Front license plate12/14/2022 #Front license plate licenseThe one on my Abarth, a CravenSpeed Platypus license plate mount, costs $93. RELATED: What Should You Do With Your License Plates When Selling Your Car?įront license plate holders vary in price depending on how they attach to your specific car. The CravenSpeed Platypus front license plate holder’s base mount attached to a 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth’s scrape protector | Matthew Skwarczek, MotorBiscuit.The components of CravenSpeed’s Fiat 500 Abarth Platypus front license plate holder | Matthew Skwarczek, MotorBiscuit.2013 Fiat 500 Abarth with CravenSpeed Platypus front license plate holder | Matthew Skwarczek, MotorBiscuit.How much do these holders cost and how easy are they to install? And the one I recently installed on my rebuilt-title 500 Abarth attaches to the bumper’s scrape protector-no drilling necessary. But others, such as the one I used on my old NB Miata, attach to existing tow hooks/tow eyes. Admittedly, some kinds of mounts do require you to drill into your car, but in less visible areas, Roadshow explains. But there’s another alternative that’s almost as easy: getting a license plate holder.Īlso called ‘license plate mounts,’ these holders are essentially separate brackets that aren’t directly attached to your bumper. However, only Washington, Florida, and Nevada allow that. Well, besides drilling into your bumper, you could leave the plate on your dashboard so it’s visible through the windshield. So, what should you do if you have to put a front license plate on a car that didn’t originally come with one? And that’s not just a hypothetical question: I’ve been in this situation twice so far. #Front license plate installRELATED: Can You Install a Trailer Hitch Yourself? Don’t want to drill holes in your bumper? Get a front license plate holder And that means not just damaging your car, but also risking safety sensor interference. You might be forced to make your own holes to screw in the plate. And that’s particularly problematic if you buy a used car in a non-front-plate state but register it in a front-plate state. It’s that not every car has built-in ways of accommodating a front plate, Autotrader points out. Regardless, the issue here isn’t necessarily that some states have front license plate mandates and others don’t. That might explain why, when I lived in Michigan, which doesn’t require front plates, many European-brand cars wore Euro plates: aesthetics. Plus, US plates are shorter and wider than European ones, Autoweek explains. A mechanic installs a front license plate on a 2009 Renault | Alain DENANTES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesĪdmittedly, some US-market cars’ front license plates are positioned so they don’t interfere with parking sensors and other safety features. Simply put, they rarely make US-market cars look good. But while that attempt failed, it underlined why US enthusiasts typically don’t like putting front plates on their cars. And in 2019, one Texas state representative tried to exempt “’luxury passenger cars’” from the state’s plate laws, The Drive reports. For example, Ohio ditched its front license plates in 2020. However, these requirements aren’t set in stone. And speaking from experience, it’s helpful having multiple ways of confirming vehicle identities via license plate info. True, that helps out red-light cameras, but it also benefits security cameras and crime eyewitnesses. These regulations are in place mostly because having more plates makes it easier to quickly identify a specific vehicle. They’re also required in essentially every overseas country, Autotrader says, though the UK offers a vinyl sticker alternative. But as of this writing, they’re required in 30 states as well as Washington, DC. Most states require front and rear license plates, but not all cars can accommodate the former A Route 66 front license plate on a classic BMW | Robert Alexander/Getty ImagesĪs is the case with emissions testing and safety inspections, not every state requires front license plates on cars. But don’t break out the power drill just yet, because there is a non-damaging way to install a front license plate on your car. And that’s before getting into the various complications, aesthetic and otherwise, that sometimes arise from the installation. Mounting a front license plate to a car that didn’t originally come with one can require some damaging modifications. However, for enthusiasts, these plates can be a major headache-specifically, the front ones. Barring some extenuating circumstances, your car needs to have license plates.
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