Just kinda curious 🤷♀️
I mean you gave them so much money, why the free advertisement?
If it’s an out of sight, out of mind thing I get it but this seemed like the perfect place to ask. lol
Just kinda curious 🤷♀️
I mean you gave them so much money, why the free advertisement?
If it’s an out of sight, out of mind thing I get it but this seemed like the perfect place to ask. lol
Comments
Laziness.
I have never understood that either. Once you get your permanent plate, you literally remove the dealer plate frame, put your plate in it, and put it back on the car. You are doing WORK in order to put the dealer ad back on your car. And maybe you think a frame looks nice, which they often do, but not one with a dealer ad on it. You can literally get nicer frames for a couple dollars.
Continuing for myself, I have literally removed every dealer sticker on any car I’ve owned. Even used cars I bought which had an old dealer sticker on it.
Because getting another license cover costs money and the one I have is already free.
What do I look like … Some kind of guy who isn’t lazy!?
At first it was because the dealership gave free car washes to previous buyers and that was the easiest way to show that I got the car from them. Then I just didn’t bother taking it off. Now that dealership doesn’t exist anymore, so it’s kind of like an old relic.
For the majority of the time, mine was on because I never bothered to take it off. The dealer put it on, they took my plate off my trade-in, put it on the new car, and I drove home. There was no license plate changing done by me, ever.
I eventually took it off to clean under it, actually, and the plate rattled, so I put it back on instead of buying a different plate holder.
Also I don’t care… what advertising? It’s a huge dealership near the area where I normally drive around. Everyone already knows it exists. I don’t think anyone is seeing my car and suddenly learning this giant regional dealership is there for the first time.
Many many years ago my sister purchased a brand new car, somehow my brother was the one to actually pick it up from the dealers.
While examining the car he had the balls to demand a fee for advertising..
“you people have your companies advertising stickers and number plate frame on a vehicle that doesn’t belong to you, either remove them now or pay a $100 fee for advertising.”
And they actually paid him..
ha, he removed them anyway.
Why would I buy something that I already have and already don’t care about
Because I don’t care
What if I like the design of the dealer’s plate?
After asking to not have it put it on I just started removing the dealer logo in front of the sales or finance person. That started when I had ordered a new Mk4 R32 (god that was over 20 years ago!) and I was explicitly direct about not putting dealer badges on the car during PPI. Got the call it came in and when I pulled up the motherfucker had a dealership badge on the hatch. I started peeling it off and my sales person came out and I said what the literal fuck is this? He chuckled and said sorry. I got the badge off and brought it inside and put it on the sales manager’s desk. The sales person had someone pull the car around to the other side while we were wrapping up the sale and I shit you not. The mother fucker had another dealer badge on it when I walked out to take it home. I turned around and asked are you going to take it off this time or am I going to go inside and remove your manager and drag his ass out here and remove it with his teeth. I was joking, but I was annoyed by that point. The sales person popped it off easily since it was just put on.
No point in changing it till you get your real one
Honestly, mine is a nice chrome with a subtle logo. If it was ugly or ostentatious I’d remove it. I’m not going to get all twisted up about the morals of the thing, it’s stupid and who cares?
You get free car washes if you have the dealer plate at my local dealership.
I pay the $16 and buy plain black ones. I also had a fight with the dealership I bought from their service department was shady so I took their name off both cars
Yeah I make them take it off. And if they have any decal on the car itself I make them take that off too.
I just…don’t care enough to take it off
Bought a preloved Jeep years ago and told the dealer if like an additional $200 off for advertisement.. looked at me, like wtf.. I said the dealer sticker and plate cover. He had it taken off ASAP
We have personalized plates and we usually install a new frame when we put our own plates on.
Most people don’t care that much about it. I hate having dealership stuff (or any company) on my belongings so I took it off and got a silicone cover that protects my car from the license plate rubbing on the paint.
The dealer I bought my last car from tried to slap some stupid thing on my car and I told them if you pay my payment I’ll let you put it on the promptly removed it and the license plate frame. Put my spurs one on. GSG
I made them take it off my new car before I left the lot. They were kinda salty but did it.
My dad is the finance dealer for the dealership we bought our cars from, so I don’t mind giving them free advertising. Also, we have moved to a completely new state across the country, and the dealership sticker and frame help us find our cars.
Laziness and because it’s not something I care about. It free advertisement yeah, but I mean any time I wear/show something with a brand I’m paying them to advertise for them. A license plate cover is no different than wearing a shirt with a logo on it.
I genuinely don’t care if I’m giving a dealership advertising. It’s not costing me anything. After like a week of having the car I visually tune out any of the decals they left on there, they aren’t a part of my life at all. They’re just not worth removing.
I wonder that,top.
I take it and the sticker on the back off almost immediately.
Prevents the car wash from bending the plate. On my highlander it kept it from rattling and flopping as I drove.
Most people don’t give a shit
My wife had one from the original dealership that we never bothered to remove. Recently had to get some work done at a collision center and they removed the one from the dealership and replaced it with their own.
My car had a dealer badge placed on it, exactly the same color and font as the regular badges, so I didn’t mind it, basically unnoticeable unless you’re right up on it, and honestly, they were a very nice dealership that got me into exactly the car I wanted, the guy on the test drive even offered some tips to shift better and get more fun out of the car. So I decided to leave it on, eventually it started to fall off, so now it’s off the car
Thank you for asking this! I’ve wondered myself forever but never looked into it. I can’t fathom why someone would spend upwards of $50k on a car they really like and not take that thing off. I guess it is just laziness from what people have commented
Out of sight, out of mind, usually why they only do the back plate.
They give me a 10% discount on services if I use their plate frame (capped at $100 IIRC)
I wouldn’t know if they offer that to everyone or just for eye-catching cars though
Because they don’t care that much. It’s not something I care about.
Jokes on you, I robbed my dealership. They need the business to make back all the money they lost. Over 15% off MSRP, I’m pretty confident they did lose money
Where I live there is a dealer group that is home grown and quite large/successful. They have deals with various popular and/or busy spots around town that if you have their license plate frame on your car you get VIP parking or free valet or what have you.
A brilliant bit of marketing, even though sure someone could just stick a plate frame from this group on their vehicle. I guess there may be a market for them?
I remember when I sold cars at Carmax a customer wanted all the Carmax stuff removed because he doesn’t want to be an advertisement” and it stuck with me forever
I forgot that was a thing
IDGAF. Getting another frame costs money, effort is required to remove it entirely. Zero fucks given about it.
Man, you think I want to pay MORE money after buying a car for a license plate cover? Hell naw
I left mine on because it is a total shitbox and it keeps the plate from rattling.
I always tell them not to put a license plate frame on when I’m buying the car. One sales guy actually said, “Well, it’s just a little free advertising.” And I was like, “Exactly.”
Because lazy. It already had permanent plates, so I didn’t have to change them.
Yeah **** car dealerships. Even if you got a good deal, they were trying their hardest to rip you off. Don’t reward them for it.
I don’t. It goes right away.
I guess the real question I had was what plate covers are actually for. I assumed they were cosmetic, but if they do serve a purpose using the free one makes sense lol
Thank you everyone, even the snarky folks ❤️
Because I have never ever noticed anyone’s license plate cover in the first place.
Because I needed a plate cover so the plate doesn’t flap around, and I don’t care nearly enough to throw away the dealership one and buy a new one from a store.
Ive always had the dealer remove it all when they cleaned it up and I signed paperwork. Most have had zero issues..prob saves them a few bucks. But one had an attitude about it, asked them if they mind if I brand their building with my name then.
Because I’m lazy as hell
I remove it if they don’t. If there are any of the dealership ‘stickers’ on it, I tell them before buying that I charge $1000 each if you want me to advertise for you. They always remove it for me.
Because I have a good relationship with the dealership that I bought my car from. One of my customers (brings his Harley to my shop) is the salesman I bought the car from, and my brother is a technician there.
When I bought my first brand new car, they wanted to have their dealer sticker and plate holder on the car. They were the only dealer selling that particular car.
I said sure, $300/week advertising fee for as long as I own the car. They took thrm off!
BTW, I owned that car for 20yrs!
Until I move to a state that doesn’t do your plates at the dealer, the dealer always puts them on. So most people probably don’t think about it.
I take off the frame and the stupid sticker same or next day.
Honestly most people probably don’t care. Me? I rip that shit off immediately. I won’t even leave the lot with it on. Like you said, it’s free advertising and dealerships are one of the biggest scams in life. The fact that I can’t just walk to the “car store” or buy a car from a manufacturer directly like every other industry is insane. If you could, dealerships would cease to exist because the actual process of going to one is a living nightmare.
I literally have no idea what my plate frame is. Plus, our state has the stickers in weird spots and it makes most frames not work, and I just don’t care enough to deal with that.
I took mine off, took it in for the scheduled maintenance and they put another one on. At least 4 of them by now are in the landfill
Yessss! Every time I buy a new car, I tell the salesman to either pay me a monthly fee to advertise their biz or keep all that nonsense—plate cover, dealership name plate, etc—off my new car. Needless to say, my cars always bear zero evidence of dealerships
I actually ended up adding one to my car. I got pulled over a few times for no front license plate. After the last time I went to the Toyota dealership and asked for help. They said sure here give us some free advertising. I said cool thanks I’ll do that and avoid the $120 fine.
Don’t really care about the plate frame.
Its the stickers on the rear window or under the rear badges that annoy me.
I remove it. The dealership we use puts a new one on every time we take it in for any type of service. We remove it each time. We started collecting them. We have 12 hanging in our garage.
The dealership put up a sign saying they will add or switch out your plate frame for theirs unless you sign off saying you don’t want it.
I’ll leave the front one on, because it needs a frame, but the back one gets replaced. That’s the one people see
Not about to spend more money to get something different.
The stickers though… Those really bother me.
A while back, we bought from a local, family owned dealership and they took really good care of us. So I was happy to leave it on. When they were bought by Norm Reeves, we took the frames off.
First car mod remove ad’s upon arrival new home. I’m sure most people don’t even know what is on the car.
Don’t know any better.
a lot of people where I live will drive without any cover.. so if it comes with the car it at least provides protection for the plates
Last time I bought a car I said I’d like the frame off my old one and they put it on the new one and took their dealership frame back. I didn’t really care, it was neat and I just wanted it as a memento, had a fresh one ready, but whatever.
I also tell them the little decal better be removed before I leave too, no reason for that unless they’re going to mail me a check for a few bucks every month.
Probably because most people can’t be bothered about something that small, they got bigger problems.
Seeing a dealer plate doesn’t have the affect you seem to think it does. When I see that a company feels the need to plaster their name wherever possible, it makes me not want to buy from them. Companies that made good products don’t need to advertise because the public would do it for them by word of mouth and with their cash.
If they compensated me for advertising I would leave it on. They don’t so it’s gone.
In the UK, our numberplates have to be marked to show who supplied the number plate (usually either a RNPS registered store or the dealership) and plates fitted after 1 September 2021, they have to be marked with a British Standard number – BS AU 145e (or BS AU 145d before Sept 2021) . Usually that info is pretty small so it’s not really noticeable unless up close. Failing to do so can result in up to a £1000 fine.
Most people don’t care buddy
I don’t care.
I asked myself the same thing, then I got a new car and was too lazy to take it off. I’m actually going to take it off tomorrow.
They want to let people know that they were able to purchase a new car.
I told them to take the stickers off but didn’t notice the license plate until. They asked me why I asked how much would they pay me for advertising.
It’s my first mod to every car I buy, remove and throw away
First thing I do on my cars is rip off all the advertising so idk
Same concept has a condom
This is hilarious because I have asked myself the same question. I have removed mine right after buying the car on the lot. Some even put stickers or even diecast logos. Yep those come off too
The world is a simulation and that’s an in game ad.
Dude, the dealers that actually put their ugly logos on the car itself in the form of a decal? I would tell the dealer to take that shit off or I wouldn’t buy the car. I mostly see them on cars from the midwest of the US, nobody has tried that around my area, but it’s so weird that anyone would be ok with that ugly advertisement on there.
Unless they pay me, I’m not driving with it. I took the dealership license plate cover off my car, in favor of a silicone one (the plate was rattling over bumps anyway, so it solved that issue)
Lazy. You’re not supposed to because it “obscures the license plate” but police don’t enforce this.
I remember my dad saying “No dealer stickers etc.” when he bought his car.
I take any dealer badging off as soon as possible but most people don’t care. The strangest ones to me are the people who get aftermarket wheels or other mods but still have the dealer frame/ badging.
Some dealers offer free car washes or oil changes but only if you keep the dealer plate frame, so a handful of people have half an excuse.
Some people are willing to give themselves away. They don’t even think they’re giving anything away. The same people are the reason the world is run by corporations, because “it doesn’t bother me” means you’re an easy target until it’s too late.
I told the dealer I would not accept the car with any advertisement on it. In writing on the contract. On delivery date I got a ton of free stuff because it had it on. Then peeled it off at home.
To be fair, I’ve never once looked at a license plate cover and let that make up my mind about where to buy a car from
It’s usually a … first week removal for me. I took the (original) dealer sticker off of my used F150 when I bought it from a family member, had to take rubbing compound to the paint to get the shadow off. Replaced it with a Big Bill Hell sticker.
It’s sort of funny, if the dealer offered me a nice logo cap (like Richardson or something high quality) or a shirt, I’d wear it, I’m a bit of a swag whore. But keep that shit off of my vehicle.
Just FYI, if you’re in NY, plate frames are illegal unless they are super thin.
If they cover any part of the plates identifiable info, including New York and Empire state/Excelsior it a ticketabel offense.
Yeah I removed it.
My ex said it was because he liked the dealership.
It was not the only sign he was a goober.
I took mine off right away.
It’s like wearing a T-shirt with “Billabong” or “Ripcurl” on it. You’re just paying a company WAY too much for a cheap T-shirt made in China, for the chance to advertise for them for free!! 🤷♂️🤦🏼♂️
Looks better than the chrome skulls at auto zone
Someone elses plate cover is what directed me to the dealer I bought my current car from
Probably not very common but my mom likes having the dealer I’m working at instead of buying one or going bare
I just don’t really care that it’s on there, so I don’t want to expend the effort to take it off.
I strip everything the minute I sign the paperwork. I do it right in the lot in front of them.
They’re not paying me to advertise so they don’t get to.
I made them take the license plate, Dilly and their dealership logo off because I said I’m not paying for free advertising for you
Yeah, don’t care enough.
I’m not lazy. I just don’t care.
My car is not a key element to my social identity.
Talk about agonizing over irrelevancies.
Free frame. Never thought of removing.
I don’t care, plus I don’t want to spend money on a new cover for me to pretty much never see it. I’m not a car person, so cosmetics don’t matter to me
I take them off immediately along with any stickers they put on the car
sometimes when you take your car in for service they’ll put one back on your car
I don’t mind advertising for the dealer if I got a good deal and it was an easy transaction. My last car dealer was a huge pain in the ass so I immediately removed anything related to them from my car.
I tell them to take off their license plate frame and any stickers with their dealership name. I’m not giving them free advertising.
most people out there don’t know/care. a lot of people don’t even know how to use a screwdriver or that you can just change stuff on a car whenever you want. i just took one off my moms car last month when i was bored while we were eating dinner at grandmas house.
I keep mine on throughout the warranty period. Makes me feel more secure somehow. Like, they can see I bought the car from them and hopefully they do me right. Once the warranty is gone, I’m done with the dealership and I take it off.
There are two Ford dealers in town. One made buying the car we wanted absolute hell, so we peeled every dealer identifying sticker and plate frame off of it as soon as we got home. Next time we went to the other Ford dealer, they were much better to deal with, and we left their plate frame on because they deserved the advertising.
I just spent 40000 on a car and I have to go buy a license plate cover too?
Most people do not give a single crap about their car, they barely make oil changes, ignore all other maintenance, and take it through auto car washs…
And they are lazy
What is worse to me is the people who don’t want them on but can’t bother doing it well so they just snap them off and leave the part around the screws which is literally harder than taking them off with a screw driver.
Just laziness. I don’t want to advertise for the dealer but it took me like a month to throw that out.
I don’t know if I have it on there. I’ve never looked. I think about my car so little that I sometimes forget what it looks like and need the fob to find it in a crowded parking lot.
If I could live without a car I’d do so.
First thing I did was removed anything with the dealership name. The plate cover and they used decal stickers and spelt their name under the model name. Took it off as soon as I parked in my driveway for the first time.
I spent quite a hit of time in Montana as a kid in the 80s and 90s. Most of the cars there had permanent vinyls stickers of the dealership name on the back of the car. That wasn’t a thing in WA. A license plate frame is one thing, but no way I’d buy a car with a dealer ad semi-permanently stuck on the back of my car.
My biggest pet peeve. That thing comes off ASAP.
Some of them used to actually punch holes in the sheet metal of the trunk to attach their shitty faux metallic logos.
I agree. They want me to advertise for them then they better pay me. I even take off the decal that they put on there. I use vinegar to take it off.
Most people are lemmings and will do as they’re told or continue what’s been set in motion for them.
Yeah, I use the “why free advertising” justification too, but the truth is I think it just looks tacky. Like even if the car was literally one owned by the dealership, still tacky. But I feel the same about sports team plate holders, etc.
Shit. Thanks for reminding me!
Just recently got a car. The ads were bugging me so much that first week that I went and got a plain license frame replacement and peeled off the white lettering dealership decals off the trunk area. I thought I was alone in this!
They want everyone to know what a great experience they had at Southwest Classic Chevrolet!
Exactly, I even use a plastic scraper to remove their dealer decal. Im not advertising for those ass holes for free lol
Before I got the plate cover I have now, it was more for a 2-fold reason. First is I don’t like my license plates to not have some sort of cover on it-it looks weird at this point.
Second is, like others have mentioned, laziness.
Geez I was going to get to it. I only got the car 15 years ago. You guys are always ragging on me. Have you seen this economy? Have you seen the tariffs? Geez. I’ll order when I get paid and I’ll change it. Just give me another week.
It’s dumb, but I was sentimental when I bought my car and had positive feelings toward the dealership.
Another car… the dealership frame said “(My Last Name) of (My hometown).” I got a kick out of that. It was like announcing myself. Ta-da, here I am!
Then I moved and used the now-local dealership, and THEY took off the other dealer’s frame, trashed it, and put on their own frame. I was so pissed. Well, I’m not advertising for them.
I take all of the dealer branding off of the car the minute i get home.
When they went to put it on before I left the dealership I was like “is that required? I really don’t want it.” 😂
They were happy to just keep it and save us both the trouble!
It’s an out of sight, out of mind thing like 99% of the time. Plus, I don’t give one single fcuk about the crap on most of my cars.
People leave the factory tape on the rear wiper too. Drives me crazy.
the screw on mine is stripped 😒
I haven’t found a different license plate frame that I like enough to put in the work of changing it.
I agree with you about the free advertising.
When I bought a car, & they were prepping it for me, I made it clear that I didn’t want a dealer plate holder, & that any dealer decals that might be on the car were to be removed. They seemed surprised that I wasn’t interested in being a moving billboard for them.
I’m too broke to go out of my way and buy a whole new frame
When I brought my brand new Kia I actually told them I wanted ZERO dealer markings on my car or I wouldn’t sign shit.
There are no dealer markings on my car. No stickers on my paint, no dealer license plates holder, nothing. So happy.
I literally don’t give a shit what my license plate boarder says. It’s free, I’m gonna roll with it
The power of defaults
Lazy or don’t care enough.
It’s pink and makes me car easy to find in parking lots
You’d be shocked how many people just plain never used a screw driver in their daily life or would even think to remove it.
Having worked in auto insurance, I assure you most of them have no idea it is there or what their car even is.
Some people don’t know what car they drive. I don’t think they care about a frame. People that are more erm enthusiasts I would assume take them off.