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Thursday / 7 November 2024
HomeFeaturesInvestment number plates in South Africa – What they cost and how they look

Investment number plates in South Africa – What they cost and how they look

Personalised number plates are big business in South Africa.

These vehicle identifiers, or vanity plates as they are often referred to, can be worth millions to the right buyer, the caveat being that there is only a handful of people with the desire and the financial means to pay for such superfluous things.

For instance, in 2016 a set of single-character Gauteng plates comprising the numbers 1 through 8 sold for a staggering R1.89 million at auction to a discerning collector.

The prices of these particular plates seem to be connected to their rarity.

There are only 10 single-digit plates per province for numbers 0 through 9, and once they are all allocated, the only way to get them in your possession is to wait for their owner to grow tired of them, or to make a deal their owner can’t refuse.

The province also plays a role, there will likely be more demand for a particular plate in Gauteng than in the North West given the massive population difference and varying average income levels between the regions.

Other vanity plates’ values are determined by the provenance of the word on them, or perhaps of who owned them previously.

At the same 2016 auction, for example, a number plate owned by late South African legend Joost van der Westhuizen with the format “9 – GP” denoting the name on his Springbok jersey saw the hammer fall at R167,000, and another plate that read “MANDELA – GP” fetched R66,000, BusinessTech reported at the time.

These sales figures show that there is, in fact, investment value in select personalised number plates, however, we would be weary of calling them sound financial vehicles.

What’s on offer in South Africa right now

While these valuable vanity plates sold in 2016 did not hit the public market again as far as we could tell, number plates broker Plates SA currently has 38 “investment-grade” plates for sale to anyone who wants them.

These include single, double, and quadruple-character identifiers; plates with brand names; and ones with vehicle model names on them.

Prices for these potential investments start at R20,000 which includes the transfer fees to a new owner.

The table below shows all the personalised number plates currently for sale by Plates SA:

1 digit 2 digits 4 digits Brand names Vehicle models
0 – GP 19 – GP 6666 – GP AUDI – GP AUDI TT – GP
22 – GP 9999 – GP HEALEY 1 – WP BMW M3 – GP
33 – GP HELI1 – GP BMW Z3 – GP
44 – GP HOG – GP BMW Z8 – GP
55 – GP HONDA – GP BUG – GP
66 – GP JEEP – GP CL 500 – GP
88 – GP LEXUS – GP GS1200 – GP
Q7 – GP NISSAN – GP GT2 – GP
PAJERO – GP GT3 – GP
ROBBE – GP M5 – GP
SPIDER – GP R1200 – GP
WERWOLF – WP SL 500 – GP
X5BMW – GP
500670 – GP
911 GT3 – GP

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