Drivers eager to obtain plates starting with an 8

QI’m planning to buy a new car this fall and it is important to me that my plates start with 8. Do you know if they are being issued yet? — Cherie Rasmussen

AA few are, but should you purchase a vehicle and don’t get a plate that starts with the number 8, apply for a replacement plate when they are more common. There would be a $20 fee to make the change.

QYou said that personalized plates cannot take the format of a regular state issued license number. I had always thought that was the law, but over the past two or three years I have seen several cars with plates that have the decadesold format of 1ABC123, and they are on fairly new cars, so I know they are not the original plates from when the licenses started with a 1.

Is there an exception to personalized plates that allows people to have this format on a new car? — Dick Kistler

AThere is. The DMV still issues specialized plates in the regular format that start with the number “1” so it’s completely normal to see them on new cars.

QI realize it is a long ways off, but what happens when we run out of license plates that start with “8”? I think that 9 is already taken for trucks. … Maybe by then we will all be in self-driving cars and license plates will be a thing of the past like printed newspapers. … I won’t see it in my lifetime, but what happens when all of the license plates starting with 9 are used? Does the next batch of plates have a first digit of 0? — Jim Bodwin, Steve Malysiak, Sharon Mahoney, Steve Westcott and others

AWe don’t know yet. The DMV has a couple of years to decide.

QFor all those license plate watchers out there, three weeks ago I spotted a red Toyota, license number 7ZZY in downtown Palo Alto. Friday I spotted yet another red Toyota, this time with license number 7ZZZ197. What’s up with the red Toyotas? And who will get 8AAA001? — Lynne Mercer, Newark

AI’m placing my bet on a red hybrid Prius.

QI work for a law firm and deal frequently with elderly clients. Please remind your readers that when they turn in the keys or let their driver’s license lapse, they should go to DMV and obtain an ID card. This will save a lot of headache and effort if they need documents notarized in the future. — Jennifer Aguirre, El Dorado Hills

AWe value and trust your input since you once lived in Fremont.