Hi all!

I have searched high and low for the answer to this but I am still not sure about how it works with R50 MINIs. My mom has a 2004 Justa, and she recently moved to a state that doesn't require a front plate anymore, however when she bought the car in '04, she didn't do the "no holes" plate mount method. Now she's stuck with this tumor-of-a-plate-mount and no need for it. (see photo below)

Do they make/sell replacement pieces for this car so it looks more like it never had a front plate? And if so, where could I get one?

Thanks!
Chris

 

If it's the same as mine you can just unscrew the tumor. What you're left with is the Euro-shaped blank (skinny rectangular recess). It will have two small holes where the tumor was screwed on. The solutions to that are: to find something to plug them with something that looks intentional, buy a euro plate (BUT NOT FROM EUROPEAN PLATES.COM-do a search on this site about that), or leave it alone. Even with the two holes I think the front looks better without the big plate holder. One aesthetic consideration is that once you leave it blank, the two chrome bumper trim pieces may look awkward.

 

Just get union jack plate Or MINI wing plate and keep the tumor.

 

Bumper Plugs:

http://www.bumperplugs.com/BPindex.html

 

Id's nod a toomah!!

 

Up all night trying to remove malware from my wife's work computer. Sorry. I had the wings plate but it seemed like a dealership feature to me.

 

Ok.

 

Thanks everybody, you are most helpful (and entertaining, Stanislaus) lol. That was such an easy removal! I just didn't want to mess with my mother's car without getting a little insight first... don't want to upset the balance. ;-)


Now they both need a major wash.

 

I just contacted BumperPlugs tonight asking about Sparkling Silver Metallic for a 2009 MCS. Eric said they did not have that paint color and it would be a special order.

I have two very small holes in the bumper from taking the plate holder off.

Still searching the forum for a different kind of fix but if someone has an answer, I would really appreciate a reply.

 

Someone in our club just used two nice stainless steel screws to fill the holes. It was surprisingly unnoticeable until they pointed it out.

 

Joanie

That's an interesting fix. I stopped by the dealership in Indy (70 miles away) and bought some touch up paint. Read on the forum tonight the Sparkling Silver is going to be or has been discontinued as a color for the MCS...so the touch up paint might turn into gold.

Luckily the holes are very small and I do have some stailess steel screws I can try.

I see you are in SD County....I use to live in Carlsbad and the only problem there with cars was keeping the sea salt off my VW buses.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

We're just south of the Encina plant, two blocks from the beach.. yep, salt is sure an issue here! My Mom has a Model A roadster that she keeps in the garage, covered with quilts and blankets to keep the salt off.

At least the screws are a cheap fix until you find something more permanent. You could probably cover the back of the holes with tape or something, then plug them with bondo, carefully sand and touch up... but the screws are not as likely to cause damage. Good luck!

 

why not? i got mine through them just fine