Has anyone bought a Scion xA recently in LA? If so, did it come with a front license plate bracket or screw holes in the front bumper?

I live in Texas and want a car w/o holes in the front bumper. The dealers here say that isn't possible because the port is supposedly putting the front license plate brackets on. They are saying the Tc's and Xb's don't come from the port w/ the license plate bracket, but that the Scion xA is different. Th dealer said something about xA's having their bumpers crack when the holes are drilled so the port does it (not sure if that is BS or not). Texas has a law officially requiring a front license plate (although my current car hasn't had one for 12 years and I've never had the police say a word about it).

I don't think LA requires a front license plate bracket. I'm hoping the cars that go into LA don't have the holes drilled for the bracket. However, the probably came from the same port as the cars destined for Texas.

It wouldn't be that big of a deal (3 hour drive) to order my car in Lake Charles or some other Scion dealer near the TX-LA border.

 

No they do not come drilled for license plates. So get ready for a three hour drive. What part of Texas are you from?

 

I wish someone with an xA would confirm. It appears that in Texas the xB's don't show up at the dealer with the front bracket already installed (but the dealer does install it), but the xA's do.

The 3 hour drive won't be so bad. I'm in Houston.

 

They really don't, you can take our word.

Only a few cars down here even come like that.

 

Here's a pic of one our club members (hope you don't mind Troy) and notice no bumper holes. Hope that helps. What part of Houston. I grew up and graduated from Jersey Village.

 

Grew up in Kingwood (NE Houston). Now I live in NW Houston near 249 and 1960.

Thanks for the link. I'll call a LA dealer tomorrow morning.

 

I talked to a guy named Bobby at Lake Charles Scion and he was very helpful. He went out to one of their xA's on their lot and confirmed there was no holes or bracket for a front license plate.

If we can get the paperwork done via e-mail/fax/mail/phone and I can pay the deposit via Credit Card, I'll be ordering the car and hopefully get one in the next 2 - 4 weeks. The drive to Lake Charles won't be too bad and maybe I'll have some fun losing money at the Casinos.

Anyway, thanks to trinben and iheartzombies for responding to my question.

Hopefully I'll get the car this time. I have $500 in options sitting in my dining room which I'll have to sell if I can't get a car before they stop making them.

 

just curious, you couldnt get the dealer in houston to order you an xa without the holes drilled in the front bumper??? seems like they should be able to do that... anyways, glad to hear that you are getting one... louisiana doesnt use front license plates at all, so yeah, no holes, on any vehicle...

 

I ordered a Scion xA two times from two different dealers in Houston. When I ordered both cars, I made it extremely clear that I didn't want the front license plate bracket installed or any holes drilled into the front bumper. I emphasized this to them multiple times and told them I didn't want the car if the front license plate bracket was installed. I made them write on the contract that I wouldn't accept the car if it did have the front license plate bracket.

Both dealers told me it wasn't a problem at all and that the cars come into the dealer without the holes drilled and that they drill them at the dealer. When the first car came in, the dealer told me that xA's now come with the bracket already installed. He said it is impossible to get a car in Texas that doesn't have the bracket installed. He said the brackets are now being installed at the port on the xA (and not on the xB or Tc) because the xA bumpers were easy to crack when drilling the hole. I told the second dealer about the first dealer and he told me the first dealer was wrong and that he just screwed up. Then, the second car came in and it had the bracket installed as well. The sales guy said he got to the car before it was unloaded off of the truck and the bracket was already installed. He said they must have started installing them at the port. I kind of feel bad walking away from two cars, but I made it extremely clear to both dealers and told them I wouldn't take the car with the bracket. The first car sold in a week and a half anyway. Not sure about the second one. It came in just last week.

At any rate, I don't know if the dealers are correct or not. It is possible their service departments just installed them as soon as the car came to the dealer. However, I don't want to deal with another dealer telling me it isn't a problem at all and then the car coming in with the bracket installed. Purchasing in LA should eliminate that possibility since you guys don't have front license plates (I also had the dealer specifically look at the xA on their lot). It will cost me a 3 hour drive and some gas, but it should work out this time.

 

Good luck.

 

damn, well, you wont have that problem over here, no holes drilled... post some pics after you get it...