Ugh, front license plate issue
 

I've never had a problem not having a front plate on a car.

I had my E36 M3 for 5-6 years without a front plate, no issues. I had my E90 330i for 3 years without a front plate, again, no issues.

I was happy when I found our E46 M3C and it had not been drilled for a front plate. Needless to say, I didn't mount one.

I still have never had an issue not having a front plate. But over the weekend, my wife was pulled over in the M3 for not having a front plate. She was given a warning. But now she wants me to mount a front plate. Of course, I don't want to, figuring the odds of getting a ticket are truly slim and the fine were we to get ticketed is also negligible.

Any suggestions for alternate front plate solutions that don't look awful?

This is becoming a bit of an issue at our house and I'd like to resolve it, but I'd also strongly prefer to not drill the bumper or do something cheesy.

Just mount it. Your wife will be happy, and you'll forget about it. Not worth the agita.

I What about a tow hook mount?

I went 4 years without mounting one on my e46 m3 here in MD. I never had any issue, and had I, I probably would have ignored it unless I had been given a fix-it ticket for it.

I think it's gominigo.com that makes those tow hook mounts. That's what I had on the M3. They do look a little weird, though, because they offset the plate.

A tow hook mount is at least easily reversible. Get one and have it around.

Anyone know anything about this one? I saw it recommended over the gomingo one when I did a search on the topic of tow hook mounts.

http://www.cp-e.com/content/bmw-335i-towplate™

I think the offset front plate is even uglier than the traditional center mounted front plate.

FWIW, Texas requires a front plate, but I don't think that most cops care. I have only been pulled over for it once, by a state trooper, and all he gave was a warning. I've been given multiple speeding tickets and can't recall even one of the cops saying a thing about not having a front plate.

I've been pulled over 4 times since 2004 and still don't have a front plate. I have been considering a decal made up to look like the plate.

Same here. Over the years without a plate, I have been pulled over many times without a word ever being said about the lack of a front plate.

But I get out of tickets when I get pulled over. My wife rarely does. So her mindset is different than mine not that she's been pulled over for this.

So the thing is, she was pulled over by a Rockville City police officer on the way to take our son to the birthday party for the son of another Rockville City police officer who happens to be a neighbor of ours. My wife told him about the front plate pullover while hanging out at the party (kids still too young for a drop-off party). Of course, he didn't think much about it, commenting that the officer must have been bored, but noted that the other officer would probably notice if he saw her driving again without the plate.

Which is how we get to where we are.

It's a small police force and I can tell from our neighbor that the officers are a pretty tight group. They hang out when not on duty. And this neighbor of ours is always warm toward my wife (less so to me). So I actually suspect she will NOT have any future problems on this front.

But she's not convinced.

I guess I'm thinking I'll get the least offensive of the tow hook mounts and let her decide to mount the plate when she's feeling paranoid.