I live in Southern California. When I bought my '97 Miata, it was from Arizona and only needed a rear license plate. I debated a bit when I got my pair of California plates and finally I dutifully put on the brackets and installed the front plate. I hated the look, but figured I just had to do it. Then I noticed more and more that a LOT of cars of all types here don't have a front plate. I finally decided to give in to my vanity and remove the offending front plate. On the "bumper" behind the right bracket there was a nasty little dent. Not much, but noticeable. I'm sure it wasn't there when I bought it five months ago, so the only thing I can think of is that I (or my loving wife) must have bumped something with the plate and forced the bracket into the plastic hard enough to cause the dent. My wife has only driven it a couple times (she prefers her Accord, which I refer to as the "Queen Mary). Anyway, the plate wasn't damaged so it couldn't have been much of a bump.
I have three questions:
Has anyone reading this from California actually gotten a ticket for not having a front plate?
Can I fix the dent?
If so, how?
Thanks.