Front plate or no front plate???

[A6C5V842]

Guys.

I'm having my front bumper re painted today - thanks Alex!!!

My questions is this:

Should I have the front plate put back on after the paint job or not?

Just about everyone I know with an Audi has no front plate. In fact I rarely see an Audi with one these days.

Being a SoCal resident, and knowing law enforcement's love of people with no front plates, - LOL - is it worth the grief?

What are your thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Glyn

[SoCalS4Avant]

Guys.

I'm having my front bumper re painted today - thanks Alex!!!

My questions is this:

Should I have the front plate put back on after the paint job or not?

Just about everyone I know with an Audi has no front plate. In fact I rarely see an Audi with one these days.

Being a SoCal resident, and knowing law enforcement's love of people with no front plates, - LOL - is it worth the grief?

What are your thoughts on this?

Cheers,

Glyn

Hard to say, really, Glyn. It's a matter of choice for most of us! We all know it looks so much cleaner without the front plate, but we all know it's illegal. I'd say with your big ol' A6, you're less likely to garner the attention that a bright red Ferrari without a front plate would grab from the authorities. That said - do so at your own risk. I ordered my filler plate, but am keeping my original with the holes - just in case. I'd say it's only a matter of time before I get popped - and likely it'll be by parking enforcement as opposed to the police. Lying low in an Avant or A6 is where it's at!

[rjpeaks]

i took mine off.

but i have my lic filler plate (with lic plate) ready to go.

;)

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af97/rjpeaks/IMG_7033.jpg

[A6C5V842]

Thanks guys.

It's a real pain for me as there's no way to add a filler plate to the A6 front end that I know of. I think, in retrospect, I'll have the guy put the plate mount back on - just for the lack of potential grief from Law Enforcement. I agree that it's only a matter of time before everyone gets popped for it.

Maybe I should have him paint the plate holder the same colour (Euro spelling!) as the bumper?

Cheers,

G

[tiptronic]

Hard to say, really, Glyn. It's a matter of choice for most of us! We all know it looks so much cleaner without the front plate, but we all know it's illegal. I'd say with your big ol' A6, you're less likely to garner the attention that a bright red Ferrari without a front plate would grab from the authorities. That said - do so at your own risk. I ordered my filler plate, but am keeping my original with the holes - just in case. I'd say it's only a matter of time before I get popped - and likely it'll be by parking enforcement as opposed to the police. Lying low in an Avant or A6 is where it's at!

For about seven years, I drove my Passat 1.8t wagon w/ out a CA front plate... Or either w/ the European plate... never did have any issues w/ the law.
However, with my A3, and w/ recent budget crisis w/ CA, my A3 got ticketed in LA (parked at a meter!!!) for no front plate, so did my 02 Passat V6 sedan.. So on daily drives to and from work, I usually dont have my plates on..but when going to LA or other unfamiliar places, I do put them back on. I know it's a fix-it ticket..but it is indeed a hassle!!!

Good luck on whatever you decide on, but i do agree, the car's face looks better/cleaner w/out a plate. I'm not a fan of the relocated front plate on the side of the bumper or any other place other than middle/center...

e

[itsmatt33]

do without.


and get a podi skid plate in case you change your mind

[Slave IV]

I don't like anything on my car if it doesn't need to be there. Yes, it should be there legally and if you have a bracket there that will just be blank if you don't have a plate, I'd say just put it on. If you can remove the bracket and have a clean front end, I go for that everytime. I also don't like or want anything on my car that helps people identify me more easily...no extra or brighter light for my rear plates, no silly vanity plates and no license plate frames...just keep it clean as possible, IMO. I do have the magnet mod for my front plate and have not had any issue since..just put it on when parked in areas known to be strict about it.

[GotRS?]

If you can get hold of some rare-earth magnets, duct tape a few to the inside the bumper where the plate attached to the front. You see where I'm going here. You can fix matching magnets to the plate after the bumper install is all done. I have my mag-mount plate always handy for street parking or LA trips.
I got a fix-it for my tinted tails but the lack of front plate was not noticed!

[Slave IV]

If you can get hold of some rare-earth magnets, duct tape a few to the inside the bumper where the plate attached to the front. You see where I'm going here. You can fix matching magnets to the plate after the bumper install is all done. I have my mag-mount plate always handy for street parking or LA trips.
I got a fix-it for my tinted tails but the lack of front plate was not noticed!

Nice, but you just used duct tape? I used epoxy and would recommend that...but hey, I'm sure Duct tape could be adequate...

[A6C5V842]

Thanks for all the insight. The guys came out today and did a really good job on the bumper. They have to come back tomorrow to finish a couple of little details and polish out another scratch in my rear quarter. In the end I decided to have them leave the mounting holes in place. I think just the hassle of being stopped is too much grief for me. I agree the front plates (especially US versions) don't look nice but I just don't want the stress of being concerned about it constantly.

Cheers.

[in2thenightaudi]

on my old a6 the bumper was replaced in PA so I never put a front plate on. Then I moved to CA and didnt want to drill into the nice clean bumper so I just put the front plate on my dash at the windshield (put padding so it didnt cut into the dash). never had a problem with it. just bought another a6 but this one already had holes and a bracket for a front plate so i will just run a front plate im guessing.

[Quattro]

i rock one, because I do not want the hassle of being bothered by cops. it's just a phone call away to get it written off, but still hate having to go through it.

i'll deal with the hassle for tint, not front plate.

[A6C5V842]

i rock one, because I do not want the hassle of being bothered by cops. it's just a phone call away to get it written off, but still hate having to go through it.

i'll deal with the hassle for tint, not front plate.

My thoughts exactly. I have to be honest: the car is over 10 years old and it's never going to look new again so the plate thing is not a massive deal to me. I'm just glad to have the bumper re painted to at least look ok. Once my black Hella rear lights are on it should look good from both ends.

[ryanworth]

I have my plate on as well. For the same reason as Randy, just another reason for cops to pull you over. This is the same reason I have no tint on the front windows.

[Calabria]

I run tint all around and no front plate in the suburbs where the sheriffs have nothing to do and have gotten 2 tickets in a little over 3 years. Its a risk im willing to take. Its a simple fix it ticket with a cheap fine aka no biggey imo.

[A6C5V842]

Guys,

I just have to make a post about my bumper work. The guys who did it are called Bumper Masters. Daniel is a great guy who is unbelievably punctual and caring about his work. He's been doing this kinda thing a long time and boy is he efficient at it. I called him and he said he'd come to me!!

"What" says I.

You have to understand that being from the UK I have no concept of someone doing car bodywork outside at all - as there's always at least a 50% chance of rain!!

So he said he'd be with me the next day at noon. He was on time like clockwork. He and his guy went to work on the car like beavers building a dam. They literally had every single gadget and toy known to man when it comes to doing car bodywork and painting - all in a fully equipped panel van with company livery all over it. Very impressive.

Three hours later, and no input from me, there's a fully refinished bumper on my A6 that only needs a little hand finishing because the wind dried the clear coat too quickly. So he says he'll come back the next day, on his own time, to finish it. This would allow the paint to really set first. Imagine my surprise that this guy was going to make a second trip from Anaheim to Irwindale just for my bumper!?!

He returns the next day, again bang on time, and proceeds to finish the bumper AND refinish my headlamps - amazing......

But wait - there's more (always wanted to say that). He then looks round the car and notices a nasty set of scratches on the rear quarter that I've tried to remove myself a few times before. He just gets his equipment, hauls it to the back of the car and proceeds to remove that area of badness as well.

I'm seriously bloody impressed with these guys - seriously!

Bloody nice bloke. Dam good service. Punctual and a friggin good job into the bargain. Oh, and he gave me a 5 year warranty on the work and paint !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What more can you ask.

So if you ever need anything like this doing I can heartily recommend these guys. Bumper Masters. If you want their contact info just PM me.

Old bumper:
http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/GMSQD/Girls%20and%20cars/OldBumper.jpg

New bumper:
http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/GMSQD/Girls%20and%20cars/NewBumperStraightOnSmall.jpg

PLUS.....

Another HUGE thankyou to the guys at RAI Motorsport.

I saw that they had a few pairs of the genuine Hella Limo C5 tinted lights for sale - but not on their website. So I called and spoke to Kyle. I ordered a pair on Wednesday. Imagine my absolute amazement when my wife answers the door at noon today and a courier hands them to her!!!

Now that would be good service under any circumtances but he only charged me basic postage which is 4-5 days!!!

So my car looks better than it's ever done since I've owned it - from front AND back!!

http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/GMSQD/Girls%20and%20cars/NewLightsOne.jpg

http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/GMSQD/Girls%20and%20cars/NewLightsTwo.jpg

http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/GMSQD/Girls%20and%20cars/NewLightsThree.jpg

http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss315/GMSQD/Girls%20and%20cars/NewLightsFour.jpg

Seriously pleased with the week's progress!

Cheers all.

G

[Slave IV]

Very clean...I'll remember those guys.
Will try to meet up this weekend...

[A6C5V842]

Thanks Max.

I think I'm pretty free over the weekend.

Cheers

[A 4 Awesome]

car looks real good. those tinted tails really make it stand out.

[A6C5V842]

car looks real good. those tinted tails really make it stand out.

Thanks. For a 10 year old car with 170,000 on it I'm very pleased with how it looks now.

Now I start work on the chassis and brakes.......

[LB S4 LB]

i put my front license plate between my seat and center console in that little slot and if i get pulled over i pull it out and throw it on the dash....
you gotta have the license plate on bumper or in window on dash.. so easy solution keep it in the car

[A6C5V842]

i put my front license plate between my seat and center console in that little slot and if i get pulled over i pull it out and throw it on the dash....
you gotta have the license plate on bumper or in window on dash.. so easy solution keep it in the car

Yeah I thought of that but to be honest I've always driven it with the front plate on so I'm really not overly concerned with it. Plus if I was to actually get pulled for no front plate I'm not sure I'd get away with just throwing it in the dash as the cop approaches. Knowing my luck he'd find something else to nick me for!!!

[oatzel]

car looks really nice Glyn. I used to run with my plate in my window, but gave up on that awhile ago. on my b6 i didn't run one. i have body colored bumped plugs that i ran in the holes of the bumper. the one or two times i got ticketed for it, I just pulled the plugs out, mounted the plate, got the ticked signed off, and then pulled it back off.

fwiw, not having the plate saved me from moving violations a couple of times. got pulled over for speeding. asked for a warning, and in both instances the cop just wrote me up for the no plate.

I still do pop the plate up on the dash when I street park in certain areas.

[A6C5V842]

car looks really nice Glyn. I used to run with my plate in my window, but gave up on that awhile ago. on my b6 i didn't run one. i have body colored bumped plugs that i ran in the holes of the bumper. the one or two times i got ticketed for it, I just pulled the plugs out, mounted the plate, got the ticked signed off, and then pulled it back off.

fwiw, not having the plate saved me from moving violations a couple of times. got pulled over for speeding. asked for a warning, and in both instances the cop just wrote me up for the no plate.

I still do pop the plate up on the dash when I street park in certain areas.

Thanks.

I think it's different for you guys with ultra sexy, tweaked and modded cars. For me the beauty of that extended A6 frame is that it looks sleek, low and wide without any real modifications. I would be driving an RS6 is it weren't for all the horror stories I keep reading about reliability etc. To me it's one of the real design successes that Audi has had over the years.

Cheers.

[aznpxdd]

Nope.

http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/7416/34frontshot.jpg

[Bonger]

Personally, I got tired of parking tickets in Brentwood/ Santa Monica so I zip tied the top of my plate to my under grill. Its not bad looking but not the sexiest install I've ever done and din;t want to drill holes in my filler plate.

I would say do it only if you need to. Why is it all of these exotics get awayt with it and we don't? Probably because they don't park on the street :D

[A6C5V842]

Personally, I got tired of parking tickets in Brentwood/ Santa Monica so I zip tied the top of my plate to my under grill. Its not bad looking but not the sexiest install I've ever done and din;t want to drill holes in my filler plate.

I would say do it only if you need to. Why is it all of these exotics get away with it and we don't? Probably because they don't park on the street :D

You're probably right. You don't often see exotics parked in the sorts of places we park. Plus as far as I know, if the car was not designed to have a front plate fitted from the factory it doesn't have to have one. Not sure about that though.

[thenicholsterr]

get the retractable plate thing

[A6C5V842]

get the retractable plate thing

Yeah I looked at those but the front of my car is pretty close to the ground as it is and with something else screwed underneath it I guarantee that it would get torn off on a speed bump or road dip.

The plate holder is back on now and I'll get used to it again. I think it's better than being permanently stressed about being stopped for it - at least for me.

Cheers.

[Jables]

i put my front license plate between my seat and center console in that little slot and if i get pulled over i pull it out and throw it on the dash....
you gotta have the license plate on bumper or in window on dash.. so easy solution keep it in the car

I don't think this is true - I got pulled over 3 years ago at La Brea turning onto Highland and I had my front plate in the corner of my windshield - cop said that was illegal and I got a fix-it ticket.

[ben916]

Thanks.

I think it's different for you guys with ultra sexy, tweaked and modded cars. For me the beauty of that extended A6 frame is that it looks sleek, low and wide without any real modifications. I would be driving an RS6 is it weren't for all the horror stories I keep reading about reliability etc. To me it's one of the real design successes that Audi has had over the years.

Cheers.

Two things to be concerned with on the RS6:

1. DRC
2. Trans
3. The perma-grin

Bumper Masters....I have an issue on the rear bumper and wonder if they would travel to SD....

[A6C5V842]

Two things to be concerned with on the RS6:

1. DRC
2. Trans
3. The perma-grin

Bumper Masters....I have an issue on the rear bumper and wonder if they would travel to SD....

Yeah it was the DRC thing that I kept hearing about. I also know the trans are touchy. Maybe if I find a really nice, low mileage, 1 owner, unmodded one some day I'll bite.

As for Bumper Masters, I'm sure they'd come out to you if it's within in their range.

You could always give 'em a call and ask.

[JetBlue]

Coilovers fix the DRC problem.

As for the front plate, absolutely not. I have gotten a fix it ticket for this in OC and it was $10 after I showed up in court. The only caveat here is if you park in the city of LA or at LAX. If so you WILL get a ticket every time.

[A6C5V842]

I'm in LA/Hollywood all the time so it's a no brainer for me. The plate stays on!

:)