What do you think when you see a guy driving and his car has vanity license plates

35 comments

1. What a wanker

2. The same thing I think when I see a girl driving and her car has vanity license plates.

3. I used to know a guy who had PRO 2ND for a vanity plate and unironically had a bumper sticker that said “Virtue signaling bumper sticker” because in his mind, the plate was “philosophical” and not virtue signaling. This edgelord is in his 50s, mind you.

4. I ponder what the vanity plate means and why they chose it.

   I don’t associate personalized plates with vanity. Unless the plate said something like money or wealthy.

   Fwiw the people who want you to think they’re rich generally live paycheck to paycheck and the actual wealthy live modest middle class lives.

5. If I see a very expensive, very nice car, and they don’t have a vanity plate, I think “wow, way to save money”.

   If you have a very fancy car and don’t have a vanity plate, know that I’m judging you.

6. Vanity plates are silly. Sometimes I get a chuckle out of them but overall I think it’s silly.

7. I think they’re looked at differently in most states than they are in Virginia. Vanity plates here are super cheap so it’s really common for people to get them and pretty normalized. When I drive through other states they seem very rare.

8. Depends on what it says.

9. I normally think “what a waste of money”. But then I’m sure people would think the same about some of my interests/hobbies.

10. Some of them I enjoy, like a truck that just has a vanity plate “TRUCK” but others like “MD TOM” or “LAWY3R” are super tacky.

11. To an extent more money than sense, but then again people spend their money on all sorts of things I wouldn’t choose to, and I no doubt spend it on stuff other people think is a waste.

12. I would never spend money on it, but then again, they would probably never spend money on some of the things I do.

13. Depends if the car is a hobby or a statement and what the plate says

    If its a Lamborghini and the plate says something money related, he’s a wanker!

    If its a genuine car enthusiast with the model of the car on the plate for example, he’s just enjoying a hobby.

14. Completely depends on what it says. If it’s douchey then yeah I’m judging the fuck out of you, if it’s like a mini Cooper that says like Fun Size or something I get a chuckle out of it and think it’s just fun. We also have one local to me that’s a die hard Seattle Mariners fan and his plate says like EST 1977 for the first year of the team and no judgment for me there either.

15. If it’s funny then I laugh. Else…who cares?

16. My dad used to tell me that putting vanity plates on a car was stupid because it made it so much easier for the cops to call it in if you were ever involved in a chase. Granted, this is way before the era of plate readers and dash cams, but that attitude always stuck with me.

17. I have one I got for a joke with some friends ($70 well spent). It’s something amusingly English on a very American car (I’m a dual citizen). Everybody chuckles and I really don’t care what random folks on the road think about it so I’ve just kept it. To be fair, it probably just reads weird without context anyway. Lol

    I also had one when I lived in the UK but over there they have to for a certain format and are traded like an asset. Mine was previously owned by my Father and when he got rid of his car, gave it to me. Was worth about £2000.

18. Older people thought they were cool, I’d guess the driver was retired

19. It’s just a way to express themselves. Sometimes they’re tacky and sometimes cool. Not much different than a bumper sticker, window sticker, decal, or air brushing.

20. My 68 yr old BIL has a Corvette with the plate X BADBOY X. i’m sure he’s a chick magnet.

21. I don’t have a problem with them. It’s like a bumper sticker. Just something to personalize or make something amusing.

    I have a bigger problem with all the other stupid things people do with their cars. I live in the South where men spend tens of thousands of dollars putting extra-loud exhausts, monster truck wheels, and giant light bars on their $80,000 pickup trucks. Vanity plates are pretty harmless compared to some of the clown truck shit I see on the roads.

22. 99% of the ones I seen are related to the vehicle, itself I.e. “sic Z06” “hel392” etc. Shit is dorky

23. Easily identifiable

24. I would get a vanity plate if I could design it myself.

25. I don’t really care. People spend enough time and money on their vehicles — have a little fun if you want. Vanity plates are a minor cost at the end of the day compared to the rest of the upkeep that goes into owning a car.

26. Meh. Makes no difference, they’re just a less random set of letters and numbers.

27. I like them I think they are fun. My favorite one was on a coworkers green C4 corvette that had a vanity plate [PETAQ](http://klingon.wiki/Word/PetaQ) which is a seriously obscure Star Trek Reference. I had a bunch as well like [D-Code](https://www.carmemories.com/articles/svt-mustang-cobra-vin-expla.html) (reference to my Cobras engine code) [54R](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62%C3%9754mmR) (in reference to Russian Firearms I used to collect)

28. I get a chuckle out of ones that say something like “MY ZO6” on the back of a crossover with a car seat in the back

29. Dork

30. Depends on what it says. NGL, I have vanity plates too but it’s because I got tired of trying to remember what my freakin’ license plate number was.

31. D-bag. But honestly that’s anyone with vanity plates

32. Depends on if its funny/clever/amusing or not.

    Saw a white bronco (not the new one) at the store about a year ago with the plate “Not OJ” and just about died laughing.

33. I think you’re a judgemental bitch.

34. I pay enough for plates I’m not gonna pay extra to these assholes just to try to look cool. I see it as unnecessary waste.

35. Not much really. Some are fun to figure out and some are funny. Others leave me wondering.