ok. so i got my xA a week ago and immediately bought a front plate for it (don't need a state on in TN). the car came with something that looks like a front plate mount with screws and all. and after i spent money on the front plate, i saw that there were no holes in the front, but there were indentations.

how easy is it to drill through those without screwing up the front bumper? the dealer says it will cost me $40 to bring it in and have them screw through the indents, and i'm not about to pay that. would it be better to have someone who knows something about cars (like my dad or something) or is it easy enough that i could do it by myself?

 

I would get a bracket like the one shown in the parts area rather than drill through the bumper........
https://www.scionlife.com/parts/?sub=61

 

Can't imagine it is hard to drill through the plastic bumpers, especially since the indentations are there. I wonder if there is something behind those identations to screw into. I would imagine the license plate bracket screws into metal, not just the bumper itself. Maybe someone can answer what you should expect to find there.

$40 to drill through the bumper (assuming that everything needed to attach the license plate is behind the bumper once the holes are drilled) is insanse in my opinion. That should take them all of 5 minutes. If you've never used a drill, find someone who has.

I have to say though that you are one of the few who doesn't need a front license plate but is going to add one. Most people don't want front license plates. Alot of people in states that have laws requiring front license plates don't want them. In Texas, we require front license plates (there have been rumours this would change), but I haven't had one in the 12 years I've owned my current car. I've never had an issue. For any car I buy, I'm going to tell them not to drill the holes. If they won't agree to not drill the holes, I won't buy the car.

 

You don't even need a drill to go through those indents. A simple screwdriver will do it.

I would recommend getting a dealer to do it, however. That way, if something goes wrong, you can blame them. ;)

40 dollars is criminal. At my dealership, we do that stuff for free, if the customer wants it done. You can easily argue that they should have done it in the first place. My suggestion would be to insist they do it free of charge.

If you purchased the car recently, you have the survey card to play. Tell the salesman/sales manager that if they don't fix the problem, you'll be forced to send in a bad survey to Toyota. Remember that they need to score "Excellent" scores across the entire survey to reach Toyota's standard. Watch them scurry. ;)

If you've already sent in the survey (I'm almost certain you won't have after a week) tell them that if they don't sort it out, you'll never get an oil change there again, you won't buy any of the Scion accessories you've planned to buy from them, and you certainly won't be purchasing a car from them in the future.

I doubt they're stupid enough to throw away money for the sake of a 10 second job they want to charge $40 for. And it IS about 10 seconds, I've seen the mechanics at the dealership I work at do it before for my customers.

 

NOOOO!!!!! Don't drill it! For the love of all that is good, get a bracket!

 

Don't drill it!

Get creative and use your lower grille... no screwholes!

 

i used to live in TX so i'm used to a front plate.

the guy who i park next to in my complex is a big tennessee fan and has his whole car decked out in orange. i am a kentucky fan and have to make the parking area good-looking. i found a kick butt UK plate - the blue perfectly matches my IIP.

i'm not sure exactly what came with the car...some kind of mount with screws with it. not sure what's behind the bumper...the indents are on the thick bit of plastic (?) between the grille and the place where the scion logo dealio is.

when i called the dealer i talked with the body shop. i wonder if my salesman can get it put on for free...he seemed to want to make me happy. i should call him next week and see...

but yeah...when it comes to my UK fan-ship, i am more than willing to put a front plate on. especially one as good-looking as the one i got. LOL

 

Every new car I've purchased, either the dealer received the plates themselves and offered to put them on or said to come on back when I received them for a comp install. Maybe the fact that you aren't required by the state to display an official plate is why they want to charge you to install what's essentially a personal decoration.

This time it wasn't worth the extra time (30 minute drive) so I did it myself. The bracket came with two sets of screws: machine screws and sheet metal screws. The pointy sheet metal screws can be driven right in through the plastic. It's strong enough to hold, but weak enough that they could strip if you keep driving them in too far.

From reading here, many buy bolts from a hardware store to mount it directly to the lower black grille. Wish I'd read that before I put holes in my bumper. :\

 

i just ordered the bracket from eight08 customs.

thanks for the tips

now here's hoping it's easy to install...

 

You did the right thing--it will not be a problem to install.

 

+1

In fact, I specified that for both cars...the wife's xA & my xB...the dealer actually went to NY to pick up my first BOP xB, and while the guys were prepping the car they drilled the bumper. I refused to take it & waited 2 weeks for another one.

CT "requires" a front plate, but I've been driving here for 10 years without them & have yet to have one single cop mention it...even during traffic stops for other reasons (like speeding).

If it ever becomes an issue with the box I'll mount it to the passenger sun visor & flip it down if they have a problem with it.

To the original poster - PLEASE don't drill your bumper...ALL cars look so much better with nothing on the front. Leave it naked.

 

I would say dont drill unless you have a fab Kit.

Here is what i did after i got the new bumper hehe

 

Hah! That's great! Is it legal?

 

As far as i know yes. Never had a problem