An Independant TD has urged the government to consider amendingIreland’s car registration plate system for next year – because some superstitious motorists do not want cars with ’13′ on the plates.

Michael Healy-Rae has called on finance minister Michael Noonan to examine the possibility of changing the registration plate system for next year, saying the move would benefit the motoring industry as a whole.

“There are people now who, we’ll say, always change their cars every two, three or four years,” Healy-Rae told TheJournal.ie.

“Take you, for instance – you might be one of these men who change their car every three years, and 2013 is your year to change.

“People like you are after going to the garages and saying they’ll wait until the next year” before replacing their cars, he added, simply because they did not want to drive cars carrying a number which is often thought to be unlucky.

Healy-Rae said car deals had already approached him to raise their concerns, which in turn had been fuelled by remarks from prospective car buyers who felt it might be bad luck to drive cars with the number 13 on them.

Alan Nolan from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said the possibility of a superstitious drop in sales would hurt a sector that is already struggling.

“You have to put this in the context of the market, which has fallen from around 180,000 new cars per year… this year we’re looking at 75,000 or so in new sales,” he said.

“Even if it was five per cent of people [who opted against buying a 2013 car, in a market of 75,000 it’s still something that would have a real problem.”

Nolan said his society had been campaigning for an overhaul of the licencing system because it meant that the car trade was seasonal, with the majority of cars sold in the first quarter of the year.

Ireland could follow the UK’s lead by adding a new identifier to numberplates on cars registered after July, he suggested, by simply putting an X on the numberplate to read ‘X12-D-123456′.

The Department of Finance currently has no plans to change the registration plates, but says it is willing to consider proposals in advance of next year’s Budget when such measures would be formally enacted by the Revenue Commissioners.

The fear of the number 13 – formally known as triskadekaphobia – is thought to originate from the Bible, as there were 13 people present at the Last Supper after which Jesus was crucified.

A similar fear exists in Norse mythology, where Loki – seen as something of a devious ‘trickster God’, and who is said to have murdered another god – is the 13th god.

Another theory suggests that 13 is a number suggesting chaos, and that the civilisations of Ancient Persia – who believed the twelve astrological constellations ruled the universe – feared the advent of a 13th constellation that would destroy humanity.

It is common in team sports – and particularly in motorsport – for teams or clubs not to assign the 13 shirt or car number. The last time a Formula One car raced with the number 13 was in 1976.

Beijing municipality will keep in place traffic regulations designed to limit the number of cars in use on weekdays based on car number plates this year.

The restrictions, set to expire on April 10, have been renewed so they will continue to be valid from April 11 this year, according to the city’s work program to ease traffic congestion.

Keeping one fifth of the city’s vehicles off the roads from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every weekday based on the last digit of car plates, the restrictions came into place in 2008 after the Beijing Olympic Games and were renewed for another two years in 2010.

The program also said the city will release 240,000 new number plates for car buyers to draw in the ongoing monthly lottery.

Under the car plate application lottery rules starting in 2011, there were 173,000 new vehicles registered last year, 617,000 less than the number in 2010. By the end of last year, the total amount of the city’s registered vehicles had reached 4.98 million, according to the program.

Maybe the DVLA will consider this system some day?

When you`re searching for a cherished number plate costs can be an issue at times with some items fetching many thousands of pounds.  Even buying new plates direct from the DVLA isn`t always the best option so where should you look for the best possible prices?

The market for personalised number plates has grown steadily over the years and that has seen a number of online brokers emerge looking for your business. A simple internet search will now bring a wide choice of outlets that are looking to sell these plates and as you would expect, each of them claim to be the cheapest around.

It is certainly true that you may get a bargain by searching through these lists but it`s advisable to check as many as you possibly can before making a decision.

One of the features of the traditional classified press was a section devoted to the sale of personalised plates. It`s important when you`re looking for any sort of purchase not to ignore these publications and a quick check in periodicals such as Exchange and Mart or Daltons Weekly should also give you a number of options.

Online classified sites are, of course, another good option and a thorough search of the most popular ones will provide you with some choices.

Moving on to auction sites, it`s certainly worth performing a search for cherished and personalised number plates on the usual online sites. However, it`s always worthwhile looking away from the main ones as you may well find a bargain elsewhere. There are literally hundreds of online auction sites so if you have the time to search, the smaller ones may offer the most competitive prices.

Some buyers are put off by the DVLA`s prices for their new number plates and this is where your initials appear on a standard 2010 or 2011 plate. They are not particularly distinctive and with prices from around several hundred pounds, they can be cost prohibitive too.

However, the DVLA sell other plates directly too and depending on the combination of letters and numbers, prices can be more favourable in many cases. Some sell for as little as £300. The DVLA also hold regular auctions where plates fetch a very wide range of prices so check on their website for the latest dates and find out which are available. If you see something you like, online bidding is possible if you aren`t able to attend in person.

It`s impossible to pin down individual prices on number plates as the cost involved depends on a number of factors. Firstly, as we`ve seen, prices vary greatly depending on the outlet you use while some combinations of letters and numbers will cost you more than others. For example, A1 ABC would be far more expensive than A483 ABC.

Ultimately, cherished number plates can cost as little or as much as you`re willing to pay: If you want something fairly standard, it will cost you a few hundred pounds while you would need to check a loans calculator  if you`re prepared to pay the many thousands of pounds that some of the more distinctive plates can fetch.

The new replacement Irish Number Plates for Downpatrick is TJZ.

The TJZ combination will make excellent personalised number plates if you name is Tommy Jones, Trudi Johnson, Terry Jones, etc

Maybe you are a fan of the American Actor Tommy Lee Jones, and you want to become the Ultimate Fan, and what better way to show this but with Personalised Number Plates, such as TJZ 1001.

Maybe you have studied at the Thomas Jefferson University, and you want to always remember your College days, and a personalised registration would be perfect, such as TJZ 1007.

So where your initials are TJ or whether you are just looking to hide the age of your vehicle, then all you need to do is, simply click on Speedyreg.