Vanity plate question (Don't ask).

[eight8toy]

I have a vanity plate, it's almost a must with a delorean. That being said, if I saw one with DONTASK I would figure the owner is a jerk/unfriendly and is trying to say how much the car is worth and to dont ask the price. Not necessarily meaning dont ask about flux capacitor, bttf etc...

Just my thoughts

The positive reactions you get with the car outweigh any negative stupid comments so it's worth it!

[dmcnc]

It's almost become noise to me. The F word I mean...(Flux...)

[Rich]

It goes with the territory.

For one thing consider there's a thread running on this forum called Stupid-Delorean-Comment-Of-the-Day with over 1700 posts so far.

As a fellow owner in California whose taken the car to 3 other states so far I'd say the questions come at about the same rate here as elsewhere.

[David T]

I can't see giving the State of NJ even an extra nickel to be able to drive my car so I won't spend for the vanity plates. My choice. With all of the rules and few available choices kind of hard to come up with a good vanity plate. If you go with Historical you only pay for the first year and after that renewal is free. I would not get too involved with this minor thing till you know you got the car. If you do get it you do not have to plate it right away. You can Title it now and plate it later in the Spring.

[TGGreene]

Just bought mine. On the 1st trip down the road (2 miles to the gas station), two people honked at me, one pulled up beside me and gave me the thumbs up, and two stopped and took a picture of the car at the gas station. I kid you not. Few people around here have ever seen one, other than in the movies. I think it's a lot of fun, personally.

[DMC-81]

Here in Florida a vanity plate is not that much extra, compared to the high tax region that I used to live in. I chose an option that is not BTTF related, as I found you don't need to draw extra attention to the movies. That automatically comes with the territory. I have a miniature ThinkGeek flux capacitor in the glove box for the inevitable question "Does it have a FC"? My response usually elicits laughter.

My advice is to craft and hone your own responses to the common questions so you are prepared. Keep it light and remember most of the people are just as nervous to approach you. Embrace the attention and have fun with the fans.

[Jonathan]

Keep in mind also that you don't owe anyone out there a response to their interest or questions. Not saying to be rude or flat out ignore them, but you don't need to engage them if you aren't in the mood.

How you enjoy the car is up to you and only you. Some days you might feel like chatting it up with anyone and everyone and other days you don't. Try not to feel obligated by any of this. You bought the car for your own enjoyment first, everything and everyone else is a distant second.

The way you enjoy your car will also change over time. Don't feel bad about it or that you're letting anyone down by not going to all kinds of get togethers and events. Go to the ones you feel like going to and don't feel like you have to explain why you didn't go to any of the others. Life will change and so will how you feel about the car. Sometimes these are good things and sometimes they aren't.

Solicit input from other owners on how they do various things with their car if you want to, but ultimately make up your own mind on how you're going to do stuff with your car. Personally, after ten+ years of having my car, I tend to really enjoy getting out for an evening 'lap' with the car on a loop I know well and one that isn't very busy with other traffic. I still stop and get gas or coffee and chat, but I prefer the driving more than the 'take off and landing' portions. As Michael coined not long ago, 'windows up, music up' when you come to a red light and don't feel like dealing with the guy beside you. That one needs the A/C to be working though, lol.

Best advice I can give you is to run your own race, and if people don't like it, tell them to go jump in a lake.

[About time]

I can't see giving the State of NJ even an extra nickel to be able to drive my car so I won't spend for the vanity plates. My choice. With all of the rules and few available choices kind of hard to come up with a good vanity plate. If you go with Historical you only pay for the first year and after that renewal is free. I would not get too involved with this minor thing till you know you got the car. If you do get it you do not have to plate it right away. You can Title it now and plate it later in the Spring.

I fully agree with the taxes here in NJ, I don't want them getting a penny more from me. I didn't realize an 81 qualified for "Historic" plates, if that's the case I will go that route for sure. I think the Historic plate looks pretty ice IMO.

As for worrying about it, I'm just making conversation with my thoughts while I wait this one out. I feel like a kid at Christmas with anticipation.

[About time]

Some good advice up above. I go to a few shows with my Plymouth, the normal questions from the heart are always welcome, it's those that think they know more then you do about your car that drives me nuts. Or the guy that is trying to make fun of your choice in classic car.

[David T]

Part of it is that people need a way to strike up a conversation so they say something like "Where's the Flux Capacitor"? I take it as a sign of interest and see how far they want to take it. It is a way for them to show that they know something about the car and it is always innocent. Never mind they don't realize you have heard that line before. Take it like a form of flattery, like trying to say hello to a pretty girl. 99% of the people that have come up to me are genuinely thrilled to see the car and are friendly and happy that you let them close to the car. Let's not talk about the 1%. If you don't like the attention maybe you should have gotten a different car.