License Plate
 

Hello All

I am still debating whether to put this on my new 2013 Boxster. It breaks my heart to put it as I like the current looks.

What is the possibility of getting a ticket? I live in Bay Area.

I can't comment on the Bay Area/CA, but I think it is searchable. If I recall, some states may not pull you over for missing the front plate -- but they will cite it if you are pulled over. I haven't had a front plate since my 1st Boxster in 2006.

I live in the Bay Area and have driven my Boxster daily since 2003. It doesn't have a front plate. In that time, I got one ticket for a missing plate while parked in Palo Alto. I've never been pulled over and cited for not having a front plate. If you don't put it on, don't throw it away. If you were to get a fix-it ticket, you can put it on and clear the ticket.

It's illegal in Texas yet every person I've talked to runs without it in the front and never has a problem.

Funny though - I was Googling for some autocross stuff in TX and came across a Corvette forum discussing the issue. They DO have problems with the police giving them tickets. Shows that the car you drive does make a difference to the po-lice.

I've owned 4 Porsches - 2 Boxsters, 2 Caymans. I've been pulled over for no front plate in all 4 of them. All have been fix-it tickets except the last one. I think the same guy has pulled me over for the last 3. He got tired of it and gave me a $73 ticket for my troubles. When he gave me the ticket he said, "Mr Husker Boxster, you seem to have difficulty displaying your front plate". Yep. Got to thinking back and remembered I was pulled over in '85 for driving my brother's '83 Turbo T-bird without a plate. I've got quite a dossier with the Neb State Patrol. Guess I'm a scofflaw.

Don't drive around Fremont, NE if you don't have a front plate. You've been warned.

You could always buy a tow hook receptacle plate bracket and keep from drilling holes in your bumper cover...

So glad I live right next to Indiana where they do not have front plates. I live in Illinois which does require one, but with all the Indiana cars driving around, I've never been pulled over for it or even asked about it.

Been living in Bay Area for 12 yrs, no prob so far about front plates. I did get pulled over by a dickwad in Palo Alto for unnecessary lane change at 2am on an empty road.

I live in the same area as you and I have 3 p-cars 2 do not have front plates. I also have a CRX Si as my daily driver and it's parked on the street in front of the house. Yes I had a fix it ticket over night for no front plates.

Drove to SF and while parked I had another fix it ticket.

As far as driving and being pulled over so far I've been lucky and never been pulled over.

Thanks
 

Thank you all. I am going to take a chance and not put one. Hope I never get pulled over.
Thanks all again.

Odds are that a cop won't stop you just because of the missing front plate. But if he wants to talk to you about something else (e.g. your highly spirited driving style), you are giving him an honest excuse to pull you over for something that he can easily cite you for - even if he didn't get a good estimate of your speed. I keep both plates on.

Got a $120 ticket 2 weeks ago. Mainly because I received a warning on the same stretch of highway 11 months ago. Cop knew it when she ran my plates. She was going to give me a warning, but I already had one.

Bought the Rennline tow hook thingie the next day. Costs another $149.....and I hate the look of a front plate.:(

I look at it as being the same as spending extra for vanity plates, but for my vanity, NO front plate, as I feel it spoils the looks.

For my area I can take my chances for a while and if I get a ticket every few years, its still less than I would have spent on vanity plates.

May be a good joke if I do get pulled over to mention that no cop would ever see my front plate when I'm doing something ticketable anyway.

I think each driver will have to evaluate their own cop situation and base the decision on how anal the enforcement is in their area.


[Rant language="colorfull" class="None" font="Angry"]
Life is too short to worry about every senseless Rule, I thought this was the "land of the Free"?

I should think that un-insured and un-licensed drivers is a much more important issue and directly effects every ones safety.

If I get pulled over I will have to remind the cop exactly who is paying his salary and direct him to enforce on much more important work by contacting his supervisor/chief.

If he has time to pull me over for trivial stuff like this then perhaps a workforce reduction is in order for our local area.
If cop can be a Jerk, so can I (Land of the Free....again)
[/Rant]

To me, paying a ticket is the same as paying interest.

It's money wasted, even more so when it is easily avoidable.

A good friend of mine is a police officer in the DFW Metroplex, and when I texted him if there was a mandatory front plate requirement in Texas, he texted back:

"Not right now, because they messed up last time they wrote it, but you may not want to push it with some Podunk department."

Well, the best curvy roads around here just happen to all be in Podunks, so the plate is mounted high.......... :(

TO

Just picked up my first Boxster and I simply can't stomach putting a front plate on either.

Let us know how this turns out when you DO get stopped, OK? :)

TO

I live in LA and my '98 Boxster has spent it's whole life in Southern CA. It's never had the front plate installed (I even had the original vanity plates transferred over from the previous owner). During the past 3 years, I've gotten 2 tickets for not having a front plate- and both times occurred while parked at a meter on the street as the parking police must have been coming through (go figure); never been pulled over because of it though, and I've driven by many a cop who either didn't notice or didn't care. I simply pay each ticket - which is much less than an actual parking citation for an expired meter, etc - and never bother to get it corrected and have the fine reduced. I'll take my chances, thanks. Can't bring myself to have holes drilled into my pristine bumper.

Bay Area seems pretty good for no fronts plates...I have heard parking downtown without one will definitely net you a ticket tho. If you don't plan to park downtown or on street a lot I'd see how it goes. You also can consider NOT backing into parking spots when parking at various locations. So far no problems but I have heard of people being ticketed usually when stopped for something else tho. A buddy of mine who is downtown a lot told me after ticketed 3x he changed his mind and put it on. Just depends on where you are and how lucky I guess. That said so far CA seems way more lax about this than other states I have lived in.

Oregon Plates
 

In Portland you can go for a long time with no front plate but apparently parking codes require front plates also and I have gotten 3 tickets so far for parking without a front plate. I got fed up of paying the fine and put the plate on. I was hoping to find cool photos of creative ways to mount the front plate.

If you are going to put it on use one of the Danes that bolts to the bottom or the drill less ones