The garage has finally rang me and said the numbers can be transferred to out personal plate.

Wife pops in garage they take car in and swap plate. Garage ignores old number plate predrilled holes and decides to screw self tappers in boot lid.

I'm madder than a box of frogs.

But the question is what would we do?

whats behind the number plate?

IJK said:

The garage has finally rang me and said the numbers can be transferred to out personal plate.

Wife pops in garage they take car in and swap plate. Garage ignores old number plate predrilled holes and decides to screw self tappers in boot lid.

I'm madder than a box of frogs.

But the question is what would we do?

whats behind the number plate?

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Relaxx my dealer did this as well its not like the car will come apart. The only issue here is the rust that will come of course, but this wont affect the car in any way. As far as I know and unless you tell the dealer otherwise before they do it, this is considered standard procedure by car dealers.
The box of frogs can relax!

Its too late to do anything about it, I mean rejecting the car for such a small issue would be ridiculous and even if you could do so, would just create a lot of hassle for you!

Mine are held with 3M tape no screws front or rear !

If it really bothers you you could fit wellnuts in the bootlid. You'd have to take off the numberplate, drill the holes from the self tappers to a suitable size, paint the bare metal to prevent rust then insert the wellnuts. You could also use rivnuts, they're a bit more permanent than wellnuts. To be honest though it probably isn't worth bothering!
If you don't know what wellnuts are here is a link...http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=130841983652
Alternatively, if removing the interior trim of the boot allows sufficient access to wield a spanner, you could remove the self tappers, drill the holes slightly larger, paint the bare metal then use ye olde style plastic number plate screws.

What's really funny in Greece is when you are parked illegally the police generally remove your number plates with screwdrivers and take them to the police station and leave a ticket on your windscreen!
Much easier than clamping or towing.
This has happened to me once before on a Saturday and the station told me to go back on Monday so i drove 2 days without any number plates!
The police woman at the station told me that they will keep them for 10 days! So I pleaded saying I am a British Citizen in Greece and I didn't know of these crazy laws, and that I paid the 80 Euros (reduced to 40 if you pay within a certain amount of time) fine.


Luckily, she gave me back my plates so now I am very, very careful where I park. They are doing it much more now as it is a very easy way to get money for the state. If they just write a parking ticket, no one pays it, so they felt taking the plates were more effective = ) Rightly so!

Great story- taking the plates is extreme, but sounds effective.

IJK said:

But the question is what would we do?

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Have you just bought the car? Is it new?

IMO I'd be rejecting the car if it were me. That or I'd ask for a grand off for their incompetence

Hi maxi

Its the 500s now 6months old. As part of our deal with the diesel part ex was treasured plate transfer.
It took a few months as all paperwork was lost in floods in December.

Its all a comedy of errors.

They have offered to get a body shop to fill and paint but Ffs its annoying. They tried to fob the wife but I was having none if it.

Personally I'd want another used tailgate from a used 500 that is perfect.

They haven't got any white 500s in at the minute.
Just can't believe a mechanic would do it or for that matter anyone else.
"I'll ignore those 4 very smart. Holes and create 2 new ones"

Really don't want the hassle but how do we know that

A. they havent hit any wires inside boot lid

B. Even if they fill it surely the holes in the back won't rust.

C. The metal flakes from all this will have dropped into the skin of car causing possible rust issues internally

D. Will the filler eventually drop out? We plan to keep the car possibly longer than most people would so it?

I'd ask for a hatch off ebay, you find it and they pay and fit it

I'd much prefer to have two little holes hidden behind my number plate rather than have some goon swapping my boot lid for one that dident belong to the car. I know that it's annoying and it's typical of ahole dealer slobs but in the grand scheme of things it's not a big deal really. It's very very unlikely that it's caused any damage behind the plate - if you're worried then remove trim and have a look! In terms of rust remove plate and screws and apply some inhibitor and replace and then forget about it! If you'd bought the car that way you probably would never have known any different.

On my brand new 500C S they drilled straight into the boot. It did rattle as per other threads, but I put 2 tap washers behind to dampen. I think I will have a look at the weekend to see what the condition of the metal is like.

I still cant get over the general incompetence of them. I asked if I had done it to his car what would he do.....he said it would be ok with it.........................................Might take the Dewalt with me when I pop in tomorrow.


I guess I get the holes filled as it seems less hassle then new lid but I'll be F&^ked if I'm going down quietl


I'll see what happens if they'll speak to me as it would seem saying livid and pissed off has annoyed / upset them!

I suggest a chill pill, you may need these guys on your side at a later date with more serious issues, let them know you're unhappy and upset, but don't turn into the customer from hell - I am definitely speaking from experience here.

Another solution rather than having the holes filled and painted is to tidy up the holes, rust proof/paint them to protect them, put rubber grommets in to stop water ingress then you can use the mountings that Fiat provided. Might actually work to your advantage in the end as the grommets will prevent any rattling from the number plate.

PsFiat said:

I suggest a chill pill, you may need these guys on your side at a later date with more serious issues, let them know you're unhappy and upset, but don't turn into the customer from hell - I am definitely speaking from experience here.

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Totally agree, you can use it as ammo for a later date to get a good deal on a more genuine problem.

Whenever I buy a new car, I always make a point of asking for the number plates to be stuck on, or (better) supplied with the plates loose so I can stick them on properly myself.

I almost had the OP's problem when I bought the Panda, though.

When I went to collect the car, the nice sales lady said that there'd be a delay of about an hour. When pressed, the reason given was that the workshop had drilled straight through the hatch to fit the plates & she'd sent them off to the compound to get another car.

The sales manager had apparently suggested sticking another set of plates over the holes but she'd already said that wouldn't be acceptable before I even got there.

Sadly the workshop had dented the inner sills during the PDI, so they ended up making a second trip to the compound to find one they hadn't managed to mangle yet. I drove it home on trade plates & they made up a new set of undrilled plates the next day.

Good job they had a few in stock!

Well they have finally got back me. The repair is only warrantied for 12months by the body shop. But as I have demanded a "as long as we own the car warranty" they will honour the repair from fault.

Is that fair? should I ask for anything else?