People go crazy for plates

Once spotted only on the most unusual or luxurious cars, custom plates are now appearing everywhere.

Some relay the owner's name, some show an allegiance to a footy team or make of car, others advertise local businesses.

But mostly custom plates display carefully considered collections of letters and numbers revealing a secret side to the driver's personality, such as; SASSY, SEXY, DIVA, DFECTV or MADAZ.

In 2000, about 3200 Tasmanians had custom plates and this jumped to 4000 by the end of 2005.

And, since the marketing and distribution for the plates was handed over from the State Government to private company TASplates, Tasmanians have been flocking to buy their own slice of motoring history.

Since TasPlates started in March, 1400 plates have sold in just five months, a huge increase on the 230 custom plates Service Tasmania sold in the 12 months before TasPlates began.

It takes the total number of custom plates in Tasmania, including corporate plates to around 6000.

TasPlates marketing manager Tim McNeilage said he was surprised by the high take-up rate, particularly the many Tasmanians willing to pay $950 for top-of-the-range plates, six characters on a colourful plate. Also popular have been coloured plates with a three-letter and three-number combination for $295.

Previously motorists had to lease plates for an annual fee from Service Tasmania and could not buy them outright. Under the TasPlates scheme, drivers can purchase plates for a one-off fee and own them forever.

There is also a wider range of plate colours and designs on offer, and they can be purchased online, from new car dealers, as well as from Service Tasmania. Plates can be bought and sold between owners, and many Tasmanian drivers consider custom plates a sound financial investment.

Unique plates were an obvious choice for car lover Marco Caporelli. After years restoring his purple 1974 Mazda RX4 coupe, Mr Caporelli, 31, decided custom plates would add the finishing touch to his masterpiece.

He chose MADAZ, as a play on the make of his classic car.

He said: “I didn't want something rude or offensive, just something different, a way for people to recognise the car as being unique.”

He said the plate had no reflection on his personality, although some workmates think he's a bit mad when it comes to his beloved car.

Dental prosthetist Jayne Waterson has a blue Peugeot convertible bearing blue SMILES number plates.

At first she was wary of getting custom plates but then decided they would be a good way to advertise her new denture clinic at Sorell. She said: “I'd seen a lot of cars driving around with custom plates and at first I thought how wanky.

“But then I decided that, if people can afford to do it, then why shouldn't they?”

“I did it purely for the business, to draw attention to the car, which is also signwritten.

“I thought SMILES was appropriate, far more catchy than DENTURE.”

“The next car I get will have to be blue to match the plates.

“Everybody really loves them; they are a great talking point and have definitely been a good investment.”

 Would you spend over $900 for custom plates?