HELL ONA HARLEY

Here in california its the law to have a front plate installed on your car but I personaly feel you lose that sano look to your front end.... I called my dealer to see if they would not drill the front bumper for the plate and he readily agreed... This is the first car I'm going to own that I feel warrants this action, so its never been an issue. Does anyone else feel this way and have you ever been hastled by the law for not having a front plate provided your in a state that requires one???

bmms8

since were in san diego, its the same law, i personally didnt want to put anything on, i agree with you, but my family did because it is a personalized plate, so it makes sene in our situation. the dealer we got our car from doesnt even bother to drill holes, and put the bracket there, they leave it out.

ctouhey

Texas requires a front license plate also, but I've been able to get by without it. I had my first E500 with the plates on the front, but decided against it with this one. It looks MUCH better without one.

BMcD-E500

Illinois requires a front plate but I have not had one on my last two cars. No problems so far. I was stopped for speeding in my S4 and the trooper either didn't notice or didn't care that my plate was missing. On the E the license bracket looks like an afterthought, not well integrated into the front end. Good luck with yours!!

Bruce

FIXEDupW209

Althought i have a strong dislike for puting on ym front license plate, i do anyways because the damn meter maids here in santa monica can give you two tickets when your over on the meter or the lovely street cleaning and they dont hesitate to give you another for a license plate. Ive heard of meter maids giving no license plate tix even if your meter is okay.

bmms8

i think its kind of good to have the law though, because some stop lights have cameras, and i believe they only take a pic of your front license plate, so ppl can see a initiative to speed thru if the cops dont know who to send the ticket too.

JimPurdy

Yes, it is the law in Texas to display a front license plate. The police in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area are now targeting Corvettes and other cars that don't have a front plate. The fine imposed is $200! I asked my dealer if he would not install the front plate holder and he said that they could be fined if they didn't install the front plate. I personally don't like the look of the front holder and plate but I like the look a lot better than writing a check to some municipality for $200.

HELL ONA HARLEY

$200.00!!!! I guess their right when they say "everything is bigger in texas ".... My dealer has no problem at all not installing the plate and requires no liability paper work to be signed by me either... As a matter of fact he stated he and others at the dealership run with no plate in the front as well..... I'm told by him that if infact you do get busted for it the fine is only $25.00 here in cali.... A small price to be cool....

theine

Nope, no front license plate in Florida!

johnroden

I put the front plate on my E500 but I did not on my SL500. I got busted in La Jolla 4 months ago in the SL500 and got a $77 ticket for not having the front plate.

TREZ63

Here is my thing. I don't put on the front or the back. I just like the clean look. So I will never put them on. I will pay the $15 fix-it ticket 100 times if I have to. Already the fasttrack savings are paying for all the fix-it tickets I might get.

I got pulled over for it a couple of weeks ago and just told the guy the car is new and the DMV still has not sent me the plates. He Said "Nice Car" and let me go.

Easy as that.

Nanky

I didn't have a front plate on my previous MB and opted not to install it on the E. I am taking a chance and have been lucky so far.

Mercedesfan

What is fastrack? Is that the express lane where you have to have two or more persons? How does not having the plate result in savings, is it photo monitored?

em2023

Never had any plates from the day I bought my car (2001), then it happened to me in Downtown L.A. (2002) expired meter & no lic. plates ticket!
But that was the 1st and hopefully the last. To this day no front plates on my car.
South Orange County has tons of cars without front plates, and basically you just end up blending with the rest of the crowd.
were you originally getting pulled over for another reason? Or just “no front plate” ticket only?
come to think of it, you can actually get away with not putting any plates and saying it was just new and still waiting for DMV to send plates, but how long u planning to do that? (just wondering)
When?
it’s an express lane where you have to have 2 or more persons, BUT you have to be a subscriber of the service to be able to use the lane. There’s a device u place inside ur car that charges you every time you pass a sensor, if no device is detected then a camera automatically takes a picture of your plates then send u the fine in the mail. ($1.50-$2.50 per pass depends on the time of day and the day of the week)
BUT if there’s 3 or more passangers, then its FREE (u still need the sensor).

here's the company's spill: http://www.91expresslanes.com/virtdrive.html

can u believe that, they’re actually trying to sell this crap.
sometimes i still see those lanes crowded!

OGBenzo

Im in the Bay Area.. and after owning over 6 modified Benzs, I have had a front plate on only one. If gotten hassled maybe a total of 3 times in the last 5 yrs. Most of the time I just say that the car is pretty new and the dealer didnt put one on and I didnt know I had to. Usually that works, but I did get a fix it ticket on it once, he claimed my CLK was too low and didnt have a front plate. I had a cop buddy write it off, fine was like $85. I think it depends on the way your car looks. Mine has dark tint all the way around, I think Id attract a lil more attention than a car that looked stock.

LIONHEAD

My first car in '91 I never had a front license plate. I had a '91 Supra Turbo then and I was pulled over for the rear "clear" license plate cover but the cop never bothered to look in the front (just when I was about to pull into my highschool). Only gave me a citation for the plastic clear cover (didn't know that a clear cover was also illegal). Had my '98 Vette from late '97 until summer of '03 and cops never hassled without my front plates. A cop friend of mine who has 30% tint on all his cars and no front plates (kind of ironic) said usually if you have a nice car they won't hassle you with no front plates or tinted windows (also illegal in IL).

Some IL Rep is trying to pass a law for "Corvette" owners to purchase a special license plate that will allow no front license plates:

http://www.legis.state.il.us/legisla...27&SessionID=3

Wish it was also for Benz. Bruce....do you know any State Reps

BMcD-E500

Hmmm...... - my sister-in-law is the office mgr for Dan Cronin - state sentator from the Elmhurst area.

Don't know if I want to use a "favor" for a front plate issue. You never know when I might need some more serious favor!!

Bruce

ethune

This is funny - my dealer made me sign a release saying they are not installing the front bracket. It must be a common request and they must get pressure from the state to put it on.

Eric

aplato

I haven't had a plate on my last 3 cars. I got pulled over (for speeding, not for the plate ) a while back and the cop mentioned the plate. I told him it got ripped off in a car wash last week and I had not had time to reinstall it. I showed him the plate in the trunk. He just said "okay, well get it back on when you get a chance." and went on to write me a speeding ticket.

Just carry the plate with you in the trunk and you can usually wiggle out of any plate issues.

vtec26

I'm in LA county in California and don't have a front plate on either. Here's the deal, if you are in the city of LA, the parking enforcement is now entitled to give fix it tickets for any car parked on the public street without a front license plate (no need to have a parking violation along with the citation). I know this is also the case for a few local city police departments. There's an effort by government agencies to enforce the front plate law because of all the photo enforcement intersections. It's a risk you take to keep it off, but in most cities it's still a fix it ticket that doesn't run more than $15 unless you get written up for some other offense or are a repeat offender.

There is a way to mount the front plate by drilling into the bottom of the front bumper. All you need is a 90 degree bracket from home depot. I've had this done on all my past cars and it works fine. Upon resale, no one sees the holes. This however, does not solve the issue of asthetics.

sf49ers79

I have a brabus front spoiler so don't want to drill a hole to my bumper... i don't have a front license plate......... this is a stupid law i think..

thug_law

I got pulled over twice and cited for not having the plates. $110 US Dollars each time. Then, I put it on, I got use to it.

codex57

Dealer at BMW and Mercedes both asked whether we wanted the front plates on. I got too many fix it tickets for stupid stuff like that on my older car so we just put it on. My parents could care less about appearances.

rickyfanmdr

I have my plate on in the front. I think it looks fine. The bracket mount has a nice custom fit look.

marksatex

I don't have one- Only stopped once in years over it. I realize that some communities are getting stricter because of the camera monitored intersections. I am ok with the law enforcement angle- just ruins the appearance of my car. Whyt can they not develop a tag like we use for toll highways that would trip the sensors if we run a red light ? I guess even that could go to far into "Big Brother"