Californians - front plate or no?

[RazzaRossa]

When I left Cali back in 1990, I got pulled over on the 10 in Blythe. The CHIP chick with aviator shades that were 3 sizes to big for her head, plus a tight hair bun, wrote me up for tinted windows and no front plate. I smiled and said thank you. I wadded the ticket up and threw it in the glove box and screamed halelujah as we hit Quartzite in Arizona. I believe the No-plate was $160, can't remember if the tint was just a fix-it ticket.

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[James1980]

Ran no plate for years without issue. Then I got a couple tickets for it in a short period of time so I've run one ever since. Just bad luck on my part but it got annoying to deal with.

I use the Craigs bracket now, so no holes to drill and easy to remove when I want
https://ccmustangbrackets.com/

 

[Prodigal]

Cost of doing business. Pay the vig and forget it.

 

[Whitemare21]

Haven't ran one in years. I did get a no front plate ticket a few years back in my G37 but I got the officers attention with some speed. He was nice enough to just write me for the fix it ticket for the plate and it was $25 with proof of correction. Took it off the second I got home and nothing since. One and a half years with the Mustang and no issues or tickets. At the end of the day, it's a personal choice, but worth the risk in my opinion with penalty being a slap on the wrist. Hate the way front plates look!

 

[Arthonon]

I had an '04 for 9 years with no front plate, got pulled over twice for speeding in that time and was never ticketed for no front plate. Things could have changed since then, though.

When I bought my '18 the dealership told me they had to put the bracket on due to new government regulations. I'm pretty sure people have bought them since then without the bracket being put on, so I'm not sure what was going on at the time. California has the option of a black plate now, so I got that to minimize the appearance, and I'm OK with it, but it does cost extra.

 

[wingnutt]

 

[daSNAK3]

20 years of driving without a front plate and only ever been warned about it one time when pulled over for a different reason. I have even been pulled over for other stuff and they didn't even mention it to me. I will never run a front plate.

 

[Traffic22]

Well, that's great to know and it certainly changes things. Thanks!

Im in CA and don’t run front plates. (None of my prior Mustangs had them, Raptor doesn’t, my on order Mach won’t)

The only places out here that seem to enforce the requirement are cities with red light cameras. (And primary it’s the parking enforcement persons who will tag you.)

If you’re out acting sketchy, or doing sketchy stuff, police may use it as a reason to stop and talk to you.

Like was mentioned above, fine is $200 (plus a lot of court fees, so could run in excess of $300) but the “fix it” aspect usually lets your get it signed off after fixing for $10-$25 depending on county.

 

[Biggus Dickus]

So, I'm debating whether to put the front plate on my new Mustang. I've gotten various opinions on whether California po-po actually ticket for not having the front plate installed, and I don't want to drill holes in my front bumper just to make the car look ugly. Thoughts?

Alternative question: if you're in Cali and did put on your front plates, did you use an alternative method to avoid said holes? If so, what did you use? Thanks!

Cops in urban areas are stretched thin as it is. They really have bigger fish to fry than issue fix-it tickets. No and No and No problems - I.E. denizen here.

 

[Biggus Dickus]

When I left Cali back in 1990, I got pulled over on the 10 in Blythe. The CHIP chick with aviator shades that were 3 sizes to big for her head, plus a tight hair bun, wrote me up for tinted windows and no front plate. I smiled and said thank you. I wadded the ticket up and threw it in the glove box and screamed halelujah as we hit Quartzite in Arizona. I believe the No-plate was $160, can't remember if the tint was just a fix-it ticket.

LOL - I think the statute of limitations has run on this.

 

[Biggus Dickus]

When I bought my '18 the dealership told me they had to put the bracket on due to new government regulations. I'm pretty sure people have bought them since then without the bracket being put on, so I'm not sure what was going on at the time.

Bullshit - bullshit is what was going on. I made damn clear to Sunrise that the RS (2/18), the GT (4/19), and MEGT (10/21) were not to have front plates/holes/anything done to the front. They always obliged me.

 

[jedwards8178]

When I took delivery last month, the dealer just had me sign a DMV form saying they offered the front plate but that I had declined the install. No hassle from them insisting to put it on and they threw the bracket in the trunk.

I did get the raceseng tow hook bracket for the Mach 1 and it's really well made. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to leave it on.

 

[Jason304]

I feel bad for you guys in front plate states. A front plate is like a wart on the nose of a beautiful woman.

 

[rhexis]

in philly nowadays you dont even need a rear license plate. cops dont stop anymore for mechanical or reg violations as it was racist.

 

[Cpcloud]

2 years so far. No tickets but I do carry the plates in the back seat and place on dash if I park in public.

I stay in san diego and usually park in garages, parking lots

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