Vanity-plate-incited vandalism?
 

I've been reading the threads related to vanity plates, and have noticed quite a few references to cars being keyed etc. due to a vanity plate message pissing off somebody.

Is that really a problem to be concerned with out there? Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of such occurences?

I've already ordered my plates, so too bad for me if it's a real issue, but it'll be too bad for the maggot who keys my car if I catch him doing it.

Won't say what the plates say right now, other than it might offend owners of a particular brand of German sport/performance/luxury cars (who have no sense of humor). I'll post the pics as soon as I get the plates.

Unless the vandal is caught and admits to the reason, this is a question that is impossible to answer...

That's what I was thinking (or more accurately stated, "hoping"). A car gets keyed for any number of reasons, right? Do cars with standard DMV issued plates NEVER get keyed? I would think that they do from time to time, so the question is, do cars with vanity plates get keyed disproportionately more often than standard-plated cars?

Not gonna worry about it for now.

It really depends, most times people with vanity plates are easy to remember and spot, if you accidentally cut in front of someone, etc.

Vandalism occurs for a number of reasons. There's never a good reason for it. People simply don't respect other people's property. You shouldn't let the hanging threat of jerks stop you from adding flavor to your ride.

That's good advice shado, thanks; so here it is (not the actual plate, but the image from the DMV site, they say about 8 weeks for delivery).

Ha love it

The good thing about poking fun at BMW's is hopefully most of the owners are more mature who would sooner want to hear why you think your Nissan is better lol...unless u come across some punk who owns a 1995 318 series and thinks he's the neighbourhood king

Good point, thanks.

I don't know if it's the plates but today I had a car load of hicks totally hate on my while driving the Z. I even got a one finger salute from the shitbag looking doofus in the back seat!

I was just like :bowrofl:

If your plate says "IM RICH FU" don't be surprised if your car is keyed.

Like what TheGreatOne said, you're more likely going to get the negative attention from the kid who just bought an old, used 3-series and thinks he is from a music video. The guys with E92 M3's and upwards will just read your plate then blow your doors off.

i'm sorry man, but that plate doesn't even make sense. BMW doesnt even make any 2 seater sports cars. I can understand if it said Y BUY PORSCHE....

You forgot about the Z4.

:owned: haha, that's true.

What about the Z4? They also made the Z3, Z8, & M1.

:icon18:

I'd feel silly with those plates if an M3/5/6 were to pull up next to me at a light.

You'd look over and they'll say, "because I can afford it." :icon17:

yeah i already admitted my fail, I guess I was just thinking of the 370 vs 3 Series really.

http://www.the370z.com/attachments/n...sm-z_plate.jpg

Performance aside, if you've got the money, why would you choose a Nissan over a BMW? I'm not talking about 370z vs _____.... so fanboyism aside: Talking about cars we don't even own (well most of us on here don't have maximas or 5 series)
Someone offers to give you the keys to a fully loaded BMW 535 and a Fully Loaded nissan maxima, you'd choose the maxima?



or a 1 series vs a versa? or a Murano vs an X5. seriously money aside you'd choose nissan all the way? I can totally see why someone would want a 370z over a 3 series, but overall brand quality, money aside, come on. Theres a reason that bmws cost a lot more than nissans.

and to answer your question. aside from totally random vandalism, usually if someone keys your car its because you pissed them off somehow. Whether you stole their spot (or so they think) cut them off, parked too close to them, or simply have a nicer car, you bothered them. So if you want to decrease the likelihood of having your car keyed then its best not to piss people off, and all your plate does increase the likelihood of that happening

The point of vanity plates is to be clever, cool, or funny, or some mix of it all. Its all fun when someone says 'oh haha i get it!, great plate!' or even some sort of little rivalry like Supraklr or something. The only comments you'd get from your plate is a middle finger from a bmw driver, and maybe some other douche in a parking lot coming up to you and telling you that he agrees and doesn't like BMW either, talk about a good time.

I'd be inclined to key that guy's car too (
note that I said I'd be 'inclined', not inspired.)


The last thing I'm worried about is somebody "blowing my doors off", which will be very easy whether it's by an M3 or a Yugo. "Blowing the doors off" of another vehicle has been off my RADAR for 40 years now. If there're other cars in the vicinity then I'm content to hang in the slow lane, being and looking like the cool old guy that I am.

Well you might feel silly, but I won't. Why would I? And I wouldn't look over unless he shouted me out first. And if he said to me " 'cause I can afford it", I'd say to him "So can I, I guess I'm just better at managing money than you are".

Of course I would choose the 535 if it was "given to me" because of its much greater intrinsic value, and then I would quickly sell it because it's not the car for me.

And no, I would not choose Nissan all the way. If I were interested in a different type of car I would consider all the variables and the metrics that are most important to me and make my choice accordingly.

I guess we differ on this point, but I think "Y BUYBMW" is clever, is cool, and is funny. I'll get back to you on that a while after I get the plates. If I'm wrong I'll admit it.

Again, another thing I could care less about is some BMW driver flipping me the bird over my plate. If he does, and if I see him, I'll just smile, stay in the slow lane and let him blow my doors off. Maybe I'll give him a wave a few minutes later down the highway when I pass him while he's wrapped around a pole or slammed into the back of a semi, etc.

As far as the douche in the parking lot is concerned, I just hope I never run into him. :stirthepot:

I guess I just think the plate is more tacky and cocky than clever and funny... but good luck with it. :tup:

Cool. i think you should go to the Pebble Beach Concours D'elegance and offer your sound financial advice to all those lost souls buying expensive cars for no reason. So let me guess: Anyone with a more expensive car than a Nissan just wasted their money, and anyone with a less expensive car than a Nissan would have bought a nissan if they weren't so poor?

do you really want to play the 'wrapped around a tree' or 'slammed into the back of a truck' card about BMW's?.... i think there are enough threads on here to show that that is a universal theme among irresponsible drivers, a lot of whom seem to have managed to crash their fare share of 370's. Obviously you have some sort of irrational problem with BMW drivers, so this plate will probably do a good job of making them act like douchebags to you, giving yourself even more cause to have dislike for them.

I always take vanity plates "tongue in cheek". They are simply personal statements meant to separate that person from the crowd. I would not assume that just because a person has a license plate that says "IH8ZS" that the person "hates" me personally because I'm in one.

I am the same way most of the time. The only one recently that got any reaction from me was "NV MY TL" on a TL. I just asked, "why?" :icon17:

Honestly, I just don't see how a plate like that has any place on a 370. The reasons a person would buy just about any BMW don't really align with the same reasons a person would buy a 370...

true, but theres a difference between saying 'what i have is awesome' and 'what you have sucks'

As a Z owner, think about which of these plates would bother you more.

'NO JAPCRAP' or 'M3 OWNS U'

most of these little forum tiffs we get into isn't a result of someone saying something good about there car, but rather saying something negative about someone elses

lets do an expirement. who wants to be the guinea pig for getting a plate that says "KEY ME". any takers?

Have you seen the guy around chantilly with the

IL SMO Q
pllates on his isf?:icon17:

:icon18: I like that one!

I haven't, but there's an old Porsche Boxster in Woodbridge with plates that read "ETMYDST" or something like that. :icon18:

There is a guy who lives near me who has a baby blue GTO with plates that read, "GTOWNED"

Probably a pretty common plate amongst the GTO guys, but still ironic with the color.

OK, it's been about 5 months since I put the "Y BUYBMW" plate on my car. No BMW drivers giving me the finger, or challenging me to a race, or blowing my doors off, or telling me "Because I can afford it".

In fact, not a single overt reaction to the plate from any BMW drivers at all. The only indications I received from anyone (except for the comments from friends) was from a young kid driving a brand new Nissan pickup; I suspect he was the lot boy for the Nissan dealer just up the street from where I saw him and was just returning from the car wash and/or gas station because the truck was dripping wet. He was laughing and shaking his head up and down in agreement, or perhaps he was just laughing at me. The only other reaction was from a bunch of high school kids riding in a brand new high-end Volvo who gave me a thumbs up when they went by, maybe they were just playing with me.

I just ordered new plates for the Z, not because of any reactions to the old plate, but because of what poster JeffBlue said earlier: " theres a difference between saying 'what i have is awesome' and 'what you have sucks'" I've given that statement a lot of thought and agree with him. Even though it was not my intent to say "your car sucks", I agree that that's how it would be taken by some people.

So the Y BUY plates will soon be gone and replaced with the ones described in the picture below. Unfortunately this message, which shouldn't be offensive to anybody, is necessarily a little cryptic as the plates with similar messages were already taken. Does anyone know what it is supposed to be saying?

Geezers rule?

Thanks ma'am! You just made my day! "Geezers Rule" it is.

Why would you want to give this thieving state extra money just to print a vanity plate ? Aren't your taxes and fees high enough already ? You are better off putting a cheap vinyl sticker in your rear hatch if you want to "express yourself".
Although I once tried to get a plate that read 3MTA3 but it was rejected by the censors. If you saw it in your rear view mirror it would read EATME

Location: Occupied California

lol

Congratulations! That combination is available! You can now move forward with purchasing your plate.

http://www.myplates.com/Images/Plate...eText=BAGD%20U
http://www.myplates.com/Images/Plate...ateText=8COBRA
http://www.myplates.com/Images/Plate...eText=I%408OOB
Yes, you can have a heart and a Texas symbol on our license plates. We're that awesome!

Honestly, I dont find it that funny, and I do think it puts your car at more risk. Why even take the chance? I mean in reality, why buy Nissan? Everyone has their reasons for their purchase. Why should they have to justify it? I think its asking for trouble man. People shoot others for lesser stuff than this nowadays where I live.

You're a little bit behind the curve Whoady. See my recent update at the top of this page.

its possible a plate like this may get u keyed by a bimmer driver... or things like;

musl sux
u nv me
2 bad 4 u
c my smk
u 2 slow
yujockn
h8 vette
H8 bmw
Lexsux
Z dz ntz
wrshp Z
bowdown
fyuk yu
eat sht
F U ahol
u wish
sux2b u
ucoklkr
ucokrdr
udksmkr
h8 mstng
toyosux
urcar sx
jdm rox
frs sux
brz sux
kill fwd
fuk bmw

:tiphat: the above may get you keyed. :icon18:

Why would a vanity plate get your car keyed ?

It is the problem with the person, and not the plate..

Anyone who vandalizes property is a petty , small person..

Anyone who vandalizes a car because of a license plate has serious issues that are rooted in the life that they lead..I bet you would find more problems in their lives than just hating cars and license plates.