[walnuttea]

Gentlemen,

Yesterday I removed my front bumper plate as I'm looking to add some plugs and get rid of the ugly. As I removed the bumper cover, I was exceedingly annoyed to see that the license bolts that screw into the license plate actually went all the way through and into the bumper. Clearly they used bolts that are too long. I can't plug those holes. Has anyone had a similar experience like this before?

It's bad enough that they installed the plate after I specifically requested they don't do it. Now I can't even plug the holes. Is it worth taking it to the dealership or am I SOL and better off just leaving the damn plate on?

[AlexM240i]

https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.ph...gory&path=1_11

[walnuttea]

Originally Posted by AlexM240i

https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.ph...gory&path=1_11

Yeah I've seen those. The large license plate holes are "fine," I expect them to be there. The big issue I have are the smaller holes between those larger ones. Those are the bolts that hold the plate to the plate frame. They used bolts that were too long so they drilled into the bumper as well. They probably don't like that bad in the picture, but they certainly stand out in person, and I can't imagine a good way to cover them up. They are too small to use a plug, plus then I'd have 4 plugs lined up. Essentially if I plug the large plate holes I'll just have 2 small ones on the sides anyway. Frustrating to say the least, especially for someone as OCD as myself.

[BEM-S4]

If you specifically told the dealer not to mount a front plate and they did you should make them fix it. Will need to re clear the whole front after patching and painting the holes.

[shocksim]

I used some bondo and a couple layers of paint/clearcoat to patch mine up in the front.

Was a pain (days of waiting for paint to cure etc) and it isn't 100% perfect, but it's wayyyy less noticeable than the license plate or the holes would've been.

The only problem I ran into was I had purchased the car used and the new paint is a teeny bit brighter than the older paint but not by much. You get within 6 inches with your head you can tell but standing up, driving, or walking by no biggie.

When I sell it I'll just drill out the filler and remount the plate.

Would've preferred to use bumper plugs but I had the same mounting pattern as you so it would've looked a bit odd with 4 plugs that close together. Wouldn't just look like more PDC sensors...

[walnuttea]

Originally Posted by shocksim

I used some bondo and a couple layers of paint/clearcoat to patch mine up in the front.

Was a pain (days of waiting for paint to cure etc) and it isn't 100% perfect, but it's wayyyy less noticeable than the license plate or the holes would've been.

The only problem I ran into was I had purchased the car used and the new paint is a teeny bit brighter than the older paint but not by much. You get within 6 inches with your head you can tell but standing up, driving, or walking by no biggie.

When I sell it I'll just drill out the filler and remount the plate.

Would've preferred to use bumper plugs but I had the same mounting pattern as you so it would've looked a bit odd with 4 plugs that close together. Wouldn't just look like more PDC sensors...

Good tip with the bondo and paint. I thought about it in the past but kept reading that it was much tougher to match the paint color than it would appear. I also never fully considered it since I could just use the plugs. Little did I know I had 2 surprise extra holes which screwed that idea over. Might be the best route to take at this point. Especially given how you can put the plate back on if needed.

[shocksim]

Attached a couple photos from close, car a little dirty, and standing in front after a wash/polish/wax.

Link to rough tutorial I used.

[T4455]

The dealer would not help you with this?

[bryan_G01]

if its mineral, it will never match.

[walnuttea]

Originally Posted by T4455

The dealer would not help you with this?

Well, I walked out the door with the car despite the license plate being installed just because it was a pretty darn good deal and I was ready to swap cars. In other words, I was pissed but made the mistake of accepting the license plate install. I live in the city so I figured it'd be somewhat necessary. Of course, I was also under the assumption that the license plate only damaged the bumper with 2 large holes that could be patched up later. I certainly didn't expect the license plate screws (not the mount screws) to extend all the way into the bumper as well, so that's the big issue.

Not sure if I can complain to the dealer about excess damage to the bumper? I can't imagine that having the plate screws dig into the bumper is standard "practice." Seems like negligence in figuring out proper screw length.