# How long have you kept your Euro plates on your car?



## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

This past weekend I attended a BMW CCA Car Control clinic put on by my local chapter. (Great event BTW!) I met a new member who picked up his M3 in September last year and he still had both his front and rear Zoll plates on his car, even though he received his California plates many months ago.. He said that he hadn't been pulled over, even though he didn't have the temporary registration tag in his window, which is what CA requires until your plates arrive.

So I was wondering how long other EDers have kept both their front and rear Zoll plates on their cars after redelivery, even though they may have received their state license plates. We plan on keeping our front Zoll plate on the car and have ordered a customized CA plate with the same number as our Zoll plate. I'm tempted to see how long we can go without a problem.


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## ArtX5 (Sep 27, 2004)

Deleted


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## Peel (May 31, 2011)

I like the idea of a custom state plate that matches your Zoll plate. I'll have to look into that when I get back from my ED.


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## bayoucity (Jun 11, 2010)

I also have my Zoll plate on since September 2010 when it was re-delivered at PC. Knock on wood, so far so good until I get the attention of the local PD.


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## ZymurgyBMW (Sep 27, 2008)

I will probably only do it for the one month that I have the temporary tags on. In Ohio we have front and back plates. I love the idea of getting personal plates to match, which gives me a great idea. When my car is 30 years old I can get historic plates personalized with my Zoll plate and then put my original back on the front and it's legal.


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## bayoucity (Jun 11, 2010)

@ZymurgyBMW

That's a sweet E91. I never witness one in LMB yet.


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## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

Peel said:


> I like the idea of a custom state plate that matches your Zoll plate. I'll have to look into that when I get back from my ED.


CA requires a front license plate but not having one is a no-cost fixit ticket and there's no progressive penalty like window tint. Part of the reasoning is that if we ever got pulled over for not having a front CA plate, when the office of the law sees that the front plate is actually the same number as our CA plate then hopefully he'll let it slide.


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## bayoucity (Jun 11, 2010)

Do you need both front & back plates to use those electronic toll road & bridge such as E-Z tag, FasTrak and so on? 
I am pleasantly surprised to learn only rear plate is needed for entire state of TX.


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## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

bayoucity said:


> Do you need both front & back plates to use those electronic toll road & bridge such as E-Z tag, FasTrak and so on?
> I am pleasantly surprised to learn only rear plate is needed for entire state of TX.


No, FasTrak in SoCal uses an RF transponder mounted on the windshield or placed on the dash.


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

I plan to leave them on indefinitely. I live in a no front plate state.


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## TDamon (Jul 28, 2006)

I'd like to leave my front plate on until some one tells me I can't. However, I'm not sure what is the best way to ensure I get the plates back here? Any suggestions?


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

Here is a document on one of the threads here that gives instructions to leave the plates and vignettes on the car. I printed a couple and plan to leave one on the dash and one in the trunk at drop off tomorrow.


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## Tanning machine (Feb 21, 2002)

SD 335is said:


> No, FasTrak in SoCal uses an RF transponder mounted on the windshield or placed on the dash.


If your transponder isn't working, the system will take a photo, but I'm pretty sure they do it from the rear, because you're already through the toll gate by the time the system realizes your transponder didn't register.


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## basiluf (Dec 16, 2010)

Mine is on permanently too. Florida does not require a front plate. I did give my second plate to a coworker who put it on his mini. He was thrilled.


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## admranger (Dec 24, 2005)

Front plate has been on since July 2002.


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## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

SD 335is said:


> This past weekend I attended a BMW CCA Car Control clinic put on by my local chapter. (Great event BTW!) I met a new member who picked up his M3 in September last year and he still had both his front and rear Zoll plates on his car, even though he received his California plates many months ago.. He said that he hadn't been pulled over, even though he didn't have the temporary registration tag in his window, which is what CA requires until your plates arrive.
> 
> *So I was wondering how long other EDers have kept both their front and rear Zoll plates on their cars after redelivery, even though they may have received their state license plates.* We plan on keeping our front Zoll plate on the car and have ordered a customized CA plate with the same number as our Zoll plate. I'm tempted to see how long we can go without a problem.


Just to reiterate, how long have you kept your *front and rear* Zoll plates on your car?

Keeping your front Zoll plate on is usually not a problem, even for those states that require a front license plate. The whole point was based on an EDer that I met that has had his rear plate on since September and has not yet put on his CA plate even though he received it months ago.


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## Fuenfer (Apr 24, 2004)

SD 335is said:


> Just to reiterate, how long have you kept your *front and rear* Zoll plates on your car?
> 
> Keeping your front Zoll plate on is usually not a problem, even for those states that require a front license plate. The whole point was based on an EDer that I met that has had his rear plate on since September and has not yet put on his CA plate even though he received it months ago.


In NJ, we get a temporary paper tag to be placed in the rear window prior to receiving our plates. This temporary paper tag expires 8/23 and so I'll have my Zoll plates on - front and back - until then, together with the temporary paper tag.


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## rickb55 (Oct 27, 2009)

I put my CA plates over the ED plates.


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## redadair (Dec 11, 2006)

I still have the front Zoll plate on my 335i since 07. Actually I sold my 335i to my Brother who talked me into leaving the Zoll on from for him. He likes it as much as I did. It's a great conversation starter.


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## Prost (Nov 23, 2005)

rickb55 said:


> I put my CA plates over the ED plates.


Front and back?


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

We kept the Ausfuhrkennzeichen on the front of the X3 until lease turn in. Georgia is a no front plate state.

Our MINI has a British front number plate.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

tonmonde said:


> ah maybe, LA is so strapped for cash. They'll ticket anything that moves.


:rofl: :thumbup:


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## hyperzulu (Jul 12, 2011)

I received a fixit ticket for no front plate after some d-bag stole it. I had to get all new plates from the DMV and then wait for several hours at the court house to a) have a sheriff inspect that I had both plates, b) stand in line to pay the sheriff's office clerk for the courtesy of them walking outside to inspect my vehicle, and finally c) wait in another line to pay the court for the courtesy of using no lube to charge me for pushing through the ticketing paperwork.

Moral of the story: don't even give cops a reason to give you this ticket in LA county. You will hate everything...even puppies and cute little kittens. I know I do.


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## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

podge8 said:


> Tom, did receive your new California plates yet, the ones you personalized to match the zoll plate? I was thinking of doing the same thing, but couldn't figure out where to put the spaces in and what kind. Our zoll plate is M 2805 Z, and the DMV allows one full space and one half-space, or two half-spaces, or something like that. Online they have a configurator and I was playing around with it, so I was thinking of doing M(full space)2805(half space)Z. Or would it be better to have both of them be half spaces? I can't quite figure out what the difference might look like on the actual plate, because it looks pretty similar in the online configurator. Just curious if you had received yours yet and exactly what spaces you put where.


I hate when my browser screws up and doesn't show new posts! Missed this until now.

We haven't received the personalized plates yet and haven't received the notification from the DMV that they're available for pickup. We've been wondering about this for a couple of weeks, but it says on our online receipt "Allow 8-12 weeks" and we ordered them on 7/28 so I guess we have a couple of weeks yet.

We put a half space between "M" and the "2703" and a full space between the "2703" and the Z. This website sells a red German Zoll plate sticker which I'm going to order and stick between the "M" and the "2703". It's not the same as what's on our Zoll plate but the difference between the authentic one on the front plate and this one that we'll put on CA plate on the back probably won't be noticeable to anyone else.

They also have a custom sticker where you supply the image so I could photograph the authentic one and create an authentic looking sticker.


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## Zcar (Jul 22, 2011)

SD 335is said:


> My wife and I have each had more than one ticket for no front plate. I don't remember paying anything. My wife works with a colleague who's husband is a cop and he just signs off on the ticket without an inspection. Maybe the fine is an LA or LA County thing.
> 
> Using the double-sided tape to get inspected is a good idea!


How do you effectively clean up the sticky mess left on the car after removing the double-sided taped plate? I used a hard plastic ruler and finger nails which made minor scratches on the car. I did not know that it was a plastic cover over the bumper area. I had tried to clean up by a car wax, but no success.


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## dalekressin (Sep 3, 2008)

The Wisconsin fine is not worth the euro display.


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## fermat1313 (Jan 23, 2010)

Zcar said:


> How do you effectively clean up the sticky mess left on the car after removing the double-sided taped plate? I used a hard plastic ruler and finger nails which made minor scratches on the car. I did not know that it was a plastic cover over the bumper area. I had tried to clean up by a car wax, but no success.


I haven't tried it, but I hear goo-gone works well from other forum members. I'll try it when I remove my europlate from my car when I sell it in January.


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## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

podge8 said:


> Tom, did receive your new California plates yet, the ones you personalized to match the zoll plate? I was thinking of doing the same thing, but couldn't figure out where to put the spaces in and what kind. Our zoll plate is M 2805 Z, and the DMV allows one full space and one half-space, or two half-spaces, or something like that. Online they have a configurator and I was playing around with it, so I was thinking of doing M(full space)2805(half space)Z. Or would it be better to have both of them be half spaces? I can't quite figure out what the difference might look like on the actual plate, because it looks pretty similar in the online configurator. Just curious if you had received yours yet and exactly what spaces you put where.





SD 335is said:


> I hate when my browser screws up and doesn't show new posts! Missed this until now.
> 
> We haven't received the personalized plates yet and haven't received the notification from the DMV that they're available for pickup. We've been wondering about this for a couple of weeks, but it says on our online receipt "Allow 8-12 weeks" and we ordered them on 7/28 so I guess we have a couple of weeks yet.
> 
> We put a half space between "M" and the "2703" and a full space between the "2703" and the Z. This website sells a red German Zoll plate sticker which I'm going to order and stick between the "M" and the "2703". It's not exactly the same as what's on our Zoll plate but the difference between the authentic one on the front plate and this one that we'll put on CA plate on the back probably won't be noticeable to anyone else.


Resurrecting this for an update.

I got the notification in the mail last Friday afternoon that the plates were at the local DMV office. I was able to make an appointment for yesterday morning and went to the DMV to pick up the plates. Bottom line, the spacing was not right and I decided to have them redone. There was almost no space between the "M" and the first number. I measured the Zoll plate and there is 2.5" between the "M" and the first number and 2" between the last number and the "Z". For the CA plate there needs to be a full space between the "M" and the first number and a half space between the last number and the "Z", particularly if you intend to put the replica sticker on it. Hopefully this is the way that you did it. Alternately, you could put a half space in both places, then the number will be perfectly aligned between the two letters.

This is done on the DMV website as follows (if you want it perfectly aligned just put a "/" in the second pull down box instead of leaving a space):










I also ordered and received the Zoll plate sticker from the website that I linked to above. It's not the same but is good enough for the casual observer. I think it's going to look pretty good. Now I just have to wait another 2-3 months for the redone plates to get here.

P.S. I totally missed meeting you guys at the VDC Tour! I handed off check-in duties to my wife to take some pictures outside and apparently that's when you guys arrived. Apparently I just never saw you guys after that. Sorry I missed you!


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## Peel (May 31, 2011)

I wanted to do the same thing as you Tom, unfortunately in Washington State that combination (1 letter 4 numbers 1 letter) is not allowed as it had been in use at some time in the past on some sort of state issued plate. :thumbdwn:


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

Zoll plates look great and to this day it still reminds me of my previous ED trip 5 years ago. I had my rear Zoll plate on for a year and a half and finally placed my CA plate over the Zoll plate after my wife kept bugging me about it. No problems with Local Law Enforcement, but that was some 4 years ago. Fewer ED cars then, and I always kept the car clean and looking new. No front plate either (Zoll nor California) to this day. I'd be careful now though it's almost the holidays and Cops are out in full force. Plus you can tell the date the car was delivered from the Zoll plates and I'm sure more cops have figured that out by now.


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## SD ///M4 (Jan 24, 2011)

Peel said:


> I wanted to do the same thing as you Tom, unfortunately in Washington State that combination (1 letter 4 numbers 1 letter) is not allowed as it had been in use at some time in the past on some sort of state issued plate. :thumbdwn:


I'd go for "M-1055Z" and stick a replica sticker over the dash!


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## aljlin (Feb 11, 2011)

I did the full space between M and #'s and then half between Z. It works out pretty well for me.I was a little uncertain about the half space after the #'s, because when I ordered it showed it without the space, but it did come with a "half" space between the last two characters. I

On another note, the new CA plates that I ordered had a stupid dmv website address on it, so I bought another license frame to cover the website address. Decided now with the frame not to put the euro plate behind the california plate.


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## DreamCar (Sep 29, 2010)

podge8 said:


> Tom, did receive your new California plates yet, the ones you personalized to match the zoll plate? I was thinking of doing the same thing, but couldn't figure out where to put the spaces in and what kind. Our zoll plate is M 2805 Z, and the DMV allows one full space and one half-space, or two half-spaces, or something like that. Online they have a configurator and I was playing around with it, so I was thinking of doing M(full space)2805(half space)Z. Or would it be better to have both of them be half spaces? I can't quite figure out what the difference might look like on the actual plate, because it looks pretty similar in the online configurator. Just curious if you had received yours yet and exactly what spaces you put where.


Cant we get custom number matching Zoll plate and use the Zoll plate as it is...? cant we use rectangular plates as opposed to square plates? with out rectangular plates it doesnt make any difference!!!


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## podge8 (Mar 18, 2002)

SD 335is said:


> P.S. I totally missed meeting you guys at the VDC Tour! I handed off check-in duties to my wife to take some pictures outside and apparently that's when you guys arrived. Apparently I just never saw you guys after that. Sorry I missed you!


I know! I'm sorry we missed you! We did meet your wife when we checked in but you seemed to be busy most of the time that we looked for you. Then we had lunch reservations to get to in Brentwood, so we had to get out of there. Thanks for helping to organize it! We had an amazing time! Looks like you did some sort of Le Mans Blue caravan out of there!

As far as the plates, I've been lazy about getting in to the AAA office (I'd rather order them there because then I can pick them up there, just down the street from me, rather than waiting who knows how long at the DMV, even with an appointment!). So we do not have them even on order yet, but will do the M full space numbers half space Z configuration, I think. Thanks for the update!


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## Mace14 (Mar 10, 2007)

Has anyone using their zoll plates remounted them? I'd like to put my front one back on but don't want to drill for the permanent Euro plate mount and I'm not particularly happy with the rough metal edges on the back of the plate. With those edges, just a slight bump against the plate can gouge the paint underneath. 

It seems to me that I've seen a white plastic plate mount for the euro plate that looks like it's attached to the car with double-sided tape and the plate attached to it the same way. The smooth backing of the plastic mount removes the danger of damaging the paint. Darned if I can find the thing though, any ideas?


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## 3ismagic# (Mar 17, 2011)

I remounted mine. 3m double sided tape from home depot


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