Buy a Car First or Apply for a License Plate Lottery First?
2 Answers
Apply for the license plate lottery first. Currently, there are 6 cities requiring license plate lottery: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Tianjin, and Hangzhou. Theoretically, you only need to participate in the lottery when registering your car. However, if you fail to win the lottery, the car you purchase cannot be registered or driven on the road, leaving it idle. Moreover, if the emission standards expire, the car will become ineligible for registration. Relevant information about license plates is as follows: 1. Introduction: License plates, commonly known as car plates, refer to vehicle registration plates. They are metal sheets attached to the front and rear of a vehicle, displaying the registration number, registration region, and other relevant information. 2. Function: License plates serve as identification and information registration for vehicles. Their primary purpose is to indicate the vehicle's registered region through the plate number, and to allow tracking of the vehicle's owner and registration details based on the plate number.
I think it really depends on where you live. I've stayed in a license plate-restricted city for many years, and the lottery is like a marathon with terrifyingly low odds. Sometimes waiting one or two years is normal. If you buy a car first but can't get a plate to drive it, you'll still have to pay for insurance, maintenance, and face depreciation risks—it's just a waste of money. A friend of mine impulsively bought a car and waited three years to win the lottery; the car was almost ruined by then. Also, policies for new energy vehicles are better now—some areas don’t require a lottery and grant green plates directly. If you’re really in urgent need, going electric might be a better choice. But overall, I’d suggest joining the lottery pool first and waiting patiently. Buy only after winning the lottery—no need to rush. Don’t let the car become a burden; save yourself the hassle and money.
