Why do people say, for example " freelander 2 on a 57 plate"?
It's not on a 57 plate, the registration plate is on it. Why not say "It is a 2007 Freelander"?

Similarly why do they say "in blue" when they mean "it's blue"?

A “57 plate” could be from September 2007 to March 2008, so “57 plate” does refer to a different period of time than “2007”.

Yes, but it's not on the plate, the plate is on the car.
Anyway, surely people know when their car was registered but what really matters is the model year, not the year of first registration.

The indication is that a 57 plate is a 2008 model but may be a 2007 model so buyer beware, irrespective of whether the car is on the plate or the plate is on the car  my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Being unnecessarily pedantic about the finer points of English is a fine and noble cause!

However, as far as model year vs registration plate vs registration year is concerned, each has its own reasons for being important; the model year might tell you more about the original specification of the car, but it would be a poor indicator of its used valuation if, say, a 2012 MY car wasn’t registered until 2014, or a 2019 MY car had previously been registered in 2018, displaying an “18” age identifier on its number plate (is that better? ).

I generally go by model year as well.

Mine is a MY13 (indicates facelift) on a 62 plate. That plate could mean exactly as Tigger states, however, by including MY13, it defines the trim and spec as a facelift version that little bit further. After all, there are plenty of MY12's running around out there in a 62 plate as well.

 FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

I’ve had a

55 plate - D3 TDV6
08 plate - Fl2 TD4
60 plate - Fl2 SD4
61 plate - Evoque TD4
13 plate - Fl2 TD4
61 plate - D4 SDV6
15 plate - DS SD4
65 plate - D4 SDV6
17 plate - D5 TD6
67 plate - Velar D240

But on the old system it’s J reg for example

Anyway it’s **MY not MY**

Just to add more fuel to the fire  21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

Last edited by j77 on 15th Feb 2019 3:26 pm. Edited 1 time in total

My HSE was built on 9th July 2009, first registered on 4th September of that year yet is recorded as a MY 2010! 🤔

Bob 10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

Mines a 2018 registered 67 plate 18MY 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

j77 wrote:

I’ve had a

55 plate
08 plate
60 plate
61 plate
13 plate
61 plate
15 plate
65 plate
17 plate
67 plate

But on the old system it’s J reg for example

Anyway it’s **MY not MY**

Just to add more fuel to the fire

......... although I suspect you have always had the J 77 JWM plate on them ALL.

Gosh those flames are leaping.

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And that’s just the Land Rovers, I’ve edited the post to show what they were. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

I've got several dinner plates, no idea what age though

When did you buy them? 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200