Front License Plate Bracket

[Gigi]

I live in a state where front license tags are not required. My FFE came from a state that does. The dealer who installed the license plate bracket did a lousy job, installing it a good inch off center. In buying my FFE, I told my dealer that as far as I was concerned, the vehicle had been damaged and that I wanted the bumper and grill replaced or repaired to my satisfaction. The dealership, to their credit, agreed to replace the grill and to repair the hole in the bumper. I am counting on the dealer's body shop making the front end look right. I'll try to post before and after pics.

Directing dealers to wait to install the front license plate bracket until the car is sold could save dealerships in those state that don't require the bracket the trouble and expense my dealer is expending to make me satisfied. It would be a good idea as well to train technicians how to put the screws in the dimples that locate the centered attachment points when they do install the brackets.

 

[Fluke]

I feel your pain, this happened to me also even though I specifically told the selling dealer not to install it. There was a paint defect in the front bumper that the guy installing paint protection film found that required some repainting of the bumper. While the car was in getting the defect fixed, I had them take care of the license plate bracket holes for a small upcharge. The car looks much better without the plate holder holes which I had patched using color matched "bumper plugs" prior to the fix.

 

[Astrand1]

Or maybe Ford could come up with a better way to attach them so that they don't have to use a drill and destroy the bumper!

 

[Gigi]

Or maybe Ford could come up with a better way to attach them so that they don't have to use a drill and destroy the bumper!

Great Idea! Our Honda Odyssey's was attached by two vertical screws that went up into the bottom side of the bumper.

 

[rabar10]

I feel your pain, this happened to me also even though I specifically told the selling dealer not to install it. There was a paint defect in the front bumper that the guy installing paint protection film found that required some repainting of the bumper. While the car was in getting the defect fixed, I had them take care of the license plate bracket holes for a small upcharge. The car looks much better without the plate holder holes which I had patched using color matched "bumper plugs" prior to the fix.

Searched for "ford bumper plugs" and found this -- is this what you were using before the permanent fix?
https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_11_78&product_id=78

 

[Fluke]

I feel your pain, this happened to me also even though I specifically told the selling dealer not to install it. There was a paint defect in the front bumper that the guy installing paint protection film found that required some repainting of the bumper. While the car was in getting the defect fixed, I had them take care of the license plate bracket holes for a small upcharge. The car looks much better without the plate holder holes which I had patched using color matched "bumper plugs" prior to the fix.

Searched for "ford bumper plugs" and found this -- is this what you were using before the permanent fix?
https://www.bumperplugs.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=1_11_78&product_id=78

That is the product I used. Pretty expensive considering what you get, but they did match the color of the car. I filled the holes that were made in the "grill" (black plastic part of the horizontal slats) with JB Weld black epoxy filler that matched well.

 

[Gigi]

Here's the "before" pic. You can see dimples to the left of each of the three holes where the holes should have been drilled when mounting the bracket. The dealer has replaced my grill and promises to repair the bumper cover to my satisfaction. I wish they had just agreed to replace the bumper cover along with the grill, but I am willing to give them a chance at a repair. The tech who does the work promises that I will not be able to see the repair. We'll see. We're back in the Arctic vortex here again with lows down into the teens and 20s. The dealer wants to wait until it's warmer to make the repair. In the meanwhile, I've covered the hole in the bumper cover temporarily with a screw cap that looks okay until you get close enough to notice that it is almost half and inch off center.

 

[WattsUp]

You gotta love it that there are dimples exactly where they should actually drill, yet they still screwed it up.

 

[Gigi]

You gotta love it that there are dimples exactly where they should actually drill, yet they still screwed it up.

On a more laissez faire day, I might have been okay with the dealer putting black plugs in the holes in the grill and a body colored plug in the bumper cover, but only if the darned holes were centered in the right places, not half an inch askew.

The way I see it, this falls into the category of damage to the car, the same as if a car porter on the dealer lot had put a dent in the fender.

 

[Gigi]

The dealer has "Effie" overnight to repair the hole in the bumper cover tomorrow. I'm driving a 2011 Fusion non-hybrid as a loaner. Golly, does that thing have a HUGE trunk! After getting used to the idea of rear compartments being half or more filled with batteries, seeing a big empty trunk is a surprise! :shock:

 

[Gigi]

Now you see 'em. Now you don't.
Many thanks to sales consultant, Finn, and body man, Kenny, at Sandy Springs Ford for making "Effie's" front end look like new.

Such a pretty face. Why mess it up with a license tag bracket?