front license plates

You are technically required to have a front plate however Ferrari hasn't left an easy way to mount one. Whether you can get away with just carrying it behind the seat depends on your relationship with the local cops. A lot of guys do this and most seem to get away with it. If you get a ticket, it's not a moving violation and won't affect your driving record. I don't know what the fine is now but it should be somewhat less than a speeding ticket.

If you want to stay out of trouble and be in compliance there are brackets available or can be custom fabricated including some that allow the plate to be retracted under the car for a "stealth" look.

It depends on how much of a rebel you are.

 

i've came across these.... it's not a bad idea.
http://www.formuladynamics.com/products/f430_license_plate_holder/f430_license_plate_holder.php

 

In WI it's the same thing. Penalty was $10 a few years ago. That's it. Usually, like seatbelts, they only tack that onto the actual moving violation at the time. So they pick you up for speeding/not yielding or something, then they have little boxes they fill in and appropriate fines. So it should only add on a few dollars. Don't put on the fron plate, you'll be fine.

 

In WI you are required to display front and rear license plates and unlike the seatbelt law it is a primary enforcement statute so you can be pulled over just for not having a front plate, no other traffic offense is necessary.

Back in the day, it used to be an equipment violation to not display a front plate. Get pulled over without a front plate, they'd give you a "fix-it" ticket, you'd screw the plate on and show it to them at the police station, and that was it. But I know for sure that in WI since at least 1984 the fine is a lot more than $10 - In '84 I got ticketed $58 just for not having the sticker on my front plate.

WI Statute 341.15(3) allows for penalties up to $200 for improper display of registration.

So like Tim said whether to display or not depends on how rebellious you are or how good your relatonship is with the local constabulary.

In modern times I have 3 cars without front plates and have been pulled over for it one time in 12 years. I've been pulled over several times in those cars for other violations and in those cases not a thing was said about not having a front plate. Go figure.

 

IL also requires front plates. Chicago cops are notorious for ticketing parked cars without front plates.

 

The only cops who are bored enough to write you a ticket for no front plate on a Ferrari - especially a Scuderia are the same ones who got their butts kicked in school, never got laid and now have a badge and gun to make up for it.

For the most part cops - like anyone else - are blown away by the car and totally understand not screwing holes in a $200K automobile for some stupid archaic law. They are "required" in Colorado as well and the few times I have been pulled over it was by a cop who simply wanted to look at the car and one time because I had my driving lights on only. I don't think it is a moving violation anywhere so just a fine or extra money on whatever the other offense is.

If you run across some little pip-squeak cop with an attitude or some John Wayne bulldike broad cop that can't even fit in a Ferrari that will be the exception not the rule and you can afford to pay the fine.

Cheers

 

In WI it is primary offense and they can pull you over for it.

It is a very convenient excuse at sobriety check points or simply a reason to "check this guy out". All my daily drivers have front plates.....don't need the hassle on the way home from a Packer game.

My sports car do not have front plates. I won't be drinking when I run these cars, so if they feel a need to pull me over I suspect the front plate will be the least of my concerns

If I need to present my 355 with a front plate, I have this on the shelf in the garage:
http://dynamtechgroup.com/ferrari-license-plate-holder.php

Says it works on the 430....so it may be an option for you.

BTW, the primary reason WI cops want front plates is that they act as an excellent reflecting device for their laser / radar guns.

 

+10

 

The front plate rule is silly & I just continue to assume that my fines for not having one are my tax that I pay for the privilege.

I figure that I pay that toll a few times a year - and its worth it.

 

Yes, in WI not having a front license plate is a primary offense, but I've never heard of anyone getting pulled over for just that, hence why so many have gone so many years without getting a ticket. They catch you for speeding or something, then tack on the fine of the missing front plate. Basically, I wouldn't put too much stock or worry in it at all.

 

I did. Just south of Oshkosh in my Tundra. I was doing 75 MPH. When he asked me if I knew why he pulled me over I said "no idea".....<gulp>

When he told me it was due to the lack of a front plate I almost burst out laughing. I got a warning

The plate has been on the truck ever since.

 

I wouldn't (and don't) worry about it, however -

Jim, my actual experience has been just the opposite. I got pulled over by the WI State Patrol in DePere solely for not having a front license plate on my 528. I was not speeding or anything else, the officer was facing me at a stop sign and I had just turned on to a freeway on-ramp when he pulled me over. Just got a warning. I also got stopped by the Wauwatosa Police just for not having a sticker on my front plate back in the days when that was required. That one cost me $58 as mentioned previously.

On the other hand I have been stopped several times for moving violations (!) and not a single time was my lack of a front license plate ever even mentioned. Five different LE agencies, five different times, and not one said a thing about no front plate.

 

De Pere? You here often?

 

1 warning in 12 years time is great.

So the answer of this whole thread is = don't put a plate on the front. If you do, there's a slim chance you'll get a warning, or God forbid a smallish ticket.

 

Nope, so far just that one time, to pick up our new puppy.

That is the takeaway here, indeed. At least for Wisconsin drivers.

 

Thanks for the info......I don't like the plate on the front of the 944 and was thinking about leaving it off. I take the plate off everytime the bra goes one and off for cleaning waxing etc.

 

I don't have a front plate on my car. Sometimes just for fun I count the cars I see and note the ones without front plates. On a good day it comes close to 10%. I've never been pulled over for no front plate. In WI. they can pull you over just for that. At one time they were going to do away with the front plate to save money but it never went through.

 

The 944 is eligible (more than 20 years old) for a Collector plate. Only a rear plate is required.

 

I never understand why I see 20+ year old cars WITHOUT collector plates in MN. They cost $10, and that's it... forever. No more $35 per year fee, +the other $7 is misc charges. It seems like a deal that a lot of people miss out on.

 

Because, if you daily a collector car, it is illegal to have collector plates. If you want to take things to technical terms, cars with collector plates legally can not be driven unless it is going to a show or a parade. It's not really enforced, but in some cases it is. For example, a 40 year old guy driving his Ferrari on a sunday won't be hassled by police, but, a teenage kid driving an old MR2 with collector plates to school and back will be ticketed, and that is why I do not have collector plates on my MR2, because when I use it as a daily driver, I will be ticketed.

 

Ah ha- and there is my answer. Well I guess I am safe as the cars I own with collector plates are very seldom driven. Considering I had to have other fully licensed cars to get collector plates, I should have known that.

 

Thanks for the info and I'll give the collector plate some thought. I put about 2000 miles a year on the car. I take it to work a few times a year, up to the lake, just for fun, hardward store, car shows and other places. Took it to the Car Craft show at the fairgrounds last July and generated it's fair share of interest. When I can get an F car it will be driven the same.