Front License Plate Bracket - 2003

Discuss any maintenance you've done to your Vibe & Matrix and ask how to perform maintenance on your vehicle
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03VIBEswfl
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:25 pm

Front License Plate Bracket - 2003

Post by 03VIBEswfl »

Hey y'all-

Sorry for the really basic question, but I just moved from Florida to NY and have to put a freakin' front license plate on. I already checked in the back where the spare is and there's no bracket back there, as some have suggested.

Anyway, am I correct in assuming that the two little indentations on the front of the '03 bumper (the ones that are pretty close together, as opposed to where you would expect the holes on a license plate to be) are where I should drill to mount a bracket? If so, what kind of screws should I use? And would one of these universal brackets work?:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... tid=361886" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.amazon.com/Cruiser-Accessori ... te+bracket" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.amazon.com/Cruiser-Accessori ... te+bracket" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Thanks!!
tpollauf
Posts: 4139
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:37 am
Location: Toledo/Oregon, Port Clinton Ohio
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Re: Front License Plate Bracket - 2003

Post by tpollauf »

Here's what I would do. Lay the front plate on the passenger floor where it is handy and only if/when you were to get pulled over, grab it & place it onto the dashboard. This way your "not quite" breaking the law but just buying time before you absolutely have to put it on your bumper. Here in Ohio they too require it but both of our Vibes don't have the front plate mounted! Good luck on whatever you decide to do :)
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2009 Vibe GT (manual), 2009 G8Gt, 2009 Vibe GT (auto)
2014 Silverado, 2004 Vibe GT

"everything is modifiable"
03VIBEswfl
Posts: 41
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:25 pm

Re: Front License Plate Bracket - 2003

Post by 03VIBEswfl »

tpollauf wrote:Here's what I would do. Lay the front plate on the passenger floor where it is handy and only if/when you were to get pulled over, grab it & place it onto the dashboard. This way your "not quite" breaking the law but just buying time before you absolutely have to put it on your bumper. Here in Ohio they too require it but both of our Vibes don't have the front plate mounted! Good luck on whatever you decide to do :)
I'm really, really tempted to do that (I currently have it jammed in the windshield/dashboard crease) but my license/driving record is so screwed already (hey, I have a, umm, heavy foot...) that I'm trying to clean things up and avoid any (extra) reason to get pulled over. So I might just succumb to installing the damn thing. And if I ever move back to a state that doesn't require it, I could always use it to hold some sweet vanity Pontiac or New York Giants vanity plate ;)
Blueridge9
Posts: 332
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2008 8:02 am
Location: USA

Re: Front License Plate Bracket - 2003

Post by Blueridge9 »

I found a front license plate bracket at a junk yard that has worked fine for eight years now. It needs to have the right profile so it sits against the curve. I don't remember what model of car it came off.
Good Luck.
Blueridge9 2004 Base, 1.8L "The Vibe is a melding of muscular looks, ..utility & economy, sportiness & road-hugging tractability." -Road & Track Magazine Sept. 2008 Pictures: http://s278.photobucket.com/user/blueridge9/library/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
cthomasparr
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 10:03 pm

Re: Front License Plate Bracket - 2003

Post by cthomasparr »

When I bought my vibe in PA and brought it back to NJ I had the same issue. There was nothing in the trunk... although I heard the same idea. I found a "dealer" selling OEM parts online and paid a small fortune for it. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 to $40 for a piece of plastic and some screws. It has held up well. Don't remember about the screw holes, but I think you are right, there might have been dimples in the right place. I didn't check ebay but that's another possibility.

I would try calling a junkyard to see if they had a vibe that didn't get there because of a head on collision. Good luck.
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