The Truth About Steve Jobs' License Plate

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Exchanging your Mercedes SL55 AMG every six months just to avoid putting plates on your car? That sounds so absolutely retarded....that it might actually be true. :D

Steve (or someone close to him) spotted a loophole in the California vehicle laws. Anyone with a brand new car had a maximum of six months to affix the issued number plate to the vehicle. So Jobs made an arrangement with the leasing company; he would always change cars during the sixth month of the lease, exchanging one silver Mercedes SL55 AMG for another identical one. At no time would he ever be in a car as old as six months.
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Actually he was probably afraid of the maintenance costs of an SL55 and that's about how long they last before needing a major repair...
 
I dont blame anyone for wanting to not pay outrageous fees to keep the government bureaucracy afloat... only thing us few people have the money to do it
 
Just get a lambo :) there better looking anyways.
That is pretty stupid though.
 
Good thing this was the almighty Jobs and not Bill Gates or the internet would be smoking from all the hate being spewed at him for it.
 
good idea... works well to save money on tolls that use license plate photos :p
 
That's just it...he supposedly DID pay to register the car (required by law) he just didn't put the issued plates on his car because the law gave him 6 months to do so.

That means it was more of a paranoia thing. :eek:
 
It's got nothing to do with paying registration fees - that's always done @ point of sale. Considering the secrecy around his life, and Apple for that matter, the why's are pretty clear... He simply didn't want to put 2 metal targets on his car to identify him driving around. Douchey, but hey, I'd probably do the same if I had that much $$ to burn.
 
So in CA, do they not have temp plates? I don't see the reason for this?

The thing is even if there aren't temp plates there would have to be a bounty of the same make and model care without plates driving around or you could still spot who he was.
 
kush said:
It's got nothing to do with paying registration fees - that's always done @ point of sale. Considering the secrecy around his life, and Apple for that matter, the why's are pretty clear... He simply didn't want to put 2 metal targets on his car to identify him driving around. Douchey, but hey, I'd probably do the same if I had that much $$ to burn.
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Probably this.
 
kush said:
It's got nothing to do with paying registration fees - that's always done @ point of sale. Considering the secrecy around his life, and Apple for that matter, the why's are pretty clear... He simply didn't want to put 2 metal targets on his car to identify him driving around. Douchey, but hey, I'd probably do the same if I had that much $$ to burn.
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Judging by these forums and overall attitude most pc users have towards apple and jobs' death. Who can blame him...
 
He was a cheap SOB. He just didn't want to pay the money for license plates to the state like everyone else does. It was pretty plain he felt he was better than everyone else. Why should he bother with paying taxes like everyone else?
 
dgingeri said:
He was a cheap SOB. He just didn't want to pay the money for license plates to the state like everyone else does. It was pretty plain he felt he was better than everyone else. Why should he bother with paying taxes like everyone else?
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Yeah I'm sure that's it, he would rather pay the thousands upon thousands for a brand new luxury car every 6 months than pay the $100 for plates. Makes sense.
 
dgingeri said:
He was a cheap SOB. He just didn't want to pay the money for license plates to the state like everyone else does. It was pretty plain he felt he was better than everyone else. Why should he bother with paying taxes like everyone else?
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No.
 
kush said:
It's got nothing to do with paying registration fees - that's always done @ point of sale. Considering the secrecy around his life, and Apple for that matter, the why's are pretty clear... He simply didn't want to put 2 metal targets on his car to identify him driving around. Douchey, but hey, I'd probably do the same if I had that much $$ to burn.
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actually you dont have to pay registration fees at the point of sale.. you can but you dont have to
although i do live in a different state, but the few i lived in were the same
 
dgingeri said:
He was a cheap SOB. He just didn't want to pay the money for license plates to the state like everyone else does. It was pretty plain he felt he was better than everyone else. Why should he bother with paying taxes like everyone else?
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your hate of apple and jobs made you a retard if you think that's true.
seriously I cannot believe you thought to type that up and post it.
 
dgingeri said:
He was a cheap SOB. He just didn't want to pay the money for license plates to the state like everyone else does. It was pretty plain he felt he was better than everyone else. Why should he bother with paying taxes like everyone else?
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Roliath said:
your hate of apple and jobs made you a retard if you think that's true.
seriously I cannot believe you thought to type that up and post it.
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ROTFL... THIS, THIS! made me laugh for the first time today. Thank-you.

:D

The only thing that would be funnier is if someone has to ask why!

:D:D:D:D:D
 
I'm thinking Jobs felt license plates were tacky and he didn't want to ruin the look of the car with them. How many people are in a $100,000+ SL55 AMG driving around town without a license plate? Just one guy. It makes him stick out like a sore thumb. If he wanted to be safe he would drive a Mercedes C or some other common car so he didn't stand out in the least bit.
 
Steve said:
That's just it...he supposedly DID pay to register the car (required by law) he just didn't put the issued plates on his car because the law gave him 6 months to do so.

That means it was more of a paranoia thing. :eek:
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Actually they only lasted 6 months because he removed the radiator grill from the front as it ruined the "aesthetics" or some nonsense, and when it broke they had to just pick up the car and drop it to make it work again... (it looked like crap too)
 
DeathPrincess said:
Actually they only lasted 6 months because he removed the radiator grill from the front as it ruined the "aesthetics" or some nonsense, and when it broke they had to just pick up the car and drop it to make it work again... (it looked like crap too)
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this is the second dumbest post in this thread.
 
kush said:
It's got nothing to do with paying registration fees - that's always done @ point of sale. Considering the secrecy around his life, and Apple for that matter, the why's are pretty clear... He simply didn't want to put 2 metal targets on his car to identify him driving around. Douchey, but hey, I'd probably do the same if I had that much $$ to burn.
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OK, so instead of putting plates on the car, he's probably the only one driving a silver SL55 AMG WITHOUT plates. So if this car passed you would automatically know it was Jobs. Whereas if a silver SL55 AMG with plates passed you, you think, there goes one lucky SOB, you wouldn't think it was Jobs.

I think it was simpler, Jobs just felt that he was above the laws and rules that everyone else has to live by. In other words, he was rich and arrogant. Like that was real news.
 
qdemn7 said:
OK, so instead of putting plates on the car, he's probably the only one driving a silver SL55 AMG WITHOUT plates. So if this car passed you would automatically know it was Jobs. Whereas if a silver SL55 AMG with plates passed you, you think, there goes one lucky SOB, you wouldn't think it was Jobs.

I think it was simpler, Jobs just felt that he was above the laws and rules that everyone else has to live by. In other words, he was rich and arrogant. Like that was real news.
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Its a $250 dollar fine to not display plates in Cali last time I checked and its legal to drive with no plates on any car for up to 90 days regardless of how rich and/or arrogant you are.
He was probably just playing the odds hoping that most cops that would bother to check would just assume its a new car and probably think its under the 90day limit.

Common sense.
 
Roliath said:
Its a $250 dollar fine to not display plates in Cali last time I checked and its legal to drive with no plates on any car for up to 90 days regardless of how rich and/or arrogant you are.
He was probably just playing the odds hoping that most cops that would bother to check would just assume its a new car and probably think its under the 90day limit.

Common sense.
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tru
 
kush said:
It's got nothing to do with paying registration fees - that's always done @ point of sale. Considering the secrecy around his life, and Apple for that matter, the why's are pretty clear... He simply didn't want to put 2 metal targets on his car to identify him driving around. Douchey, but hey, I'd probably do the same if I had that much $$ to burn.
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Yep, this way he could blend in with all the other SL55 AMG's driving around with no plates :p
 
qdemn7 said:
OK, so instead of putting plates on the car, he's probably the only one driving a silver SL55 AMG WITHOUT plates. So if this car passed you would automatically know it was Jobs. Whereas if a silver SL55 AMG with plates passed you, you think, there goes one lucky SOB, you wouldn't think it was Jobs.

I think it was simpler, Jobs just felt that he was above the laws and rules that everyone else has to live by. In other words, he was rich and arrogant. Like that was real news.
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Doh! That'll teach me not to refresh before posting!
 
I'm not sure it's been mentioned yet, but didn't his license plates keep getting stolen so this is how he got around having to deal with it?
 
Six months? Is the gov't in Cali that backed up with plates that it takes that long to get them? Even if it was, that's what temporary plates are for. In Wisconsin, you have 48 hours to register your vehicle and put on temporary plates (provided by DMV, police stations, etc), or you'll get a ticket. Six months is a ridiculous amount of time.
 
simonizor said:
Six months? Is the gov't in Cali that backed up with plates that it takes that long to get them? Even if it was, that's what temporary plates are for. In Wisconsin, you have 48 hours to register your vehicle and put on temporary plates (provided by DMV, police stations, etc), or you'll get a ticket. Six months is a ridiculous amount of time.
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Took 4 weeks to get my plates for my car I bought in September. I dont know where this 6 months rule thing is coming from.
 
Because plates are ugly as hell and ruin the whole damn look of the car. Keep all of 'em off there, good for him if he has the money. :p
 
Takes 2 weeks to get plates. Sometimes issued on the spot. Vanity plates take up to 4 weeks. He just didn't put the plates on the car after getting them in the mail. You have 6 months to do so from the time you bought the car if for some reason they do not arrive in 2 weeks. When you buy your car you are issued a sticker/paper to put in the window till your plates "arrive".

Cliff notes:

He left the plates on the counter in the garage.
 
Lamont said:
Takes 2 weeks to get plates. Sometimes issued on the spot. Vanity plates take up to 4 weeks. He just didn't put the plates on the car after getting them in the mail. You have 6 months to do so from the time you bought the car if for some reason they do not arrive in 2 weeks. When you buy your car you are issued a sticker/paper to put in the window till your plates "arrive".

Cliff notes:

He left the plates on the counter in the garage.
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It depends on their backlog. I just bought a vehicle here in LA late in August and it took 4-5 weeks to get the non-vanity plates - I was actually starting to wonder if the dealer failed to send in the paperwork but they said in some cases it can take 2 months. And like you said, there are no true temporary plates like I've had in other states, just the little window sticker on the side window (not back and front windows).

There are lots of people driving around down here without their front plate on and nobody ever gets pulled over for it; most people have the back plate on. Basically, alot of luxury car drivers don't like the look a license plate on the front of their car. I'm sure if you DID get pulled over without plates then you'd get the book thrown at you.
 
Aus10 said:
Just get a lambo :) there better looking anyways.
That is pretty stupid though.
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Yeah, that would be all well and good until the City driveway entrance, ripped the bottom out of the car...I'm not kidding, unless you get into the driveway at an angle, or you own a 4x4, your going to scrape the crap out of, or damage the car. Some reason the Bay Area decided the driveway ramp had to be awkward.
 
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