[Coach Mike]

So I picked up the car on Wednesday (6/21/177) and the dealer rep handed me the front plate and bracket. He told me not to mount it as it will damage the grille on the car. I said it is a requirement to display it in Illinois and he agreed, but insisted that I shouldn't do it anyway. He said just put the plate in the glove compartment if I get stopped - it doesn't fit there anyway, so I put it in the trunk.

Took the car out this morning to take my son's GF for a short ride and got pulled over for no front plate - yes, I got a written warning for it already after three days of ownership about a block from home (WTF!). I knew what I knew, so not a huge deal. Agree it looks better without it, but I don't need the hassle every time I take it out in my small town.

Question here is: has anyone really had any issue with damage from having it on the car? Looks to be sturdy enough and mounts to a plastic surface behind the grille anyway.

Thanks for any input that you guys can provide.

Mike