here I haven't met or heard of a single person pulled over for driving with, often, blatantly illegal plates - fancy typeface, non-spec spacing, and often entirely different colours. It seems that as long as you can tell what the reg number is, anything goes...
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

Youcef W116

It's very good that you don't have any restriction as i heat the plate number in my country they are looking like a numbers for a generator and must be yellow on the rear plate and white in the front with a black digit ...... :'( :(

ptashek

Quote from: Youcef W116 on 10 January 2021, 07:12 AM
It's very good that you don't have any restriction as i heat the plate number in my country they are looking like a numbers for a generator and must be yellow on the rear plate and white in the front with a black digit ...... :'( :(

Well, we do have restrictions and the exact format is defined by law... It's just not enforced as far as my own experience goes.

But as the format changed over the years, cars from certain periods are allowed to still use the format that was in place when they were first registered.

This is because in Ireland license plates remain with the car for life, i.e. unlike some countries, they don't change when the car is sold.

UK is the same, unless it's a so called cherished (custom) registration. Those can be retained by previous owner.
1993 "Pearl Blue" W124 280TE
1988 "Arctic White" W124 200T
1979 "Icon Gold" W116 450SE

Type17

Reg-plate enforcement is only really an issue for cars that need an NCT (National Car Test - annual or bi-annual safety/emissions test, like UK's MOT, but even more rigorous) - however, once a car reaches 40 years old, it no longer requires an NCT (considered to be a cherished classic) so, unless your plates are really far from correct (I have seen a few plates in italic copperplate script!), you won't get any hassle.


PS: You can actually buy/sell any UK plate of any age to and from any car, with one important exception - you cannot register a plate to a car that is newer than the actual year of the car (to prevent sellers passing off cars as newer than they really are).
'76 350SE in Silver-Green

marku

It seems they had a problem with the definition of the rolling 40 year period. It was thought as it moved forward and more cars achieved the classic status that people people would use plates that were never intended for the vehicle. There is also a prohibition on any "classic" vehicle being substantially modified. As regards the plates all vehicles manufactured from 1980 on must display the reflective plates.
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof

rumb

"There is also a prohibition on any "classic" vehicle being substantially modified."

Bummer, how can you then stuff a LS into a Pinto?

or even build  a Model A hotrod?



'68 250S
'77 6.9 Euro
'91 300SE,
'98 SL500
'14 CLS550,
'16 AMG GTS
'21 E450 Cabrio

marku

You can but it would not have "Classic" status exempting it from the yearly tax to take it on the road known here as Vehicle Excise Duty and the yearly testing which certifies that it is roadworthy. The exemption is worth about £300 or so.
1974 450SE silver green/bamboo velour/green vinyl roof