Why do people edit out licence plates? Does it really matter? I use to do it but it occurred to me that you drive around in public with them what does it matter if you see them on the web? The only reason I can see is if the photo is of somthing illeagle.
I have heard that some insurance companies and the like will look for your car after an accident to see if you did anything they can deny a claim for.
I know mazda used to deny claims on cars that were raced, if they could prove it.
In the typical classified listing is where I see plates covered the most. I know things vary by state and I think in some states, if you know the plate you can find the address. I am not sure if this is true because it does not work that way here, but true or not, I think this is the fear. Sellers are not wanting to give the description of their great car so someone can come over and steal it.
I don't bother with hiding the plates.
I hide them because I assume there is something I do not know.
mad_machine wrote: I have heard that some insurance companies and the like will look for your car after an accident to see if you did anything they can deny a claim for. I know mazda used to deny claims on cars that were raced, if they could prove it.
I'd heard that about Mitsubishi and Subaru, but not Mazda yet. It was especially unfortunate in the case of Subaru; they were giving away SCCA memberships with WRX purchases for a while which was a great program...unless you actually participated in the races. It didn't affect me, but I never tried to make a warranty claim either.
Let's say you troll this board, and you disagree with some political or religious post of mine, You could easily figure out roughly my neighborhood, and the make, model and color of car I drive. If you had my plate, you could positively identify me simply by stalking the main drag where I live. Since my photo appears here now an again, you would have found me. Wow. That's pretty easy. Perhaps I should hide my plate?
Nah. If you find me, we can talk about the post. We will either have a spirited discussion over a beer and see each other's point of view and agree to disagree. Or you will become violent and I will shoot you in the face.
Tom Heath wrote:mad_machine wrote: I have heard that some insurance companies and the like will look for your car after an accident to see if you did anything they can deny a claim for. I know mazda used to deny claims on cars that were raced, if they could prove it.I'd heard that about Mitsubishi and Subaru, but not Mazda yet. It was especially unfortunate in the case of Subaru; they were giving away SCCA memberships with WRX purchases for a while which was a great program...unless you actually participated in the races. It didn't affect me, but I never tried to make a warranty claim either.
sorry, you are right. It was subaru
this thread has taken a wrong turn somewhere
Why? I don't know. You can clearly read my plates in the pics of my car.
A friend of mine in the UK who did a lot of pro bike and car videos as a rule hides all visible plates in case the "wrong people" are looking at the video and as a courtesy.
In the UK, I used to hide/photoshop all the plates on vehicles I showed photos of as they have had an epidemic of cloned plates - up to a few years ago you could just wander into most car accessory shops and get a set of plates made without paperwork. These days at least you need to show the title of the car (which in the UK has the license plate details on it as plates stay on the vehicle unless you have a personal plate), but people still manage to drive around with cloned plates. Very handy with all the speed and other enforcement cameras that are all over the place. Plus of course you were/are able to apply for a replacement title if you had the VIN and the plate, even if the car wasn't really yours...
Out here I'm less bothered, mostly because the plate cloning is not really an issue, plus AFAIK we've got both the only grey C4 convertible and Montego Blue Miata in town...
VWoA was sending representitives and warranty managers out to the legal drag strips to document license plates and vin numbers to use against warranty claims.
Haven't figured out the need for me to blur plates in my pics though.
pinchvalve wrote: Let's say you troll this board, and you disagree with some political or religious post of mine, You could easily figure out roughly my neighborhood, and the make, model and color of car I drive. If you had my plate, you could positively identify me simply by stalking the main drag where I live. Since my photo appears here now an again, you would have found me. Wow. That's pretty easy. Perhaps I should hide my plate? Nah. If you find me, we can talk about the post. We will either have a spirited discussion over a beer and see each other's point of view and agree to disagree. Or you will become violent and I will shoot you in the face.
Or we could just find you at the Challenge. Or me at the local autocross. It's not like it's that hard to find live events where people are. I don't bother blocking the plates.
A number of good points have been posted in this thread but since I have seen a number of post on different boards asking this I have to wonder WHY do you (the OP) need to know? This always concerns me a bit.
This is of little help.... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/stolen-car/43100/page1/
Paul B
Donebrokeit wrote: A number of good points have been posted in this thread but since I have seen a number of post on different boards asking this I have to wonder WHY do you (the OP) need to know? This always concerns me a bit. This is of little help.... http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/stolen-car/43100/page1/ Paul B
I don't need to know anything. I really don't care if plates are blurred. It actually brings more attention to the plate when they are blurred then if they are left alone. I get the feeling that you don't like people that actually think about things. It is a bad habit of mine. I tend to ask why alot more often than others. (this really annoys my kids LOL)
As for the posting of this topic of discussion? I was sitting in my car this morning at the local coffee shop with time to kill so of course I brake out my Droid and surf over to GRM and noticed a couple photos in another thread that had blurred license plates. It got me thinking so I posted up.
Should I be worried that you worry that I asked the question? 
I blur mine out in real life. Makes it harder to get speed camera tickets and get caught by those roving camera vans that check for tickets/warrants.
I blur my plates out in all of the photos because they think it steals their soul.
Yeah, I've never understood this either, and I'm the paranoid conspiracy theory type. My cars are unique enough that if you want to find me, you can do it without having the plate number.
I've always wondered the same, and when I ask, nobody has ever been able to provide a legit answer. The funniest is when you see a car for sale, and the plates are blurred. I have your number from the ad, and your address as soon as I phone. What are you trying to hide?
I always thought it was to prevent faking ownership for some nefarious purpose by those much more nefarious than I am who actually understood how to make it happen. The fact that you drive around with them exposed every day makes that kind of ridiculous, though doesn't it?
I do it to avoid issues with the insurance company.
I can see blurring it if it were a photo of a warranted car at a competition, but its paranoia, I think. Its the same reason my wife shreds things with her name and adress on them, even though its in the phone book, on the internet, written on the front of the house...
Streetwiseguy wrote: I can see blurring it if it were a photo of a warranted car at a competition, but its paranoia, I think. Its the same reason my wife shreds things with her name and adress on them, even though its in the phone book, on the internet, written on the front of the house...
WOAH WOAH WOah woah woah.....
You mean to tell me my address is on the front of my house for all the world to see? How come no one has told me about this yet. 
Tom Heath wrote:mad_machine wrote: I have heard that some insurance companies and the like will look for your car after an accident to see if you did anything they can deny a claim for. I know mazda used to deny claims on cars that were raced, if they could prove it.I'd heard that about Mitsubishi and Subaru, but not Mazda yet. It was especially unfortunate in the case of Subaru; they were giving away SCCA memberships with WRX purchases for a while which was a great program...unless you actually participated in the races. It didn't affect me, but I never tried to make a warranty claim either.
Subaru must not have paid much attention, seeing as I have a ton of pics of my wrx autocrossing, and when I got the dreaded rod knock it was actually DURING an autocross (bad timing, all the early 09s got it no matter how much you babied them).
Engine and turbo were replaced under warranty, even with the SCCA stickers, suspension, etc on the car.....
e_pie wrote:Streetwiseguy wrote: I can see blurring it if it were a photo of a warranted car at a competition, but its paranoia, I think. Its the same reason my wife shreds things with her name and adress on them, even though its in the phone book, on the internet, written on the front of the house...WOAH WOAH WOah woah woah..... You mean to tell me my address is on the front of my house for all the world to see? How come no one has told me about this yet.
You fine sir ough me one keyboard and I can now personally attest to the fact that Orange Dry was not made to come out ones nose. 
Funny..nobody seems to want to clone my plate..
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