New Yorkers and front plates- what to do?

To all you New Yorkers: do you completely ruin the front look of your P car by having a front license plate (state law)? I do, and hate it. Tonight I dedided to take it off and store it in the trunk. Should I expect tickets? What do you guys do?

It oftentimes takes months for the state to produce replacement vanity plates, and seemingly the postal service doesn't handle them well and they get lost somehow. I always keep the reorder form in the car in case I get stopped before I recieve the new plates.

I got stopped in NYC last month from not having the front plate installed - I think the cop just wanted to chat, he was a P-Car lover - no ticket only good stories, Anyway, he informed me that some cops will write you up. So needless to say, I ordered and installed my front plate. THE HORROR !

Find out what the cost of the ticket is. It varies in different places - sometimes it's $30, sometimes it's $150 plus license points and decide how much that clean look is worth to you. C.

I put my front plate on mostly because I don't have 20 minutes to spend sitting beside the road with a cop, regardless if he gives me a warning or a ticket or a thumbs up. Steve 99 996

I am in Oregon and we have a front plate law. I have colored bumper plugs installed and keep my front plate in the trunk already mounted to the holder. If I get pulled over, I intend to say thanks for pointing that out to me officer, I took the plate off to take some pictures, let me put it back on as I install the front plate. It will take me less time than it took to type this message. It should buy me a freebie.

I am in Virginia and I have the same problem. I actually have the bumper plugs as well. Just other day, VA state trooper pulls up next to me at the light and obviously some point he was ahead of me and saw I don't have the plates. He rolls his windows down and said to me, " I love your car, but you need to take it back in the Porsche Dealer, they need to get you one of those front brackets for the license plates, it is the state law" and he smiles... my response to him was, " yes officer, I am aware of the law, and I have one on order already and it is coming from Germany, it takes forever..." he smiles and left... so that is story and I am sticking to it, every time... Around here in Northern Vriginia, a lot of the police officers are pretty kind and gentle to the owners or Mercedes and Porsche, not to BMW owners from I have noticed. They always compliment and just verbal warning on these little issues. Now, if you are doing something else crazy like reckless or speeding then it is a different story.

FWIW, CA also has the front plate law. However, I've been driving my car around for 4 years now with getting cited. Cited for the missing plate that is... I guess the CHP thinks our cars look better without the plate also.

I just don't need them finding another excuse to pull me over... to me it's not worth it.

i took mine off shortly after i got the car. even when i've gotten speeding tickets, only twice has the cop asked about the front plate, and only one guy he wrote me up for it. but i told the magistrate it was fixed when i went for my hearing and he knocked it off the ticket. the other times i've been asked about it, i just say "the parts that hold it on are these cheap plastic things that keeps breaking. i have the plate in the trunk, but i haven't gotten the new plastic pieces yet." and the cops haven't given me any trouble.

I got a ticket for no front plate in NYC. I was parked on the street just outside of the building I work in. I actually caught the meter maid writing me up. I showed her that the front plate was in my car and told her that it just fell off. Got the ticket anyway. The front plate stays off unless I travel to NYC or longish trips like the one to Hershey. Agreed that the front plate is an eye sore.......

Maybe this is an improvement - bend the damn plate to fit the bumper. (Found this pic on another thread.)

I have two vintage cars that I got from states that don't require front plates. I didn't want to spoil the look by adding a front plate, so I just carry the front plate in the car and if I'm stopped and asked about it (which I never have been) I plan to tell the cop that I'm having the front bracket made up. I was stopped once in my Ferrari Dino which has a 1973 vintage plate, which is legal in New York. The cop pulled me over only because he'd never seen a '73 plate. When I explained New York's vintage plate program and showed him the registration he laughed and let me go. He never said anything about my not having a front plate. A friend of mine with a Boxter also didn't like the idea of having a front plate. He had a decal made of his license plate and mounted on the front bumper. It was a lot less obtrusive than a plate.

Sounds like a good compromise is keep it off so the bumper looks clean (I have a turbo bumper on my c-2, and the plate partially blocks the center grill--- looks awful), but keep it in the car. If you must park the car on the street, put in the windshield (I would think that should discourage most cops), and if you're actually pulled over, show it to the cop and go with the plastic mounts are broken story. Sound like a plan to me. Thanks guys.

I think the best story was a P-Car breakfast we did in LI with a bunch of members from funcars and rennlist. We had about 30 cars no front plates to be found. Expect to pay a $60 no plate tax once a year or so. Keep the car out of public parking (street or lot) in NYC as the meter maids will go after you. Then again you should not be aprking your 996 in the street in NYC.

A few years ago, while my BMW was parked, I got a $50 ticket for having a clear plastic cover on my front plate. I bargained the ticket down to $15 by writing a letter and enclosing a photo of my cover-less front plate. Then, last year, I got pulled over in my 911 for no inspection sticker. The cop was going in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION, made a U-turn and then pulled me over. I had removed the sticker to clean the glass because the next day I was going to have the car inspected. As soon as he made a U-turn, I knew what he was up to, and I had the sticker in the console, so I stuck it back on (the glue was still sticky). I didn't get a ticket and he felt kind of stupid (which he probably was). I got the last laugh but it highlighted to me why I definitely wouldn not go plateless. And you think not having a front plate at all isn't going to cause you grief??

Maryland requires a front plate, too, but I hate having it hang off the sublimely smooth bumper. The price I would pay for a ticket, which I have never received, is well worth the visual satisfaction I get from not seeing it on my car.

Hey Speed. Pls put me in touch with your friend that had the decal made. I'd like to find out more about it. I hate mine, but I've been stopped too many times and cannot pass MA state inspection. It's a real PITA to keep taking it off and putting it back on.. TIA, Don BUTT UGLY

That picture of the vermont plate bent around the bumper cover is pretty damn ugly man........I need bumper plugs, but at least you can't see that from 100 yards out........... MA requires a front plate, unless you were never issued one, the old "greenie" plates.

With all the bad drivers these days, I find the front plate prevents scratches to the bumper from bad parallel parkers. It's also a $150 fine here in Ontario.