front license plate ?
- Thread starter jnx
- Start date
I have an '04 330 ci convertible. I changed the factory installed US plate holder to a Euro plate holder. There are 4 screws, very similar to a drywall screw, that screw into the bumper. I think you should drill pilot holes. I could be wrong, but it seemed as though the screws only penetrated the plastic bumper. They did not feel like they screwed into any metal behind the bumper.
All BMW's have a bracket system for mounting a front plate. You may have to order one from the dealer. Most states (not all) require a front plate, and as WIlliam330 says if your choice is not to display a plate them be prepared to pay the fine. In some states, Idaho for instance, no front plate is a misdemeanor and is an arrestable offense if the officer so desires. Euro plates are not legal (with the exception of European residents and/or military personnel) and in some cases could be determined to be ficticious, another crime. I only mention this so that if a person elects not to display the state plate, and/or instead displays a Euro plate he/she is prepared to suffer the peanilities and not whine. I have not had a front plate on my roadster since new. I have had two warnings to date.
I just removed my front plate trim piece and replaced it with the simple straight trim piece. Looks much better (no front plate requirement in AZ). The previous owner or dealership had inserted two screws into the lower front bumper to hold the bottom portion of the license plate trim piece. Doesn't look too bad on my black car.
When I lived in Ohio, front plates were required but I ran my 1990 Ford Probe without it for asthetic reasons. Thinking ahead, I kept the actual front plate in the trunk, mounted to the cracked plastic mounting piece (it was a really ugly black plastic box-looking thing). About a year later I was pulled over and about to be cited for no front plate - I simply told the officer that someone had bumped into me in a parking lot a few days before and cracked the mounting piece; I hadn't had time to pick up a new one yet..."Here, I'll show you......" Then I put it back on![[:(]](/images/smilies/frown.png "Frown [:(]")
When I lived in Ohio, front plates were required but I ran my 1990 Ford Probe without it for asthetic reasons. Thinking ahead, I kept the actual front plate in the trunk, mounted to the cracked plastic mounting piece (it was a really ugly black plastic box-looking thing). About a year later I was pulled over and about to be cited for no front plate - I simply told the officer that someone had bumped into me in a parking lot a few days before and cracked the mounting piece; I hadn't had time to pick up a new one yet..."Here, I'll show you......" Then I put it back on
Pennsylvania does not issue or require front plates, so you see any & all kinds of front custom plates here.
Here is a link to a thread that describes my installation:
http://www.hotbimmer.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6784
Here is a link to a thread that describes my installation:
http://www.hotbimmer.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6784
