Went to the dealer and bought a Silverstone Enthusiast. Very happy with the car as it is one awesome car.

Now the problem or the issue that has been buggin' me. The freaking front license plate bracket was installed. Anybody know if there is a fix available besides changing the whole front bumber?

I have tried searching for threads with license plate but only found same issues. Can't seem to find any solutions.

 

Take it back to the dealer and complain, tell them to fix it...other than that i dont know my friend...

 

img 2

 

Why would they do that do a car like this unless you ask for it?

 

To advertise their BS dealerships....

 

Just take the *^*% ugly thing off an dlive with little holes till I could get some color matched plugs... then wait till I had enough rock hits to ahve to bumper smoothed and repainted..

EZ

 

One of the other guys mentioned this site which I think would work nice http://www.geocities.com/esklut/plugs.html if they can't or won't fix....

 

try this

http://www.geocities.com/esklut/PlugColorMatch.html

 

CrazyBosnian: thanks for the input. I tried complaining but all they could offer is that I wait for another car.

DeviousZ: It was placed there for advertising purposes just like CSTrack suggested.

VQRacer: Always helpful.. thought about bumper plugs but haven't seen anyone with one on.

Anybody has a pic of their bumper with the plugs???

ElectroZ: Thanks for the option. That's a sweet DB

Delfan13 & zblime: thanks for the links will check them out.

I was a little angry at them but had no choice since I would have to wait for another one and they don't know when they could get one in. I figure I'll just take the car and find an alternative solution.

Anybody who has their bumper deface bought the bumper plugs and put on their Z yet? If so can you post some pics....

 

Someone on this site complained hard enough (he repeatedly told them not to install prior to delivery) that they took the car back and repaired and repainted the front bumper. So he got read of the starter holes as well, so it was better than new.

 

I took off the front plate and put the plugs in. They look OK. The plate holder had put 2 big scratch marks on the bumper as well, where the paint is gone and the black plastic shows. I took it to the dealers body shop, and they want $400 to repaint the bumper. Is this reasonable? Or should I try a non-dealer body shop?

 

If you told the dealer well before delivery that you wanted the plate left off, then the repair expense is theirs, not yours.

It looks much better off:

 

Shagz: Same here when I took the plate holder off there were scratches where the plate screw would have gone into. I will talk with my dealer and complain hopefully they will replace or repair the front. Do you have pictures with the plugs?

SunsetZ: You're Le Mans looks sweeeeetttt. It does look better without the plate. Thanks for the side by side comparison.

 

That's my plan. I already have at least a dozen nics in the bumper, 2 in the hood and one on the spoiler. Very poor paint! -m

 

When I lived in Nor Cal, front license plates were required - is this no longer true? I actually got busted once for having an ARUBA license plate on the front of my car.

If you need a plate, the answer seems pretty simple - put one on and forget about it. If you don't, there is a fix, but you may not like it.

I bought my 2000 Maxima when it was a year old - it had the same holes drilled in the bumper. Tennessee does not use a front plate. I installed license plate screws that come with finish caps that snap onto the screws. These are paintable, and they are cheap. I admit it's not the ideal fix, but if the dealer won't make you happy on this, it's probably the best option. They really don't look bad. If you do this, be sure to spray the caps with adhesion promoter before painting, otherwise the paint will eventually flake off.

I bought mine at Advance Auto Parts. They were less than $3.00. Probably available at other parts stores, too. Look in the section where they sell license plate frames.

Dead

 

That guy was me... Yes, if you complain to the right person all your problems will be solved. I had to speak with the 'General Sales Manager' about my issues.

I just told him that I'd waited over 8 months for the car and that I'd made it clear (several times before the car arrived) that I didn't want the front liscense plate braket installed. I also pointed out that I hadn't filled out my 'satisfaction survey' yet. He was more than happy to have me bring the car back in so that they could repair the holes. It took them 3 days to fix it. They must have removed the bumper & plugged/sanded the holes then painted the bumber. It looks as good as new now. Can't even see where the starter holes were.... Try it, you might just get lucky.

Gmoneyr1

 

Thats what I want to know too, I live in North Cali and I'm wondering if its illegal to NOT have a plate in the front of the car. I heard that it is also illegal to place the license plate above the dash, but I'm not sure...

 

MY CAR HAD THE BRACKET ON ALSO. NOT THINKING HOW DAMN LONG THE SCREWS WERE THAT HOLD THE PLATE I DID THE SAME THING. I THINK THE BEST THING FOR ME IS TO PUT THE BRACKET BACK ON AND RUN A PLATE SO AT LEAST I'LL BE LEGAL IN VA.

 

I believe the front plate is required in CA.

gmoneyr1 thanks for the advice. I completely forgot about the satisfaction survey. This might work. I'll try this out. I guess if all else fail. I'll just leave the plate on since there are scrathes where the license plate screw goes. The front will just not look as nice as one without the plate.

Also notice the paint on the car is very poor.

 

No problem.. Just try it. They really want that survey to be filled out with good feedback to NNA. They'll spend a few dollars to fix your car. This will also keep them from going thru the same thing with some elses Z. The place that drilled my bumper doesn't do it to any other Z's. They leave it up to the owner now.,,