when should i tell my dealer to not drill the holes? i would assume as early as possible but then i worry it may be too early and hed forget.... what have you guys done? btw.. in cali we are suppose to have a license plate in front but i think it really ruins the look and am willing to risk getting pulled over for it... ive seen plenty of cars running without it so im not too worried.

 

Any time before they receive the car. We're supposed to have them in Texas, too, and if I catch any grief, I'll go buy one of those no-holes mounts that uses the tow hook hole. I am NOT drilling into my bumper

 

Ping on your dealer about it early and often. Also, in some cases, I've heard that dealers have required buyers to sign a waiver if you want them to deliver the car without the front license plate holes, so ask about that when you ask them not to drill the holes.

( I wouldn't care about the waiver from a legal standpoint, but if you have a signed waiver that you've asked them not to drill the holes, that gives you a little more leverage with them if they forget and drill the holes anyway).

 

niether my truck or my mini have front plates and its staying that way

 

I've yet to get stopped for not having the front plate, but I'm faced with the same decision next week when the plates come in for my new '07. I personally don't mind the holes if I'm going to run the front plate, and am thinking of doing it just to reduce my odds of getting stopped... I don't really want to give the police/troopers any excuses. An over-zealous officer stopped me two days ago because the dealer put a date on the temp plate that was too far in advance!

 

We have to have the front plate in Ohio. My MA gave me the holder when I picked up the car and offered to drill the holes. I ended up doing it myself.

 

Never too early - While I was putting in my order I'd give him a big yellow post-it note with "NO HOLES IN FRONT BUMPER!" written on it to put on the front of your folder.

Thankfully, in NC we don't have a front plate - although the NC HP has been pushing for one for years (they may eventually win). Before I'd drill a hole in the car, I'd buy one of those 'no holes' plate holders.

 

I have the bost of both worlds. Being stationed in NC I don't have to run a front license plate, but when I go home to Ohio Imma put on the no holes mount which is waiting at home for me. I told my MA who was pretty reliable, then he quit and the new MA contacted me, and the first thing I told him was dont drill the front. He said they dont do it until you're there picking it up, probably just for this very reason.

 

It doesn't ruin it...it even looks better on R56. Be legal.

 

Moritz waited until I took delivery to ask. I opted to go without, since I feel it will most likely be one of those things they will only enforce when they have decided to write you up on everything. If I get pulled over for it, I will put one on. Where can I get a no-holes license plate bracket?

 

I have been extremely fortunate to not have had front plates for over 10 years. The MINI andmy wife's car currently run w/o front plates in Texas, that's right, in Texas.

I really hate the drilling holes prt, why don't you use the front hook part to fit something that will hold a plate.

 

Don't need the plate in PA here. My dealer is in Jersey and my MA called and asked me if I wanted them to drill for the front plate and I said no thanks.

 

Try gominigo.com, moss-mini.com, or mini-madness.com They're all produced by gominigo.com. I forgot where I ordered it from.

 

That's your opinion only, gokartride! You're welcome to it, but many of us view a big PLATE on the front of our cars as UGLY.

I haven't run a front plate on a car I've owned here in California ever. In my life. OK, my vintage 62 Cooper had the UK plate, for obvious reasons. IF I ever get tagged, I have the NO HOLES kit ready to install so I can get the ticket signed off, and off it comes again. I also have the NO HOLES kit in case I travel out of state. Happy driving!!!

As to the dealer: Had me sign a release that I was NOT having them install the front plate mounting when I picked the car up. They had the waiver papers in the file from the day I ordered the car, so no holes were drilled.

"looks better"?? Would a license plate make the Mona Lisa look better?? The Statue Of Liberty? I don't think so.

"NAM: Where group therapy meets the road"

 

i called the dealer and told them not to drill 3 weeks after placing my order. they said o well usually you have to tell us when you order.... they drilled. o well. tell them as soon as possible

 

When I picked up my car at niello, I told Mark my sales rep. to not drill holes in the bumper, he figured id call him about it, so once the car came in, he took the bracket out of the car, but I think i had to sign a form saying i cant sue or blame anything on the dealership

 

Absolutely...my opinion. I'd never argue with anyone on this but I do think (again...my opinion) that there has been a long-standing knee-jerk aversion to not installing the front plate which, frankly, made some sense as the whole design of R50/53 was far less accomodating to a front plate. I do think things are a bit different on R56. I'd rather have a front plate mounted (right where it belongs under normal contitions) than stare at those meaningless dimples and seams in my bumper that would be totally hidden (and cleaned up) by the mounting of a front plate. The R56 bumper is so much wider and blank than R50/53, whose split grill actually broke things up a bit...and who wanted to ruin that? Nevermind the whole legality issue which has bitten many a MINI owner.

Again...I'm not trying to argue, just sharing one opinion that will make sense to some and not to others. The no-holes option was very elegant solution for R50/53 but before folks start outlaying cash for their R56 I just suggest they think it through from a variety of perspectives...often not all of these get a fair hearing. There's pros...there's cons. Make your choice and have fun!!! MINI has given us a nice front plate option and there's no reason to pretend that things on the bumper are as fouled up as we might have thought at another time.

 

I went 4 years in my WRX with no front plate, and it looks like a stereotypical pull-me-over car, and I never got pulled over for it. Hopefully that trend continues, touch wood.

 

True. I don't think the front plate looks bad on the R56 at all, but, I think NO front plate looks even better (because the plates are often ugly and distracting) and I can dream that someday I'll move to a state where I don't have to have the front license plate. So, no holes in my MINI. Just dimples and potential.

As a side note, Missouri is changing their relatively bland license plate to one with a freakin' bluebird on it. UGH... Why why why can't we have the option of ordering just a plain black on white plate??? We can order any school or fraternal order or endangered animal or fungus, but there is nothing for the understated or colorphobic or minimalist.

 

I agree completely!!! Fortunately for me, Texas' plate is very neutral/easy to live with. I'd still go for something even more plain.

 

The main reason they want you to have a front plate is so they can bounce their radar off it's nice reflective surface.

 

cars without plates arent exactly stealth objects to radar, but they essentially are to red light cameras. without the front plates, they have no identification and no one to send the tickets. for every car without a front plate that runs a red, the city (or county/state/whatever) loses out on $300 or whatever they charge.

back on topic, Ive seen a few cars in some of the pic threads with what looks like a segmented piece of the bumper where I assume the plate holes would normally be. is that normal or some mod? Ill try to find one of the pics if no one knows what Im referring to.

 

I got a red light ticket once. The pictures were of my rear plate.

 

The city doesn't lose $300. The cameras are maintained by for profit companies that take most of the money.

 

looks like we have the same sales rep! i just emailed him and he said he would take care of it. did you eventually sign a waiver or something? i dont mind signing it.


As for the front plate radar thing.... im willing to bet that having a front plate is negligible when getting the radar to read correctly.