When I bought my XK8 from a district attorney years ago, he warned me that the nice crome Jaguar license plate surrounded is technically illegal. I dismissed it, couldn't imagine anyone being that petty.

A few weeks ago I got pulled over and handed a $55 ticket because that same frame covered the lower 1/2 of the phrase Garden State.

As he handed me the ticket he said "I'm giving you a break, that handicapped permit is blocking your view" , as it hung from thfrrear view mirror.

I was pissed (another US /UK term used differently to add to our list means mad as hell). I recall a relatively recent push to move driving without seatbelts from a class 3 to a class 2 offense. Class 3 (if I remember the numbers correctly) means they can't pull you over for it. Class 2 means they now can (it passed).

How in the world I wondered, could wearing a seat belt be a lower class than a license plate frame? So, I looked into it.

Bad news, it is. They issue 112,000 license plate frame tickets per year in this lovely state. Nice chunk of $$$ at $55 each. Same is true for the handicapped permits, though I didn't look up how many of them are issued.

So I now started to remove the handicapped permit while driving too.

Funny thing happened today. As I've shared before, I block the photo diode on the back of my rearrear mirror so the headlights are always on with the auto headlight switch. I've got an asphalt grey car want to be sure the other guy sees me.

Today my auto headlight wouldn't work! My heart sank as I looked forward to pulling off the steering wheel and finding the open wire to resolve it. Next time I parked I checked for the tape on the mirror- it was long gone! I did an experiment and hung the handicapped permit. Sure enough the lights came on!

Who knew? The placcard was blocking the light and giving me auto on for who knows how long.

Since it takes about 30 seconds to remove a license plate frame should you have one, and I know there are several of us from nj here I figured I'd share the story, especially after I found the fun ending to my headlight issue.

John

 

New Jersey does have some "different" motor vehicle laws. Funny thing is, you can violate some of these laws as long as you don't live in...........New Jersey.
Pennsylvania residents can drive legally in New Jersey all day long without a front license plate, but I can't.
Since a state trooper got shot many years ago, they don't allow tinting of the front door windows. I'm not sure what they do about drivers from other states who have tinted windows.
You can't legally pump your own gas in New Jersey. I don't mind this one when the temperature is below freezing.
Remember that if you are driving in New Jersey and want to leave, you will usually pay a fee (toll) to get out.
There are no tolls entering New Jersey, just leaving. Why? Because nobody will pay to enter, but everyone will pay to leave. Oh, you will pay.

 

@Johnken

The Lord works in mysterious ways - especially if a license plate crime is worst than failing to do your seat belt up.

But you did find that the hanging permit on your rear view mirror was doing the job for you, even though you didn't know it.

Here in Bahrain, I got this 1999 XK8 a year ago which had been in storage for over 2 years. My plan was to use it as a daily driver, as we all know these old Jags need to be driven. I got the car running but when I checked the engine emissions, it was wasn't happy on NOX, VOX etc (no EGR in my model), so I feared the worst as the car had to be "registered" which involves the usual car inspection regime.

When my local mechanic Faisal was doing a particular job for me, he had already got the car inspected without me knowing. It appears that all Bahrainis get their cars passed on the "friendly condition" that jobs will be done. Faisal just wanted to help me get the car back on the road. As the Brits will say "Top Man Faisal!"

 

Florida has the same sort of license plate law. Most of the frames that the dealers put on new cars are illegal as soon as they leave the lot.

Every year or so a local news segment will air about the law.

 

It's nice that they trust people to get things fixed. Makes me wonder why they have inspection at all.
New Jersey got rid of motorcycle inspection. They say it is up to the owner to maintain the motorcycle in good condition.
New Jersey used to check automobile emissions with a tail pipe probe, but no more. Now if the ECM is happy and your check engine light isn't on, you're good.
A few decades ago I had a Ford Ranger that was failing inspection for NOX. The Ford dealer told me that my EGR valve was bad. The engine didn't have an EGR valve.
Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas took care of the NOX and I passed inspection.

 

And I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free

 

New York City also violates for license plate frames that bock any of the plate's printing. they get you even when parked as the parking enforcement agents look for this one. the people who are in a jamb are those with cars where a significant plastic rear panel overlaps the plate such as some older GM Saturn cars.

 

I think because of Michigan's automotive status, we don't have a lot of these shenanigans. No stupid front plate, no inspections, and really questionable enforcement of most car mod laws. We also do not have traffic enforcement cameras because of our states AG determining they're not constitutional.

I've known people with limo tinted windshields, absolutely no emissions equipment and straight pipes the entire way down from the headers, and stereos loud enough to wake the dead; and the cops leave them alone. Brodozers, rolling coal, slammed, stancenation, etc. The only people I've heard of getting modification tickets were as a cop giving them a break for a real ticketable offense.

We do have a lot of freedom here in many aspects of life. The funny thing is when you get a genius from a coastal state or Illinois talk about how refreshing it is, then they want to turn it into the nightmare they came from.

 

I deal with it constantly in NJ. Even a thin frame can get you a ticket. The guys around here on the coast are usually pretty good. They do dumb down other tickets to the obstructed license plate. One more thing, my Jaguar won't pass emissions I'm working on evap leak, but you can drive down the road with no brakes, no horn, the car can be unfit for operation, and you will have no issue.

 

I lived in NJ for over 10 years (Central Shore area) and had plate frames on all three of my vehicles and never had a problem. Honestly, I never heard of that law but, being NJ I can believe it!
I got my XK8 about 9 months before moving out of NJ. It was a Carolina car and did not have the mounting bracket for the front plate. I looked into purchasing one and it was around $180 as I remember. I looked up the fine for not having a front plate and as I recall it was $35 and no points. So I figured I could get 5 or so fines and still be ahead. Not to mention but, a front plate looks like crap on these cars. Funny thing is I never got stopped for the no front licence plate.

There are a few things I do miss about NJ. However, I don't miss the taxes, cold weather, vehicle inspections and living in a nanny state where it seems they just can't keep their hands out of your pocket.

 

I used to live in NJ, now I live in Alabama. I am so happy being out of there.

If I ever move back I am maintaining an address in Florida or Alabama so I can avoid the onerous NJ car laws.

 

"Why do all the people in NYC always have such an unhappy look on their face? Because they know that the light at the end of the tunnel is New Jersey."
That came to me from a friend from Camden, so I don't feel to bad passing it on....
If you want a good laugh, just Google, "Florida +Blue Laws". The number and stupidity is unbelievable. Unless it has been changed, it is illegal for women to wear slacks in public in the state of Florida. I would like to see that one enforced.
The license plate law is selectively enforced by the local cops when they want to pull someone over. I got pulled over in my '84 El Camino, just so the 2 cops could check out my car. Seems my license mounted backup camera was covering the "ori" in the arced word 'Florida' on top of the plate. The cop even had a printed copy of the specific statute to hand to me when he came to my car side. I went to the police dept to complain about the pettiness of the stop, checked the employees lot, and found that 6 out of 9 cars in the lot had license plate surrounds that covered more of their plates than mine did. When I presented this info to the Police chief, his response was, "well you only got a warning ticket this time...."
There is even a LEO forum that discusses using this law to stop cars for possible drug, or immigration busts. Gives you a nice warm and fuzzy feeling for our local constabulatory at times, doesn't it(and I was a Fed at one time).

 

Regarding obstructing license plates, how do people get away with trailer hitches, bicycle racks (with or without bicycles), the shelf that attaches to the trailer hitch so you can load stuff on it and completely hide your license plate?
And they give you a ticket because they can't read the state motto at the bottom.
Weird.

 

Ok Jersey folks a bit of a side track. I could have started a new post, but since I had all of you Jersey people here, and the post had started to wind down, I figured I might just do this. This 2004 XKR Craigslist ad from Paramus recently popped on to my radar, based on the BAT listing, and the ebay one I'm guessing they've been trying to sell this for a little while. I'm curious if any of you have seen it, or know much about it. Seems in good shape, although from the BAT comments the pictures may be a bit old. At $18k the price is also a bit higher then my budget, but otherwise seems about what I'm looking for. I was thinking of settling for a silver 2003 convertible (craigslist ad) that was much closer to me, and only listed at about $12k (listed for quite some time, probably get it for less), but this car has me thinking that if I could reach an agreement for a bit less then they are asking, it may be more of what I want. I think I may go take a look at that silver car now that the roads are starting to get a bit better, but I may hold off on actually buying unless I get a screaming deal.

Thanks for humoring me.

 

John, its a nice looking car. Interesting that you're thinking of viewing a more local convertible. Usually folks want 1 or the other period.

Leather looks in good condition too. All things being equal I'd go for the R, part of me wishes I had, but I'm not complaining.

I wish Paramus was closer, its 76 miles away.

John

 

Thanks for the reply John.

I've actually been emailing, and texting with the person selling it a bit today. She was quite responsive and friendly. She says the photos are fairly recent, and I have no reason to not believe her, unless you are an enthusiast stand alone cameras often have the wrong date in the meta data (why the BAT folks thought they might be old). She even sent me some more specifically of the cracked gear selector surround (worse then can be seen in the listing pictures), and even a video of the underbody when on a lift. It looks fairly clean, although a bit of surface rust on some of the steel suspension supports and other things, but nothing that looks like it is eating through. Not surprising for a 15 year old car up in the northeast. She also mentioned that they just ordered the headliner material today, and that they plan on having it fixed before the sale. This is good and bad, one less thing to worry about, but I'm guessing it means they are looking to get top dollar. Will potentially make negotiating harder. The cracked wood gear shift surround is in the upper left, actually 2 cracks that both look they originated at that upper left bolt on the gear trim piece. It could be made to look a lot less noticeable with a repair, and something I could possibly due myself.

I've pretty much decided if I get an X100 I'm going to go with a 4.2 R no matter what. The rest is all up to what I find, at a price I'm willing to spend. I know these are fighting words around here, but I don't even mind the look of the X150 either, but for that I'd probably want the 5.0 NA or SC. To be honest the color combo and the fact that the one in Jersey is a coupe, are pluses to me. I've never owed on a convertible, so maybe I'm missing something, but I just tend to like the look of the coup a bit better (I know that is a hot topic around here). But since the coupe seems to be a bit more rare, especially with a bit of non monochromatic color I'm willing to look at other options. The 2003 would be much easier to get home, and is well within my self imposed price range (I'm really hoping for under $15K), but the silver and light interior doesn't due as much for me, and the fact that it is a convertible doesn't either. We will see.

 

I was born and raised near Paramus, but now I'm near the bottom of the state.
Cost of living, and everything, being high in the Paramus area, I can imagine that the seller would want more money than another seller in a different area.
If you really want the car, go ahead, but you may pay a little more for it.

 

Arizona has same law concerning license plate frames. You can have a frame as long as every word or number is not blocked in anyway. Best bet is not to even have one. Every 2 years inspection consists of checking emissions, gas cap and engine warning lights. The inspections are only in a few counties and cost about $18.00 in addition to registration tax. I can move about 2 miles east to Pinal County and wouldn't need an inspection. Motorcycles here, no inspections at all. We pay registration fee every year which is actually a tax based on assessed value of your car. Funny my '98 Jag is about $28.00 a year.