License to Steal

 

License to Steal?

In honor of Andrew’s 40^th Birthday, Ted and I drove to Charlotte on Saturday, June 28, for his birthday celebration.  It was the first road trip in my “new” car and Ted was my chauffer.  It was a short 155-mile trip, but the traffic was quite heavy.  We stopped once briefly to gas up in Pittsboro.  Ted was at the pump the entire time.  I didn’t get out until we reached Andrew’s home.  When I say he lives in downtown Charlotte, I mean the Bank of America Stadium is a 1.5-mile drive from his house.  We arrived there about noonish and decided to visit a while before going to explore some of Charlotte.  The party did not officially start until 5:00pm.  Around 1:30-2 pm Ted and I left.  Upon reaching the driveway, which is not visible from the front of the house, Ted exclaimed, “Mom, where’s your license plate?"  My license plate had vanished!  There were some deliveries during our stay, and we suspected  someone had stolen the plate.  Renee graciously checked the cameras they had and found no suspicious activity.  Lost or stolen, either way I had to make a police report.  I first called Raleigh, but they directed me to call the Charlotte police department.  I called the non-emergency line and gave the necessary information for the report.  The official gave me a report number to keep on my person; in case we were stopped on our way home.  I know my plate was on there on Friday because I had gone to the store and had opened/closed the trunk several times.  The plate had been attached by the dealership when I purchased the car.   It was my original plate from the car I traded in.  Could it just come loose and fly off the car on the interstate?  I find that highly unlikely, although it did only have two screws holding it on.  I have noticed since then that most people are driving around with only 2 on their plate.  We drove back that night, arriving home around 11:00 pm with no incidence.  We didn’t get stopped by the police, which was a big relief.  I looked on-line to identify what I needed to do to acquire a new plate.  I printed the required form and on Monday morning I was at the bank when it opened to have the form notarized.  From there I arrived at the Motor Vehicle office in Cary that specializes in car titles, registration and plates.  There were approximately 40 people ahead of me in line.  Surprisingly, it was only a 35–40-minute wait and I had my new plate!  I also purchased 4 plate screws from them.  I was determined not to ever have to go through this process again.  I put the new plate on in the parking lot with 2 screws.  When I returned home, I drilled two pilot holes into the black plastic bumper and added the other 2 screws.  It is completely secure.  I did note that the mounting was inferior to most cars I have had.  The four screws just attach to a very thin piece of plastic with no access to the backside.  This is the nicest car I have ever purchased, and yet it has the worse plate mount!  So, did the plate fall off, or did someone cleverly take it?  You decide. PS- I haven’t heard anything more from the police who would notify me if they found it.

Tammy Harvey  7/8/2025