Forums › Life › Cars, Buses & Trucks › UK : where do you buy L-plates from these days?
My driving instructor says I am now ready/safe to also start private practice with a relative of mine who works at the same company, using one of the fleet cars (which I am insured for).
But we need to put L plates on the vehicle when I am driving it, of a kind which can be removed when not required.
Where do you get these from, without having to wait a few days to order them? I looked at Halfords but apparently their ones are no good (you now need to go on 70mph dual carriageways on your driving test and the cheap one will come adrift at that speed, creating a hazard to other motorists and making your vehicle illegal). Are there any other stores selling motor accessories like this?
When I was younger I would go with my Dad to this sort of shop what was run by “oily rag” type blokes where they sold everything from spark plugs to alloy wheels, axle stands etc (this was the time when folk worked on their own cars) and they sold L plates, GB plates and tacky reflective stickers and go-faster stripes but these places appear to have long gone…
Halfords is your best bet, or, if you have one nearby Wilkinsons. But wilkos only have them in the biig stores.
@General Lighting 515326 wrote:
My driving instructor says I am now ready/safe to also start private practice with a relative of mine who works at the same company, using one of the fleet cars (which I am insured for).
But we need to put L plates on the vehicle when I am driving it, of a kind which can be removed when not required.
Where do you get these from, without having to wait a few days to order them? I looked at Halfords but apparently their ones are no good (you now need to go on 70mph dual carriageways on your driving test and the cheap one will come adrift at that speed, creating a hazard to other motorists and making your vehicle illegal). Are there any other stores selling motor accessories like this?
When I was younger I would go with my Dad to this sort of shop what was run by “oily rag” type blokes where they sold everything from spark plugs to alloy wheels, axle stands etc (this was the time when folk worked on their own cars) and they sold L plates, GB plates and tacky reflective stickers and go-faster stripes but these places appear to have long gone…
Congratulations 🙂
L plates? No idea Im afraid. Girls attending hen nights seem to have an abundance of them though.
I would have thought Halford ones should be ok as they will be aware of current guidelines as a major retailer.
I think some petrol stations sell them. Not sure why, as it’s not like learners can drive to get some petrol and and pick up some v-plates whilst they’re there. :laugh_at:
Also might be worth while checking mot garages or just any garage for that matter. Any where that sells parts for cars is a possibility as well (I wouldn’t go as far as scrap yards though, very much doubt they hold onto the ones that go in there).
@DaftFader 515340 wrote:
I think some petrol stations sell them. Not sure why, as it’s not like learners can drive to get some petrol and and pick up some v-plates whilst they’re there. :laugh_at:
I vaguely remember this. I expect the idea is for mums and dads to obtain them at weekends when teaching their kids.
The problem with the Halfords magnetic ones wasn’t the size/design but only having two strips at the top, so the wind catches beneath them and they blow away. I think I will get the ones what cling to the inside of the window as they are more likely to stay put in the road and weather conditions of East Anglia..
Magnetic ones are OK, but only on a flat surface so they stick best on older more angular shaped cars, on curved bodywork they tend to catch the wind and come off
Petrol stations, Halfords, Road User, hell even supermarkets sell them
I don’t know if you have them down south but there’s a chain of shops (similar to halfords) called Range. Kind of a halfords homebase mashup of a store. They’re usually bright orange so hard to miss. But if you have one in your area they’ll sell them, it’s where I got mine when I was learning.
Yep we have these in Ipswich. the middle aged female senior managers at the old peoples home buy random furniture / craft items from there so I hadn’t associated the place with motoring – probably because of my own age and gender. I wonder what happened to all the “oily rag” type of chaps, and their shops?
As the name suggests Range contains a vast menagerie of… well things, from arts and crafts to motoring parts.
Range in Cardiff is mostly over-priced low quality furniture, mirrors, pictures and faffy mass produced decorative stuff, never seen motoring stuff in there
I got my L plates from my local petrol station.
Your best bet would be to ask your instructor where they recommend getting them from in your area.
As everyone else has suggested – most petrol stations have them, with air fresheners etc, and halfords,
…..
you may as well pick up some green P plates for when you’ve passed too!! 🙂
(I found these really helpful when I past in the first few months as others seemed to give me a break when I fluffed it at junctions / parking etc)
I found some in Asda (although they were the mag strip ones).
P plates are a EU import from the 90s (where they are a legal requirement to display), I didn’t think that anyone actually paid attention to them in the UK, though I’ve seen them occasionally.
Glad I’m learning to drive in the UK and not NL though as their theory test has 10 more questions, a more complex hazard perception, and the practical test is far longer. There was (and probably still is) a entire thread on partyflock about it and how difficult it is to pass, and outside Rotterdam and Amsterdam although they do have better trains, it still isn’t very easy getting about if you don’t have a car….
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Forums › Life › Cars, Buses & Trucks › UK : where do you buy L-plates from these days?