ausbun

I have not noticed any of the SC430s pictured in this forum with front tags. I know there are small holes on the front bumper cover indicating where it should go.

What got me thinking about this was that my wife asked me today why don't I take the cast-aluminum alumni tag off her car and put it on mine, since it's my alma mater (Birmingham-Southern College). Then, she said, I could get her a custom tag for her RX300.

Don't some states require front tags? Do the Lexus dealers in those states tap the holes through the bumper cover? It seems like a perfect way to make a mess of your bumper cover.

And would a tag mess up the aerodynamics? How about the looks?

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

I had tags on my 05 from San Diego and in Texas it's a state law, but I run the risk of not having it. I keep it in the glove box in case. My excuse is I don't have a frame or way to mount it.

Unfortunately two ugly holes are in my front bumper but I hate the way a front tag looks so I'd rather stare at the holes than a tag IMO. Since my car is black you really don't notice.

My 02 had no holes and was a Texas car it's entire life...go figure!

jomo3640

In my area I was ticketed twice for not having tags on my previous cars so I had to cave

ausbun

So the '02 didn't have tag holes and my early '03 (September 19, 2002 build) did? Weird.

VVTiBob

Well I suppose it depends on your State's law...AND, to a larger extent, the esthetics's of the car and willingness of the Dealer.

For clarification, it's actually covered in this 46 page Lexus PDS document (specifically page 34). That is the Pre Delivery Service checklist of a slew of things the Dealer is suppose to do BEFORE you drive off the lot with your new car. One of them is to install the front license plate frame (when required by state law), but as you can tell this one usually gets ignored. And, I suspect, is the preference of most SC 430 owners.

The down side... in States requiring a front license plate, by not affixing the plate to the front of the car you're giving LEO all the probable cause they need to make a lawful stop.

That's why some owners have opted for a hide-a-way license plate, here is an example of one vendor. http://www.swiftmotorsports.com/prod...9f31e771cba318

Peter_Klim

I don't think any cars come with the tage holes in them. I believe the dealership puts them in there.

My brother who lives in PA purchased a Trans-Am years ago across the river in NY. When he went to go pick it up, he saw them drilling tag holes! He was pissed because in PA, front tags are not required by law So for 10 years he drove that car with no front plate, but with 4 holes.

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

I just used 3m double sided tape to hold mine on,

its been over 3 years and no problems, screw holes, or issues

plus its removable!!

cjs18

I had the same issue with my wife's Highlander - the dealer had installed the tag bracket (even though our state didn't require it) leaving two somewhat ragged holes in the bumper cover (argh). I got a couple of stainless button-head specialty screws at the hardware store and painted them to match the bumper color. I think it required about #10 or 1/4" thread diameter to grip the hole left by those self-tapping screws. When screwed into the front tag bracket holes they appeared to me to look less like a mistake than the bare holes do. Fortunately our SC doesn't have this problem.

tcbted

For those like me who legally require the front plate, has anyone here tried the
disappearing bracket system, where the plate tucks under the front bumper at rest?

Here's a YouTube link which is pretty cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhZRL...eature=related

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

It's not that bad.

It's best to frame the plate with something that matches the body color...

mrblister

I bought my 2005 new and when I went to pick it up the SALESMEN went outside and screwed my rear plate on using only two screws. When I went to take delivery of the car to my horror the Idiot SALESMEN HAD INSTALLED IT CROOKED AND AT LEAST ONE INCH OFF CENTER, When I saw it I told him there are small little dimples on the rear bumber that mark the spot to place the screws.

This AH actually said what differance does it make. I told him I would not take delivery of that car untill they installed a new bumber cover on the car and if the color did not match i would decline the car. It was a 2005 sc 430 pebble beach model with the diamond metallic paint. HE JUST LOOKED AT ME LIKE I WAS CRAZY. I asked him the next time he spends 70,000.00 for a car how would he like his license plate installed crooked and way off center. The service dept just took off the plate and drilled new holes. Of course the holes they drilled did go on the dimples [ There is a thicker cylinder
hard plug under the dimple so the plate stays on ] They would not replace the bumper cover and I just got tired of being made to feel like I was over re-acting. The fact is I am certain that any one of our members would of reacted the same way as I did. In the years since if I look closely I can see the miss aligned hole on one side of the area. The plate was on so crooked there was no way to hide the hole .

I have allways been un happy with the dealer where I bought the car. This attitude is seen throughout the employees especially in the sales dept.

bandcamp

I am very happy with the bracket from skene. The holes are drilled on the bottom of the bumper, so no holes visible if I ever decide to break the law in CA and go without a front plate.

http://skenedesign.com/FPBracket/index.shtml

lyyca

iTrader: (23)

Hahah! I did the same thing! Plus the 3m double sided is over a piece of clear bra that I put on too.

dh784123

iTrader: (1)

i would have done the same exact thing, but unfortuantely i bought my car used, and the plates were already installed

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

The holes are not that bad on a black car. You can barely notice...especially with diamond pearl paint on the 05 PB. My red 02 would have looked horrible-thank God that one didn't have holes already.