Front plates no longer required in Ohio!

"for Michigan" (formichigan) 07/01/2020 at 11:04 • Filed to: bmw, 1-Series, 128i, License Plates

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Desperately in need of a wash...

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on passenger vehicles as of today, so the 1-series is officially front plate-less! Unfortunately, the old mount left a bit more damage than I was expecting.

Old picture with the plate mounted.

As can be seen in the photo above, the mount wraps under the front bumper bar and I had hoped that it was attached from underneath to hide the mounting points. It was not attached from underneath. Rather, it was attached to the face of the bumper bar with not two but four self-tapping screws.

The fancy German front plate mount.

As you can see, the mount is an official BMW part made in German y . I guess they wanted to make sure it stayed attached to the front of the car.

E90M3 > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:16

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My 128i never came with front licence  plate holder, so I never ran one despite living in a two plate state.

404 - User No Longer Available > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:17

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If Ontario dropped the front plate requirement, I’ll probably lose the front plate for my Sol but opt to keep it for the F30. It just looks kinda bare without it, they designed it with the front plate in mind since Germany needs it. I mean sure, they made a recent counterpoint with the new 4-series, but still.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:21

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Wel come to freedom from plate based tyranny.

for Michigan > E90M3 07/01/2020 at 11:23

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I’m assuming mine has had one since new, though I don’t know for sure since I’m the third owner .

When it comes to things like front plates, my philosophy has always been to give cops as little reason to notice me as possible. Which seems to have worked because I’ve only been pulled over twice in over a decade of driving.

Shift24 > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:23

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A day in infamy “ Punt thy Plate on thee Front”

Been running without a Front plate on at least one of my cars   since I bought my first one   and was never bothered for it. B ut always had that “ oh did he notice” thought as a Statie or Cop drives by

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:24

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I’ve never been so jealous of Ohio.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > E90M3 07/01/2020 at 11:26

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There’s a guy who lives in my building who runs a fake Germany plate on his 135i here in a 2 plate state, and I’m blown away that he hasn’t gotten stopped for it.

EVERY car looks better without a front plate.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:26

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Vermont was looking at ditching the front plates too, no idea what happened to that, it got buried under the constant stream of shit that is 2020.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Shift24 07/01/2020 at 11:27

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Tha t’s what sucks. It’ll always be a “free reason to pull that car over” for anyone who doesn’t run one.

TheJWT > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:30

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Goodbye, rectangle of misery. You w ill not be missed

E90M3 > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 11:33

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When I moved to Texas, my explorer had a bracket for a front plate, so I ran one. The M3 didn’t have a plate mount, so I got a tow hook adapter, which I didn’t like, so I went to BMW to get a plate mount. It came unpainted and I was going to paint it and mount it. Never got around to that, so the M3 never got a front plate.

By the time I got my 1, I’d had the M3 for 15 months with no front plate and no problems. As a result, I didn’t even bother thinking about running it on the one. I also knew the previous owner of my 1 never ran a front plate, so I wasn’t worried.

for Michigan > 404 - User No Longer Available 07/01/2020 at 11:38

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The E8x cars were obviously designed for a Euro-style wide license plate rather than tall US-style plates, so I’m happy to have that ungainly bracket off the front of the car.

I have been toying around with the idea of a Euro-style plate to cover the screw holes the bracket left behind, though. Might be easier than plugging the holes and matching the metallic black paint.

Shift24 > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 07/01/2020 at 11:39

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Yeah I know a few staties here in Ohio and a few would pull anyone over without one or if it was in the front window. Was an easy fine.

Others would go on condition of the car, Tinted out windows, stupid exhaust, and other easy offenses. Also have heard it was an easier way to tell if a car was stolen. 

I will say a few were car guys and didnt follow the rule them selves so why pull some one over for it

for Michigan > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 07/01/2020 at 11:40

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This has been scheduled since last year. No clue why they decided to wait so long to implement it once they decided to do it, but I’m happy the day has finally arrive.

DasWauto > E90M3 07/01/2020 at 11:40

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Mine didn’t come with one either but I have gotten pulled over for it in both my cars (it fell off on the Subaru)  so the plate in now ziptied to the lower grill mesh. There was talk of Ontario dro pping the front plate but that doesn’t seem to be a priority anymore so I may find a better way to attach it.

for Michigan > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 07/01/2020 at 11:41

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This isn’t just because of the plate thing, but 2020 may be the first year I’ve ever been thankful to live in Ohio.

Still not planning on staying here for the rest of my life, though. 

for Michigan > TheJWT 07/01/2020 at 11:42

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Not one bit .

for Michigan > E90M3 07/01/2020 at 11:50

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My brother never ran front plates on his cars and he did get hassled  for it. I had to help him come up with a bracket for his Miata at one point.

Every car I’ve owned has come with the mount already installed, except for my Civic. But those had mounting points designed into the bumper cover, so I just had to buy the threaded piece that mounted to the inside of the cover to mount that one.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 12:21

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I’ve been ahead of the game since I bought my GTI. Front plates look like ass, so I never ran one. Take that, dumb laws!

MM54 > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 12:46

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I am very pleased about this. I might even go by the storage unit to take the front plate off the RX7 just on principle.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 13:20

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J ealous. Illinois required a front plate, but I never had one attached for years until I got a parking ticket in Chicago because I was parked in a public space; they didn’t make me prove I attached it, just fined me. whatever. Normal police didn’t seem to care.

Washington also has a law requiring a front plate, but I haven’t been stopped yet...

ranwhenparked > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 13:32

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Just drill the holes out slightly bigger, and stick some 7/8" PVC caps in them, you can buy them at any hardware store, and they come in black and white, so if your car is one of those colors, you’re good. Otherwise, cover with touch up paint. I ‘ve done it every time I’ve bought a car in Maryland

i-do-strange-things > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 13:40

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Don’t throw away that front bracket yet. We went thru this in Ct 10 or so years ago. They dropped the front plate requirement for like 3 years (at a cost of 1.3? million for the state somehow) and the cops bitched loud enough the they brought them back!

for Michigan > i-do-strange-things 07/01/2020 at 14:04

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I’m going to keep it in storage for a while. There’s been some pushback on the decision since it was made, even by DeWine when he signed the bill.

Hopefully if it takes them that long to bring it back, I’ll be living somewhere else by then.

foghat1981 > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 16:28

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So excited.  Can’t believe we were stuck with this nonsense for so long.

Old-Busted-Hotness > for Michigan 07/01/2020 at 18:36

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Step one: Procure a NOS center rub strip. How hard can that be? Easy, if you’re looking for Mustang parts. Not so easy in this case.

Step two: Cut down some Christmas tree clips, paint them body color and pop them in:

Step three: try to ignore the peppering all over the front bumper except where the plate was.