I live, like many millions of people, quite close to a city centre. This means that I have to park my car in a specific controlled zone. My zone happens to called “S1”, and if I was particularly forgetful I could purchase a private number plate for my car which reads “S1” to remind me. Unfortunately however, doing this would cost me £404,063. Welcome everyone to the very expensive world of private registrations. In the past ten years or so the notion of having a slightly confusing bunch of letters and numbers adorned to the front and rear of your car has really taken off. Websites have popped up everywhere offering every Tom, Dick and Harry the chance to put their stamp on their car. Even the DVLA has realised how much money can be made and set up a website offering plates that not so long ago were purely for the domain of the rich and famous. All this is very empowering; however, there are a few pitfalls which I would like to now explain.

Firstly as briefly mentioned already, private registrations can cost an obscene amount of money, which when you consider how utterly useless they actually are make them seem rather silly. Some examples; do you live near the M1 motorway and adore its vast expanse of tarmac so much you fancy the number plate M1? Well it could be yours for the costly sum of £331,500. Are you David Cameron? Do you want to rub in the fact you now live at number ten Downing Street by putting “10” on the plate of the Jag XJ? It could be yours for £210,242 of fine taxpayer’s money. These registrations really did sell for these prices albeit not those buyers, but still, not one penny of their pointless cost went to any good cause whatsoever.

The next pitfall is what do some registrations actually mean? I have spent countless car journeys transfixed, trying to figure out what the Porsche Cayenne’s number plate in front of me actually means. Pondering so hard that I barely notice the light change to red or the squirrel run out in front of me, only to eventually realise that S5 HRT means “shirt” and has no significance at all, to anything.  Another issue with private plates is choosing the right one. They have the ability to make your car look older and worse than it actually is, especially if you buy one with the standard UK 7 digits. For example P787 ATE might have significance to you, attached to your Ford GT. But if a person who knows nothing about cars see’s it they might just tell others they saw a sporty P registration Ford. And I would immediately presume they spotted a rusty Ford Probe, oh how exotic!

Arrogance is my final problem with the private registration. Adorning whatever car with number plates like; B16 BOY, G5 POT, BOS 555Y, FR51 SKY and HU57 LUR make whoever is driving it look like a total tool! Fair enough the people who buy them might have the confidence to drive around with them on, but inside, secretly, everybody else thinks they just look stupid. The owners will also have to remember that owning such a plate makes their white Range Rover Sport on 22 inch rims stand out even more from the crowd. Meaning that if said vehicle becomes recognised for questionable driving, seeing that distinct plate trying to pull out from a junction is likely to be met with hostility rather than a friendly wave, be prepared!

In conclusion then, private car number plates are hugely popular, hugely expensive and utterly pointless. They have the ability to make cars look old and their drivers idiotic if chosen wrongly. But there is no question that they can make ordinary people like you and I feel a little bit unique and special, in a world where everyone seems to be driving the exact same car and wearing the exact same jacket as you. Just please think carefully before buying because we really don’t want a B16 SXY PR08 LEM.

They come in all shapes and sizes, with the tag wheelchair accessible vehicles usually shortened to WAV, which is certainly much less of a mouthful! But no matter what they’re called – disability cars, disabled cars, mobility cars, wheelchair cars – obtaining one is fairly easy these days, thanks to the Motability Car Scheme.

Wheelchair accessible vehicles

However, there’s a couple of matters to get out of the way first before thinking further about acquiring a WAV, unless you’ve got a ton of money, of course, and then you can simply buy one outright! But, with money being in such short supply these days, most of us are not in such a fortunate position.

In order to qualify for the Motability Car scheme, and thus get your hands on a brand new WAV through either leasing or by means of hire purchase, for example, you must be in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of the disability living allowance (DLA) or receive the war pensioners’ Mobility Supplement.

Then all you do is simply agree to turn a part of your DLA benefit – or even all of it – over to Motability in return for the vehicle of your choosing. There’s nothing more involved than that because all the paperwork is taken care of for you, too, and you don’t have to bother with assessments, credit checks or even tiresome waiting lists. What could be simpler?

You’d be forgiven for thinking it all sounds just a little bit too good to be true, especially considering all the ‘goodies’ which automatically come attached to the leasing package. But it’s all for real and probably the main reason why the majority of wheelchair users opt for leasing, and then carry on with the package year after year.

Best to check out Motability’s web site for all the latest up-to-date information. And while there, you’ll also be able to find the Motability car dealerships closest to where you live, too. Just call them up and away you go!

The worry-free leasing package includes more than 4,000 cars to choose from, several hundred of which require absolutely no up-front advance payment. Some of the more expensive vehicles, however, do require the non-refundable advance payment, which is paid to your car dealer in addition to the weekly mobility allowance.

The leasing package also comes with insurance, servicing and maintenance, full RAC breakdown assistance, annual tax disc, tyre and windscreen replacement, and a 60,000 mileage allowance over 3 years. Depending on your particular circumstances, you might need certain adaptations to the vehicle, for example, in order to help you to drive. Many of these adaptations are free.

Not being able to drive doesn’t bar wheelchair users from leasing wheelchair accessible vehicles. Instead, they can nominate up to two other people to do the driving for them. Pay a little bit extra and a third person can also be nominated.

And once the three-year leasing term comes to an end, simply transfer everything over to a new lease with another brand new car. Happy motoring!

Just a few years ago, the idea that a small box would be able to direct car drivers through the warren of streets in any given city would have been met with perplexed expressions. Yet in a relatively short space of time, millions of motorists have become dependent on their sat nav systems to navigate the roads on their behalf. Indeed, the days of the road atlas could already be numbered.

Some of the more sophisticated units, such as the Garmin Nuvi 1490T, offer live traffic updates, lane assist technology and speed camera warning sounds. Getting from A to B has never been easier, and with the continually evolving technology the future of driving a motor vehicle will start to look very different indeed. Surprisingly, on-board navigation units have been around in some form for many decades. As far back as the 1930s, drivers were able to follow directional systems, although they looked somewhat different in those days. They had pre-printed maps scrolling across a display area, and were linked to the speedometer of the car.

The modern GPS units are very different, of course, but it’s worth remembering they have only been available on general release for a few years. Many new cars are including on-board sat nav systems as standard, but for most of us they are bought separately from stores and online retailers and affixed to the dashboard or the inside of the windscreen.

One of the most popular manufacturers is TomTom, a Dutch company that has a reputation for producing some of the most sophisticated models on the market. Through their website, users can even download new voices to their units. Among the more intriguing people to offer their vocal skills are Snoop Dogg, Brian Blessed and Billy Connolly.

TomTom have a number of sat nav systems on the market at the moment. Their XXL IQ Routes model has an easy to read 5-inch screen, so users will be able to clearly see where they should be going. Like most GPS units, it has a touchscreen feature so is remarkably easy to operate, even for people who have little experience in this area.

When the first commercial sat nav systems became popular, the spoken directions merely advised the driver to ‘turn right’, ‘turn left’, etc. But recently a number of units have been released which feature spoken street names. This feature can be extremely useful for motorists who are looking for a specific road.

These exceptionally useful accessories are available at prices to suit all pockets. The more basic models can be purchased for less than £100, an amazing bargain when you consider the time and fuel that can be saved over the course of a year. As with all consumer products, if you’re prepared to pay more you will be able to get a more sophisticated item, of course, so there are systems for just about anyone.

Early GPS units featured street maps of the relevant country, but rarely went beyond that. It was often possible to purchase extra maps over the Internet, so if you were planning to travel abroad you could be prepared. The modern systems often include mapping for several countries, with the Garmin Nuvi 3790T offering maps of 43 countries.

David Rice works with UK based car leasing company Nationwide Vehicle Contracts who offer out a wide variety of car leasing deals.

Staffordshire, UK. 17th January 2010. The UK’s premier personalised number plates dealer has updated its stock list and because of this there are some very some deals on offer to the trade and the general public. http://www.carreg.co.uk/number_plates/stock

Carreg - Private Number Plates specialists

The carreg.co.uk personalised number plate stock list starts with number plates priced at just £99 and rises to over £15,000 for those number plates that are very special or collectable.

The special prices are available for a limited time and with up to 50 per cent off some selected number plates the current stock list http://www.carreg.co.uk/number_plates/get_news/452 is bound to reduce very quickly.

Jason Wilkes the managing director of carreg.co.uk, “This is only a sample of what we have available, we have millions more available in our main database”

“All provided on DVLA certificate OR transferred to a vehicle, actual number plates can also be provided.”

He added, “All number plates listed below are plus the industry standard £105 DVLA transfer and plus VAT. Up to 50% off Selected Numbers Below – Up to £50 Off ” F ” Prefix When You Buy Online! – Interested?”

Carreg.co.uk try to add new number plates this special stock list every week, so there is every chance that buyers looking for specific private number plates will not be disappointed.

About Carreg.co.uk: The company was founded in 1988 with only a handful of personalised registration number commission sales, they are celebrating their 21st anniversary and the company has a seven million strong private number plate database as well as considerable stock.

Carreg.co.uk are members of all trade-governing bodies: C.N.D.A (Cherished Numbers Dealers Association) M.I.R.A.D (Members of the Institute of Registration Agents & Dealers) & R.N.C (Registration Number Club), and the F.S.B (Fed of Small Businesses).

So called ‘vanity plates’ – registration plates which are more desirable than your run-of-the-mill dealer-issued humdrum, are like Marmite – they are yellow and black.

Private Number Plates

I jest of course (they are also white and black): such numbers polarise opinion as much as Jordan (the model, not the Middle Eastern country). Some view them as the ultimate accessory for your automotive pride and joy, others see them as the posturing of either chinless wonders or spivs.

Back in the day, when you were buying your new motor, it was easy enough to get a decent plate. You simply got the secretary at the dealership to hassle the DVLA when they were registering the car. Failing that, you nipped into the local scrappy, spotted number plates you liked the look of, and nabbed the log book out of the passenger seat of whatever car it was attached to. The plate was yours.

In the 1990s the DVLA, fearing they were being diddled and sniffing a money-making opportunity, moved in for the kill to feed the Government mothership with more hapless punters’ money, and since then the industry has inflated beyond expectations.

These days the private plate is an extremely valuable commodity, with the top tier ones such as ‘IT 1’ on the market for £350,000, as much as a detached house, and the current highest-grossing plate, ‘51 NGH’ going to (I imagine) a Mr Singh for £254,000 in 2006.

There are some number combinations you won’t find for sale anywhere, due to their perceived ‘offensiveness’, such as the Northern Irish registration series ‘KIL’, ‘CIG’ and ‘NAZ ’. I personally have to question the logic of banning ‘CIG 1’ because it resembles a slang term for a cigarette, and yet allowing the plate ‘B18 DCK’ to be launched. What is the government trying to tell us?
Furthermore, the DVLA is now relaxing its guidelines with the result that any plates containing ‘SEX’ will soon be for sale (although whether this will get the plate’s owner any is open to question).

There is some merit, of course, in having a decent registration number.
Firstly, it achieves the desired effect of saying ‘Look at me, I’m great.’

Secondly, they are often easier to remember. When I used to work in an Audi dealership, the number of customers booking their A4s in for service who didn’t know the reg number of the car they’d owned for the last four years was mind-boggling. When the A8 owners arrived, they had no bother:
‘Registration? Ah yes….it’s ‘1 RULE’.’

Not to mention the TT owners…’Sorry, Camilla darling, some oik is asking me the reg of my car, wanted the servants to bring it to the garage for me, but they’re all on holiday….it‘s, er…..’B1 TCH’.’

Thirdly, it makes the car itself look better, like a flat, yellow, rectangular set of blinging alloy wheels.

So, we’d all do it if we had the cash. Or would we? A cursory glance at a few of the DVLA-approved sellers’ websites confirms such greats as Paul Daniels and Vinnie Jones as customers, with the latter saying, and I quote, ‘I think number plates are just brilliant.’

Author:  Richard Craig

Number Plate Replacement

Description: Whatever sort of Number Plate you want, be it for your car or motorbike, a show plate or one that you want just for fun, 4Plates can help. http://www.4plates.co.uk/

Music consumption has changed enormously over the last decade, with digital song files now coming in umpteen different formats and on numerous types of media. Ambitiously, Pioneer’s DEH-P4100SD aims to cover all the bases.

Pioneer DEH-P4100SD Car stereo with SD slot and UBB port

Alongside the traditional CD drive, this is Pioneer’s first car stereo head unit to include an SD card slot. On top of this it also accepts devices via USB, with support for both portable audio players and simple storage drives.

Whether on SD, USB or CD, most mainstream file types can be played, including MP3s and AACs. The only lossless format available is 16-bit, 48kHz WAV, and none of the more esoteric options such as FLAC or Ogg Vorbis are supported, but the system does have the most common options covered.

The SD card slot will also read SDHC memory, allowing for capacities of up to 32GB for a truly jukebox-sized music collection. It has, however, positioned the slot rather annoyingly behind the faceplate, forcing you to remove it to swap cards.

Control focuses on the rotary commander, which works rather like a joystick, except that you can rotate it as well. Conveniently, the unit can also operate certain types of iPod devices directly with the addition of an appropriate USB dock. Pioneer also offers its own cables for many iPods – the list of those compatible is extensive, but fairly selective about which software versions will work.

This model doesn’t just rely on its next-gen digital sound file support – it’s a serious audiophile car hi-fi as well. The amplifier offers four 50W outputs, with Delta Sigma 24-bit D/A converters and Advanced Sound Retriever (ASR) technology. The latter is particularly handy for compressed audio, as it automatically restores the harmonics lost during compression, particularly the high and low frequencies.

You do pay a small premium for the plethora of connections though. The P4100SD’s USB-only sister product, the DEH-P3100UB, is a tenner cheaper, and other USB-equipped head units can be snapped up for under £100.

However, a large SD card will give you much greater storage than any CD changer, without the need for an extra unit in your car boot, and it’s simpler than having to attach an iPod. So the Pioneer DEH-P4100SD may be a little on the pricey side, but it wins hands down for convenience