I have found over many years, that only the majority of the public tend to view or age cars by the number prefix on the number plate.
If the attraction of owning a 73 plate on the car appeals to you more, than a car that could be five months older MAX then it’s a 23 plate.
As the plates change every six months now, it makes little difference in my mind TBA.
To the pubic buyer yes but in the motor trade, when offering a value on your trade in, have you ever wondered why they ask you the cars first date of registration ???.
Obviously they have the plate ident in front of them.
Personally I feel that a car registered either before or after the new year has a similar but a different affect.
E.G. - Buy a new car and have registered before Xmas this year and it will still be on a 73 plate, but its date of registration will be 2023 of course.
Register the car one week later on the 03/01/24 and it is still on a 73 plate BUT the first date of registration is now 2024.
When you trade in the car a few years later you have to declare the pre Xmas car as a 23.
While the post Xmas car has a 24 date of registration, giving a shorter impression of age.
Waiting for the new reg to come out on the first of August every year was a big thing back in the day, but I think this has now been diluted a lot in recent years.
So many people are using private plates these days, that aging the car from its plate has become almost impossible anyway, unless you are a total anorak ??.