Does it really cost $399.00 to have your plates redesigned?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Does it really cost $399.00 to have your plates redesigned?

jimbob79

673 posts

Ultimate Geek

#162149 30-Jan-2015 15:49

I want to change my car's registration plate from the Classic design to a European design but it's going to cost me $399.00. Is that right? Why is it so expensive?

Note: this is not a personalised plate.

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3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1225449 30-Jan-2015 15:54

Because it's a complete monopoly.

jimbob79

673 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1225450 30-Jan-2015 15:55

Is there an genuine alternative solution?

lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1225452 30-Jan-2015 15:56

Not a legal one. You can get those german plates and you may get away with them but only NZTA plates are allowed, the only place you can get the NZTA euro plate....you guessed it.

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#1225460 30-Jan-2015 16:14

You can have a sticky label for your front plate, which you can get much cheaper

But if you want to change your rear one, you need to go through PP and pay them their $$$

jimbob79

673 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1225462 30-Jan-2015 16:14

I think I've found a tacky solution:

http://www.autographics.co.nz/product/NZ-W80-Cust

Talkiet

4792 posts

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Trusted

#1225480 30-Jan-2015 16:53

It will cost you $399. As for what it costs the company with the monopoly to make the plates... Well, I suspect it's significantly less than $399.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Behodar

10502 posts

Uber Geek

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Lifetime subscriber

#1225484 30-Jan-2015 16:58

lxsw20: Because it's a complete monopoly.

For what it's worth, a personalised plate costs $80 in Arizona. It's a complete money grab in NZ!

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lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1225485 30-Jan-2015 16:59

wellygary: You can have a sticky label for your front plate, which you can get much cheaper

But if you want to change your rear one, you need to go through PP and pay them their $$$

Once again, not legally unless something has changed recently.

Can I use stick-on number plates? By stick-on I mean having the letters and numbers cut out on a sticker machine and just stuck onto to the front bumper.
I've seen it done, usually on old 50's sports cars like the D-type Jaguars where there's nothing to mount a licence plate on the front.
I checked this out with NZTA and they confirmed that it is an offence to display a plate that is re-manufactured, bent to fit or otherwise made up of stickers, etc. The plate must be displayed as it was originally supplied and there are no exemptions allowed.

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/knowledge_base.html

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/71/registration-plates.html

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#1225487 30-Jan-2015 17:02

lxsw20:
wellygary: You can have a sticky label for your front plate, which you can get much cheaper

But if you want to change your rear one, you need to go through PP and pay them their $$$

Once again, not legally unless something has changed recently.

Can I use stick-on number plates? By stick-on I mean having the letters and numbers cut out on a sticker machine and just stuck onto to the front bumper.
I've seen it done, usually on old 50's sports cars like the D-type Jaguars where there's nothing to mount a licence plate on the front.
I checked this out with NZTA and they confirmed that it is an offence to display a plate that is re-manufactured, bent to fit or otherwise made up of stickers, etc. The plate must be displayed as it was originally supplied and there are no exemptions allowed.

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/knowledge_base.html

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/71/registration-plates.html

The 2011 Regs say you can,

http://legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2011/0079/latest/whole.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_Land+Transport+(Motor+Vehicle+Registration+and+Licensing)+Regulations+2011+_resel_25_a&p=1#DLM2938339

S.33 Form of ordinary plates

(5) The base material of an ordinary plate must be aluminium or any other material that may be determined by the Registrar.

(6) Despite subclause (5), an ordinary plate to be fixed to the front of a motor vehicle may be in the form of an adhesive label.

MikeB4

18435 posts

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#1225504 30-Jan-2015 17:12

I suggest a call to the NZTA this is the authority administering these under the Act. They will advise you what you can and cannot do. Would save a possible fine.

Nate001

638 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1225505 30-Jan-2015 17:21

Once again, not legally unless something has changed recently.

Can I use stick-on number plates? By stick-on I mean having the letters and numbers cut out on a sticker machine and just stuck onto to the front bumper.
I've seen it done, usually on old 50's sports cars like the D-type Jaguars where there's nothing to mount a licence plate on the front.
I checked this out with NZTA and they confirmed that it is an offence to display a plate that is re-manufactured, bent to fit or otherwise made up of stickers, etc. The plate must be displayed as it was originally supplied and there are no exemptions allowed.

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/knowledge_base.html

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/71/registration-plates.html

The old man has a D-type jag with the plate stuck on the bonnet (sticker), it is a complete different shape to the standard plates and is on a good 80 degrees, almost flat, despite that he has never had any problems getting WOF or being pulled over. I think its one of those rules where different places/people interpret differently, they might be more forgiving on older cars.

Talkiet

4792 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1225543 30-Jan-2015 17:51

wellygary:
lxsw20:
wellygary: You can have a sticky label for your front plate, which you can get much cheaper

But if you want to change your rear one, you need to go through PP and pay them their $$$

Once again, not legally unless something has changed recently.

Can I use stick-on number plates? By stick-on I mean having the letters and numbers cut out on a sticker machine and just stuck onto to the front bumper.
I've seen it done, usually on old 50's sports cars like the D-type Jaguars where there's nothing to mount a licence plate on the front.
I checked this out with NZTA and they confirmed that it is an offence to display a plate that is re-manufactured, bent to fit or otherwise made up of stickers, etc. The plate must be displayed as it was originally supplied and there are no exemptions allowed.

http://www.lvvta.org.nz/knowledge_base.html

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/factsheets/71/registration-plates.html

The 2011 Regs say you can,

http://legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2011/0079/latest/whole.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_Land+Transport+(Motor+Vehicle+Registration+and+Licensing)+Regulations+2011+_resel_25_a&p=1#DLM2938339
S.33 Form of ordinary plates

(5) The base material of an ordinary plate must be aluminium or any other material that may be determined by the Registrar.

(6) Despite subclause (5), an ordinary plate to be fixed to the front of a motor vehicle may be in the form of an adhesive label.

I looked into this a while ago when I noticed that wording on the site. It's an oversight they still haven't fixed. The adhesive label refers to a future product they will sell you (presumably for several hundred dollars) and specifically NOT to any user supplied adhesive numbers...

Doesn't change the fact heaps of Ferraris, Jags, MX5 and Lotus 7 replicas make their own labels... They're just all illegal.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

pchs

185 posts

Master Geek

#1225567 30-Jan-2015 18:28

Talkiet: It will cost you $399. As for what it costs the company with the monopoly to make the plates... Well, I suspect it's significantly less than $399.

Cheers - N

Well to make 2 x normal duplicate plates is $23.15 http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/registration-licensing/number-plates/duplicate.html So $399 would seem excessive! there might be some use of logo fees that they need to pay, there is something like that with BMW plates which you can't buy directly from them .

Kyanar

4089 posts

Uber Geek

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#1226090 1-Feb-2015 01:39

pchs:
Talkiet: It will cost you $399. As for what it costs the company with the monopoly to make the plates... Well, I suspect it's significantly less than $399.

Cheers - N

Well to make 2 x normal duplicate plates is $23.15 http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/registration-licensing/number-plates/duplicate.html So $399 would seem excessive! there might be some use of logo fees that they need to pay, there is something like that with BMW plates which you can't buy directly from them .

LicenSys (who make every single license plate in New Zealand and Australia) charge between $20.95 and $74.95 depending on plate style according to the manufacture form: http://www.licensys.com/documents/LicenSys_-_MR19_-_Personalised_Plate_Manufacture.pdf

$399 appears to mostly be the monopoly tax to the Lubeck family that own PPL.

EDIT: Actually, I'd call up Licensys. They have an order form on their website for personalised plates, including Euro ones, and one wonders if they can order Euro plates with your existing NZTA-issue registration number without dealing with PPL.

firefuze

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1291848 26-Apr-2015 19:51

EDIT: Actually, I'd call up Licensys. They have an order form on their website for personalised plates, including Euro ones, and one wonders if they can order Euro plates with your existing NZTA-issue registration number without dealing with PPL.

Did anyone look into this further? Calling Licensys that is..? Looking to do the same, get my current government plate remade as a euro plate. Looked at the german plates website (and others) but none of them do the NZ euro plates in black like the current version available from plates.co.nz (black logo on both corners)

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