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Why do so many dealers insist on using only double-sided tape to attach number plates? Daughter arrived home yesterday with her rear plate in pieces after she unwittingly reversed over it - it has dropped off in a car park. Plod then pulled her over for failing to show registration plates and she was fortunate to escape with just a warning. Now it looks like the front plate is also loose.
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Why do so many dealers ...
Because its quick and cheap.
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...Because its quick and cheap...
True, although I don't think the four self-tappers used to hold the plates on my CC3 were expensive.
Drilling four holes would have used some electricity.
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Drilling four holes would have used some electricity.
As well as taking longer than using a couple of bits of tape.
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Thinking about it, when I did this I used to drill two holes in the plate and then two slightly smaller ones on the car.
Front and back that's eight holes - this is becoming a long job - get the tape out. :)
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Unless cars are provided with pre-drilled holes with proper inserts which allow fitting with a self tapper then the alternative is to drill holes in metal bodywork which will subsequently rust.
Adhesive tape allows the fitting of the plate without the consequential damage.
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...Because its quick and cheap... True although I don't think the four self-tappers used to hold the plates on my CC3 were expensive. Drilling four holes would have used some electricity.
Labour costs involved:-
Get drill
Fit drill bit
Drill holes
Remove bit from drill
Get screws from stores
Screw plate to car
etc etc etc
Plus overheads.
Edited by L'escargot on 14/03/2009 at 16:38
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That's absolutely PATHETIC. It's going to fall off isn't it. Jeepers, the value attached to saving 10 (e)poxy minutes.
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Nothing wrong with glue if its the right stuff, most people don't seem to worry about their windscreens and what fix is used for that?
Having said that the handle just fell off the teapot.
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I much prefer taped, rather than drilling, to fit.
Much neater & MUCH more secure - provided the surface was de-greased & a quality tape is used.
Less chance of plates being stolen, for cloning, or water ingress spoiling the laminate, meaning MOT failure & new plates to buy.
Plus, just how many cars do you see, where the plate has been drilled & fitted unlevel. At least this would be easier to rectify, with tape!
VB
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It looks a lot neater, and if done properly the plates will never fall off.
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But if only taped on they can be stolen far more easily... it does happen.
My front plate started to come loose and someone I know spotted it and said his had been stolen so had them fitted properly. Front plates screwed on will never damage bodywork will they ;-)
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I'm with Vansboy on this one. I bought 100 pads from ebay for £6.00 delivered and I've fitted several plates with them. When I have to change the caravan and trailer plates they are very firmly stuck and I have to get a thin knife under them to cut through the foam to get them off. No way will they drop off accidentally if you degrease the surface with a bit of lighter fuel or meths first.
As for being easier to steal, what could be easier than removing a couple of self tappers?
The stuck on ones look neater as well.
Double sided tape is no good - you need the thin foam pads. Three of those on and they're going nowhere, and it takes time and care to remove the plates undamaged.
Used 'em for quite a few other jobs as well.
Edited by Manatee on 12/03/2009 at 20:23
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Mine were obviously not stuck on that well then ;-)
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I will not abide taped plates though I'm obviously outnumbered. The next generation spare wheel will be even quicker to replace because all you need to do is use a special TAPE.
We didn't get where we are today by sticking things together with tape.
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Lots of bonding techniques used in aircraft construction too....
Plates attached with screws (unless anti-theft type) are easy to remove in seconds - properly bonded they are no easier, and perhaps harder, IMHO.
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>>FocusDriver
Assuming you are?I will not abide taped plates though
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Just had new plates ( old ones delaminated) fitted to Mk 1 Focus and they were screwed into factory fitted plugs so no need to worry about tape.
Perhaps they delaminated cos they were screwed on ?
Oh just to mention My 10 year old Mondeo is still sporting the original plates that were very neatly stuck on..We didn't get where we are today by sticking things together with tape.
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You are right! Others found cheaper ways of doing the same job and we went bust.:-(
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My last Panda 4x4 had taped on number plates which didn't even come off when off-roading in muddy water.
When I sold the car I had to remove the plates to replace a personal number. If I'd tried to pull them off they would have snapped, so no use to a thief.
Dental floss is the best way to remove the plates, easier than a thin knife and less likely to damage the paintwork.
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Dental floss is the best way to remove the plates,
That's what the thieves probably use ;-)
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Since the roads are not awash with stray number plates I'm prepared to admit defeat. Tape it is. To go even further and prove myself wrong, I recently replated my car because the screw holes had produced that rusty shadow underneath the laminate. If they'd been taped - and assuming they hadn't fallen off, which I'm assured they wouldn't - the problem wouldn't have occurred.
As long as we can agree that wheels and seats etc. should be screwed/bolted first, and then only taped as a fail-safe, then I think we can all walk away from this winners.
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Tape is fine as long as you use the proper double sided cushion tape.
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What happens if you screw a set of plates to a Lotus Elise? If you go over a bump are you just left with the plates whilst the glued car falls off? ;)
Seriously, it is down to the stickers used and the care in preparing the surfaces. Some last years and make it very difficult to remove the plates without snapping them in two. Others fall off in 6 months.
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Rivets are commonly used in Spain, and I'd imagine they're very hard to remove without making a lot of noise and drawing a lot of attention. It would certainly put off the antics of Edward Fox wannabes trying to do it in broad daylight while Jules and Severine are otherwise distracted in the forest. (The original Day of the Jackal film).
Number plates can only be supplied and fitted by a limited number of authorised fitters and it is a specific criminal offence to be in possession of a "troquelador", a kind of plate moulding device.
ETA and other violent gangs unfortunately get round this level of security by stealing the car and kidnapping the owner for the duration of the crime in question!
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We didn't get where we are today by sticking things together with tape.
actually we did. Hurricanes (the aircraft) used a lot of tape.
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"Rivets are commonly used in Spain, and I'd imagine they're very hard to remove without making a lot of noise and drawing a lot of attention."
They'll use cheap pop-rivets which have an aluminium head. A 5 mm drill bit in a cordless drill - 5 seconds each one.
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Rivets are a legal requirement in France. There can be a fine if the Gendarmes find a Brit who has, unwittingly, used self-tappers instead. And it's a Controle Technique ('MOT') fail.
Number plate theft and cloning doesn't seem to be a problem over here...
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I thought most modern French cars had plastic plates like ours that were stuck on?
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A former work colleague of mine used to velcro his number plates on his 911 turbo, so that when he was in a hurry he could take them off!.
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My front number plate is held on by Duck Tape, as it fell off nearly 3 months ago due to the original (9yr old, 200,000miles) screw heads having rusted/snapped off.
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Why do so many dealers insist on using only double-sided tape to attach number plates? Daughter arrived home yesterday with her rear plate in pieces after she unwittingly reversed over it - it has dropped off in a car park.
What method of attachment did daughter request? I always state my preferred method.
Edited by L'escargot on 14/03/2009 at 16:40
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>What method of attachment did daughter request?>
What held the number plates in plates in place never occurred to her or me for that matter) when the car was bought. Dealer had replaced original seller's plates with his own. She took the car back and they just used more tape. Time will tell if I have to use self tappers.
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Dealer had replaced original seller's plates with his own.
My apologies. I assumed it was a brand new car which had previously not had plates.
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Self tappers every time for me. Less hassle fitting my illegally spaced personalised plates after the MOT.....
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C4AOS?
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Or is it C1.1AOS?
Edited by Fullchat on 15/03/2009 at 18:55
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my son had his reg plates unscrewed and stolen whilst parked.. presumably so that they could be transferred to another car. Incident reported to the police who advised using the appropriate high strength sticky pads - properly applied - as it would be impossible to remove the reg plate without damage - and hence could not be reused on a different vehicle
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Without damage to what?
Better Jonny Tealeaf get the plates away than breaks them and dents/scratches your car in the process
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I feel we have arrived at our destination with this one - Velcro.
- won't drop off if properly applied to a sufficient area; and
- easy for Jonny Tealeaf to remove without damage to vehicle.
;-)
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Mine were dropping off with tape when I got it in October 2007. Cannot have been put on properly. Or at least the front one was half off - maybe an attempt had been made?
My previous car was cloned and the police told me to report to them any speeding/parking tickets if not down to me.... there never were any thankfully.
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