This only works in states with only a front license plate.
I’ve noticed for years, as I walk in the parking lots of stores, that there are a lot of people who have a plate holder on their front bumper with NOTHING mounted there! They don’t care. They consider their car as an appliance to get from point A to B.
Car guys will either have nothing on their front bumper (Me) or some fake plate with some saying on it. Just sayin!
A car guy will either have a plate or remove the holder. I have my spirit animal on my truck, GF has a UF Gator, Mustang—no holder, don’t want one.
There’s a local Corvette that has the model year on a plate in front holder. 1963, presumably because so many have asked the question. Otherwise i’ve only seen sports fans put something in the front plate holder other than an actual plate.
Most cars in my one plate state don’t have holders. That is a dealer installed part.
Only transplants from front plate states still have their holders.
As my son’s friends started getting their licenses, he would ride with them instead of taking the bus. Dylan was the friend who picked him up in the morning. One night I asked:
“What kind of car does Dylan drive?”
“A Toyota. Or maybe it’s a Subaru.”
“You’ve been riding in this car for 3 months and you don’t know what it is?”
Next day I looked and Dylan drives a Honda.
My son is not a car guy.
Good point, Mustang. Most dealers in my area install the holders and put their promo dealer plate on. Back in late 1998 I factory ordered a 1999 Monte Carlo. I told my salesman: “When it comes in please do not install the holder”. You can guess what happened. The communication did not get to the prep guy and he drilled 4 holes in my bumper. I was not happy but what ya gonna do? It was a black bumper cover. I used some black caulking to fill the holes.
There are a lot of those folks, it seems. Back around 1995, a friend of mine bought an Explorer. When a couple of his co-workers saw it, they said that they liked his Jeep. He showed them the blue oval and the nameplate for that model, but they both insisted that he was driving a Jeep.
Several years back, someone posted a question in this forum about his “Toyota Accord” (or, maybe it was a “Honda Camry”… ?), so it would seem that there are people who don’t even know what they themselves are driving.
I always have special instructions as part of the paperwork. Any doodads or things they agreed to include or special instructions from me are detailed right on the contract form. This after having been initially burned by verbal agreements a couple times.
As an example, every purchase I have this demand- no dealer logos of any kind can be applied to the car. Some dealerships put them on when the car arrives. Too bad, better get it off of there without any damage. Had one salesperson claim they had to install them per the owners instructions. Either remove it or pay me an additional $500 for advertising. They didn’t go for the latter but I don’t accept the car before inspecting it for these exceptions on the paperwork. I don’t give any money or sign anything until my inspection is complete. I have walked out after explaining they were in breach of the contract they signed.
All too often, once you have the vehicle, the deals are forgotten. The first experience that led to this more rigid approach was when they damaged the dash during dealer prep. A very noticeable gash in front of the passenger seat, who knows how that happened. But I only saw it after completing all of the paperwork and paying for the vehicle. They promised to fix it but weeks went by with no action and then they didn’t return my calls. Only after some escalation and legal threats did they send a guy to fix it in my driveway. But it took two months of messing around before it was fixed.
Subsequently, I had a motorcycle purchase where I noticed a big 6" long scratch on the front fender. I wouldn’t accept delivery before they provided a written guarantee they would procure a new fender and install it later. Almost as expected, they seemed to forget about it until they got my certified letter demanding resolution with a copy of their signed agreement.
So my advice- get any special instructions in writing on the paperwork and have them initial next to it. Then demand to look the vehicle over before signing anything or giving them any money. In fact now, I have a pre-purchase inspection notation on the paperwork, much like you would have for a house.
Yup!
That is part of the conditions that I add to the purchase contract when I order a car.
The dealership I have been buying from for the past 20+ years always places a sticker on the rear on a metal part of the vehicle. They were easily remove with a blast of water at a self serve car was. No damage to the paint.
Funny, TN is a 1 plate state, and I have lived here my whole life, I have had many many vehicles, I have never added or removed a front plate bracket… If the vehicle had one fine, if not oh well… lol
My RR has had a RR plate on it since I bought it used in 87… So maybe a couple of them had some kind of custom front plate, but other than that it was how I got it…
The first thing I do when the car comes home from the dealer is I remove the license plate frame advertising for the dealer. Then I slip a silicone license plate holder around the rear plate to keep it from rattling and reattach it. The front plate (I live in a two plate state) will now slip into the clips in the holder to keep from rattling or getting bent up in the car wash.
I once squashed a car purchase because the dealer promised free oil changes for life, but when it came time to sign the contract they explained that I would have to have a giant graphic adhered to the rear windshield to advertise that I bought the car at their dealer. No sale!!!
Along with your other cars, you have a Rolls Royce😀
No, I know your car goes beep, beep, and outwits Wile E Coyote.
Oh, I thought he had a Range Rover😀
If I had an empty space I’d use ASSMAN
Just get a vanity plate from your state, but you might have to change it to DONKEY or MULEMAN.
A non-car guy coughs, hacks, and feels like throwing up when filling the gas tank. A car guy stands close to the nozzle and holds the nozzle a little longer before hanging it on the pump so that he can take in the sweet smell of gasoline as long as possible.
When I had my own place a young woman came in and asked if we had the right kind of oil for her car. I asked what kind of car she drove.
“Ford Integra”
“Umm, why don’t you pull your car over to the far left door and I’ll check the oil for you.”
It was an Oldsmobile.
Or those that claim, Studebaker 289 is a SBF. Hmm, the AMC 327 must have been made by Chevy🤪
