Front license plate?

Legal, shmegal. F**k front plates! On my WRX, I had Velcro up front that I'd attach the front plate to when I parked, but there really isn't anywhere to do that with on the LGT, so I park in parking lots whenever possible. I may have to get Florida plates, 'cause they only issue rear plates.

<----- Has paid 5-6 no front plate parking tickets in my day, but have never been pulled over and ticketed for it.

It's become a bigger deal in Southerm California. The cops are lying in wait at LAX airport to ticket cars with window tint and no front plate...even in the parking lot!

I was going to build a flip out plate holder but I've decided to go with a FMIC and there won't be enough room now. Besides, I asked the dealer not to install the front plate frames before I picked up the car, but the idiot lot boy did it anyway, so I have two holes in the bumper face.

Dealer handed me the plates, so I just installed the rear.

No problems so far.

 

<----- Has paid 5-6 no front plate parking tickets in my day, but have never been pulled over and ticketed for it.

I have, in Santa Monica (and this was back in the late 1990s)...

I put them on now for "peace of mind," as hanger stated. Plus, the front plate isn't really that big of an (aesthetic) issue for me.

-Mike-

Thanks to the pre-purchase forum i knew ahead of time to ask them to not put it on (due to the holes).

IMHO it looks soooooo much cleaner without it on.

I took off the front frame and brought the car to a body shop. They filled in the holes with bathroom caulk and then heated them up with a hair dryer and used the butt-end of a screw driver to smooth the surfaces out so they would blend with the bumper. After that, they covered the surfaces with BSM paint, and it was good to go. From about 4 feet away you can't even tell the holes were there.

This was done 10 months ago and there have been no problems since.

I'm trying to figure out how to build a (nice looking) bracket that will hold the front license plate up a little highter, centered vertically over the bumper. Then bend the top 1" of the plate back about 45 degress to conform (sorta) to the top of the bumper. Then bend the bottom edge back about 45 degrees....

I think it would look better. Just don't want the bracket to look too ghetto.

I took mine off because without a mounting bracket (which I got from dealer), I noted that the plate was scratching the bumper. It looked like at high speeds it would bend the whole thing back and scratch.

So I took off the plate and got 3 tickets in 7 days. No joke. I live in Hollywood, so I think it largely depends on where you live/park.

I now have the plate on the front even though it looks like ass.

FWIW, I had a Boxster and never had the front plate on. I lived in San Diego (La Jolla) and never got a ticket. Also, my mom has an SL500 without a front plate and never gets any tickets. She lives in Thousand Oaks area.

I don't think it would fit, but for the Boxster there is a guy that makes "bumper plugs". http://www.bumperplugs.com He is a really cool guy and might make a version for other cars by now.

I'm trying to figure out how to build a (nice looking) bracket that will hold the front license plate up a little highter, centered vertically over the bumper. Then bend the top 1" of the plate back about 45 degress to conform (sorta) to the top of the bumper. Then bend the bottom edge back about 45 degrees....

 

I think it would look better. Just don't want the bracket to look too ghetto.

Try one of these brackets...

http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/product/284281_front200.jpg

They allow you to raise the plate up to about 2". I've seen them at PepBoys, Advance Auto, and Ace Hardware among other places as well as online. They're cheap so if you don't think it helps you're only out like $3 or $4.

This is a picture of mine raised about 1 1/2" so the top of the plate is even with the top of the bumper...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/TRS60586/Riverside%20Townes%20Legacy/DSCN04402.jpg

Without a frame you could bend the lower part of the plate back to wrap around the bumper toward the lower opening.

My past three cars never had a front plate. My previous car had the bracket, and I took it off because it looked like crap.

What I did to fill the holes were get PLASTIC HOLE PLUGS from Home Depot.

I'm not sure of the Dia. of the holes for this car, but they have many different sizes.

Once I got them, I sanded them down and painted them to match the car. They aren't that much of an eyesore, and from far away, you can't even tell the difference.

I took off the front frame and brought the car to a body shop. They filled in the holes with bathroom caulk and then heated them up with a hair dryer and used the butt-end of a screw driver to smooth the surfaces out so they would blend with the bumper. After that, they covered the surfaces with BSM paint, and it was good to go. From about 4 feet away you can't even tell the holes were there.

 

This was done 10 months ago and there have been no problems since.

What'd you pay for that?

Bwana -

I had offered to pay $20 (whole thing only took 10-15 minutes) but the shop owner wouldn't accept. He simply said, "We're your Subaru guys if you ever need anything else."

True story.

My past three cars never had a front plate. My previous car had the bracket, and I took it off because it looked like crap.

What I did to fill the holes were get PLASTIC HOLE PLUGS from Home Depot.

I'm not sure of the Dia. of the holes for this car, but they have many different sizes.

Once I got them, I sanded them down and painted them to match the car. They aren't that much of an eyesore, and from far away, you can't even tell the difference.

Same here for all of that.