Rusty parts on our cars are part of the price we pay to live in this part of the world. Rusty bolts make things difficult to disassemble, even something as simple as a license plate.

I saw a nice Mercedes Benz the other day in Minneapolis, and the first thing I noticed were how the four rusty license bolts were beginning to stain that fine Minnesota plate.



Why do we attach plates to expensive new automobiles with cheap steel bolts that rust so quickly? 

Even if you don’t care about the aesthetics of the very visible rusty bolts, there is a practical reason to be concerned: I once could not get a rusted license plate bolt out of a fairly new Toyota, and the bolt broke in the hole.  I had to drill it out, and it was very time consuming.

I replace the license bolts on my cars with stainless steel versions like the one in the picture. They will never rust, which means they will look better AND work better when you have to (eventually) replace the plates.



Any good hardware store will have the stainless steel bolts, but make sure to bring in one of the old bolts so you can match the length and the threads-per-inch count.

I also like to get the bolts that have a hex head instead of the screwdriver head most license plate bolts have. This allows the use of a socket wrench to get the bolt a little tighter, and a hex head allows you to get more leverage when you want to remove the plate.

Also, people who want to steal your plate are less likely to have the proper size socket wrench with them... they almost always have a screwdriver.