Front license plate on your MINI?

I don't think so, I didn't notice any difference

 

I'd like to get the Cravenspeed mount for my car too. However, when I asked my dealer to not drill a mount into the front bumper, I was informed that this happens at the port before they even get the car, but they'd do their best.

This is in California... has anyone else gotten this story?

 

Not me, but my car was delivered to Baltimore. No holes, no front plate here.

 

I got the same story in Portland (likely the same port). I pushed my salesman a bit more and it turns out they do it at the dealership during initial prep but he still couldn't guarantee they wouldn't accidentally do it. I kept pushing and he finally agreed to leave a note for the prep guys. My front plate holder was in the trunk when I picked up my car with no drilled holes!

It's always possible CA is a different story with different port prep but I'd push a bit harder and don't take the dealers word for anything. They are frequently confident but misinformed.

 

I know my dealer does the drilling, I saw them doing it.

I did see a funny front plate the other day, it was mounted to one side (tow hook socket, I assume), but the plate was rotated 90º so it was hanging vertically. I don't know if there are any state laws that specify plate orientation, so I found it amusing.

 

No issue here in TX either -- no holes in front bumper, and the mount was in the car on delivery. CA might be different, though.

 

I live in a state that requires plates front and rear. When I bought my first Mini (a 2003), the dealer did not install the front plate. I drove like that for 10 years without ever being noticed. When I got a 2013, I figured my luck was probably over, so I let the dealer install both. (I did have a stripe that went from bumper to bumper, which might have looked like a plate.)

 

That car likely was using a tow socket frame and didn't get it tight enough to avoid rotation by automatic car wash brushes. I had a similar problem with my SE front plate until I really tightened things down after using some Loctite on the threads. No plate rotation problems now, for any reason!

 

I hope to get my dealer to skip installing the bracket. I have purchased a tow hook mount.

When I bought my previous Camaro in 2009, it came from Idaho where fronts are not required (iirc) and the mount was just left in the trunk. I drove it for 12 years without a plate here in WA and was never stopped for it (or pulled over for any other reason in it). My new Camaro came from dealer inventory in state and already had it installed before I ever saw the car.

Rob

 

In Sweden we are required by law to have plates both front and back, and this is the way the front plate was mounted at the dealer:

At least the four attachment bolts were covered with caps of the same color as the plate behind them.

 

makestickers.com
I took a picture of my plate and had them make a 5x10 bumper sticker for the front of my Cayman. A real plate is 6x12, this is 5x10.

I will do the same thing with the Mini.

Suggestion - before taking the picture, put something over the holes so it looks like it is screwed in.

 

Hi, apologies for my ignorance; what is that orange thing near your front tire? I don’t see that on my SE.


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The side marker light on the plastic fender? Orange front and red rear side markers are required in the US

 

Thanks, good to know. It kind of breaks the clean look of the car. But, hey it’s a requirement, just like the registration plates.


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I have not done any mods myself, yet, but this one for smoked LED markers is on my list!

My 2021 MINI SE .... the project has started....

 

Yup, that looks better @GvilleGuy, much cleaner. My SE does not have any of those.

 

So I got my SE, and went to a lot of trouble to get the dealer to not drill for a front plate. My Cravenspeed mount has arrived and it includes a "parking sensor blinder" to keep the mount from triggering the parking sensor.

But... I want the parking sensor! Does having a tow hook mount mean you can't have that sensor? If I'd known that I just would have let the dealer do a regular plate holder.

 

I'm thinking about the smoke ones myself, when they light up they are still orange/red, so does that still meet the requirement?

 

Haven't read the actual text of the law but I'm pretty sure it has something about needing a red/orange reflector in addition to the light in case the battery or bulb dies.

In reality no cop is going to care and I wouldn't think twice about installing them (I'll be getting some soon myself)

 

I don't have front sensors so I have no idea where they actually are...

If the plate is in the detection path of the sensor it'll create a constant false positive (hence the need for the blinder).

It may be possible to make a tow hook mount that does not interfere with the sensor but I'd assume it may not be that easy or Cravenspeed probably would have done it.

The other options are an adhesive center mount or another bracket that puts the screw holes somewhere besides front and center