Dealers who use self-tappers to fit number plates - why?

Dealers who use self-tappers to fit number plates - why?

Author
Discussion

Escort3500

11,829 posts

144 months

Saturday 11th April 2015
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Sell-tappers? What's wrong with rivets then? smile

Nickbrapp

5,277 posts

129 months

Saturday 11th April 2015
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Mercs and the like have 4 screw holes behind the plate so they aren't drilled though the metal. Fords are the same on the rear. No idea why they do it on the front leaving big holes

jamiem555

750 posts

210 months

Saturday 11th April 2015
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I replaced mine with eurocopter titanium ones. They'll outlast the car!

morgrp

4,128 posts

197 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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I still laugh at the number of dealer installed plates on new cars that are fitted on the piss - come on, not hard to fit a plate on straight is it?

Riley Blue

Original Poster:

20,915 posts

225 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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I don't laugh at it, quite the opposite. Do dealers realise what a poor advert it is for them?

Denis O

2,141 posts

242 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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BrownBottle said:
Jimboka said:
Denis O said:
Not only are screws a pain, the donuts that put the plates on pissed are an equal pain.

Haven't people ever heard of a spirit level FFS.
You'll need to go a long way with the spirit level to find a flat road first!
Yes because PDI's are always done in the middle of the road...
Thanks BB for understanding a relatively simple concept, that some of our fellow contributors cannot grasp.

vikingaero

10,256 posts

168 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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I resorted to self tappers on my Mums Micra when the number plate fell off in the middle of winter/snow a few years ago. I spent loads on double sided tape and it was too damp/cold to get a successful adhesion with the number plate falling off a couple more times.

Escort3500

11,829 posts

144 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
quotequote all
morgrp said:
I still laugh at the number of dealer installed plates on new cars that are fitted on the piss - come on, not hard to fit a plate on straight is it?
Saw one yesterday on the back of a Land Rover. It wasn't level and covered the top half of the 'Discovery' badge. Wonder what went through the mind of the moron who fitted it silly

Hudson

1,857 posts

186 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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My MK4 Golf's plate was glued on, and then had 2 screws in each plate. They really really didn't want it to come off it seems...

V8Matthew

2,675 posts

165 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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Denis O said:
Thanks BB for understanding a relatively simple concept, that some of our fellow contributors cannot grasp.
What if the car has a few years under it's belt and the suspension is a bit saggy on one side. If you use a level then technically the plate will be straight and the car will be wonky wink

Toaster Pilot

14,615 posts

157 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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HTP99 said:
Tape is all very well and good, however if it is cold, they don't stick very well and if the surface isn't cleaned properly they don't stick very well, however a properly stuck on plate is a real bugger to remove.

Renault say that their dealers have to use rivets now; we used to use self tappers, the problem with rivets is, sometimes a bit of metal pops off in the tailgate so you get a bit rattling around and if the plates need to be changed, they have to be drilled out if attached to a metal panel and this is a pain and time consuming.

Edited by HTP99 on Saturday 11th April 15:01
Rivets! Bloody hell. Not looking forward to changing out those in a few years time!

Saying that given I normally need to drill out rusty old self tappers it won't make that much difference hehe

Tape is great as long as the bumper isn't too curved and the surface is prepped. Heat gun mandatory.

Toaster Pilot

14,615 posts

157 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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Riktoid said:
A million times worse is number plates that aren't quite straight. I had a car a few years ago with this. At first glance it looks fine but once you notice it your eye is always drawn to it.

If I ever had the opportunity to buy a brand new car and the number plate wasn't attached perfectly plumb level, I would go bananas. I'd probably reject it!
Only bought a brand new car once and made them send it back to the workshop for this reason getmecoat

Ben Jk

1,591 posts

165 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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I always request plates to be stuck on, and always stick them on if doing it myself too. Never had a plate come off.

moustache

292 posts

110 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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This thread (no pun intended) is all about...number plate screws.

cool

DKS

1,670 posts

183 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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My other Saab 900 actually had M6 riv-nuts in the bootlid for the number plate. I got some stainless cap heads.
Also screw on is nice for the shows; my GTE is red so at shows I can fit a set of black/ silver '16V GTE' plates so it looks just like the brochure car. smile

MarkRSi

5,782 posts

217 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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I saw a 64-plate Audi yesterday which one of the screws had come off for some reason, so was half hanging down laugh wish I'd taken a picture of it now...

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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Denis O said:
BrownBottle said:
Jimboka said:
Denis O said:
Not only are screws a pain, the donuts that put the plates on pissed are an equal pain.

Haven't people ever heard of a spirit level FFS.
You'll need to go a long way with the spirit level to find a flat road first!
Yes because PDI's are always done in the middle of the road...
Thanks BB for understanding a relatively simple concept, that some of our fellow contributors cannot grasp.
Your fellow contributors are perfectly able to grasp, thank you for your concern. It seems you cannot grasp that a car having a PDI is not always performed on a perfectly level surface. I'd much prefer to measure from a known datum, so the plate is parallel to the rest of the car, rather than parallel to whatever it is parked on at the time, or what the tyre pressures are for that matter!

MattOz

3,910 posts

263 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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Going back to 2003, you can imagine my delight at picking up my brand new BMW to discover that the dealer had held the rear number plate up to the boot and simply drilled a couple of holes (despite there being two pre-drilled and gromitted holes) and then they'd fixed the plate with a couple of self tappers. There are no words for ****s like that!

BrownBottle

1,365 posts

135 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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Jimboka said:
Your fellow contributors are perfectly able to grasp, thank you for your concern. It seems you cannot grasp that a car having a PDI is not always performed on a perfectly level surface. I'd much prefer to measure from a known datum, so the plate is parallel to the rest of the car, rather than parallel to whatever it is parked on at the time, or what the tyre pressures are for that matter!
Joking aside you're right, even on a level ramp the car itself might not sit perfectly level for various reasons. I just do it by eye it's really not that difficult smile

Oh and drilling into a metal panel like a boot lid and using self tappers is totally unprofessional and shows a complete lack of respect for the owner of the car.

Tim662

69 posts

134 months

Sunday 12th April 2015
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Have a look at this Veyron:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOCZO69Ec6s

Four screws right into the bodywork. redcard