What an upsetting evening. We were on our way to Grand Case for dinner and were going around the roundabout at the end of the Causeway. A policeman waived at us and directed us to a parking area beside the roundabout. Another office came over and told us our plates had expired yesterday and that our car was being seized. He told us to call our rental company, Unity. He gave us a ticket for $150. The tow truck operator called Unity for us (I was so upset I kept misdialing). After a half hour someone from Unity came and put new plates on the car. He took the ticket and said he’d take care of it. The officer also said it was the responsibility of the Rental company. Unity said they weren’t supposed to do this to rental cars. We didn’t really get any satisfactory explanation from Unity why we had an old plate and way they hadn’t contacted us to come in and exchange it. I sure am going to Insist on some compensation form Unity. Standing in a field in the dark for a half hour not knowing what’s going to happen is one sure way to ruin an evening. We did eventually get to Grand Case, but it sure wasn’t the pleasant dinner we had planned. Just so you know, the old plates are orange and the new are light blue. I you have an orange plate on your rental (I am still seeing some) DON”T drive it!

Wow, that would be upsetting! I would go by the office and lodge a complaint also.

Some rental companies are being very slack in this regard. This happened to other visitors recently, but they were given only a warning and then had the new plates replaced by the rental company the next day. There is a little plastic envelope on the top left hand corner of your windshield showing the info you need for legal operation of the vehicle. It is always a good idea to check this before driving off the rental lot. Enjoy the rest of your trip with your new plates!

According to this Daily Herald story technically yesterday was the first day that the police were giving tickets. According to the story, the tags are fairly expensive for rental cars. For the next couple of months, everyone should be vigilent to make sure they have the correct aqua colored plates..

Sorry you had the issues but glad the rental company is taking care of it. I am often on the island when the plate change occurs and always feel more comfortable when I have the new plate on the car. There seems to be more strict enforcement this year.

The tax for R Plates is Naf312.50, which isn't much more than regular M Plates which is Naf287.50. What I'm sure is expensive is the number of plates they must buy, but if you are running a business, you should plan for that expense and have the plates changed out when you are supposed to. Now, if you have diesel car or truck, those charges are very expensive. The tax I noted is for gasoline cars.

at least you can say you had an adventure! Sorry it happened to you but i would have chalked it up as an "experience". I always try to find some bright spot in these things.

I was talking about the total outlay for a rental car guy, which I know one must budget for these things, but I'm sure this is a large expense for all the car rental guys.

It's about 180 US per vehicle per year - less than a weeks rental on some cars. Wonder if you are notified months in advance that it's due like in the US?

I'm guessing that they expire about the same time every year. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this would come as a surprise to them, just it is a lot of money all together.

It always starts at the beginning of the year. This year they could start paying on January 5th. I believe the new plates were available to be picked up on January 26th. The deadline to pay by law was February 28th. There is always a grace period before controls begin. They announced last week that controls would start on Monday, March 21st.

It was an adventure indeed, but not exactly what we were expecting. We asked the officer and she said that they had at least 2 months to get the plates. Came back from Carrefors about 10:30 this morning and there was 4 or5 police cars and several tow trucks at the roundabout. Obviously they mean business! I've not seen this kind of enforcement before.

That is what I miss about the "old days" in SXM. The license number was wrote in magic marker on the deck lid of your rental car. Ah, officer my number is not current? No problem. Let me erase the old one and write in the new one.

SXM??? Wendell

i am sure it wasnt leagle! at least you hadnt broken down and were just sitting there with a cop there and a tow on the way you knew you wouldnt be left completely stranded.

True. We actually could have walked back to Simpson Bay Resort. It was 7pm, not late enough to give us too many qualms. John Runs/walks that route every morning.

that is early, still a bit of daylight left. We always book with french plates. makes it more dificult to figure out who is a tourist so you are a bit less of a target.

Not sure about legal but it was accepted. The time frame ( island time) to receive physical plates ordered was a long one.

SXM??? Wendell

Just because you have a french plate doesn't make you look less touristy.

Versus having an "R" on a Dutch rental plate, it does in many cases.

I like the French plates too. I was wondering why some Dutch side rental companies have all R plates and some have French ones. Perhaps it depends on which side the company owner lives.Maybe someone has the answer to this.

Leagle 49, make sure they do take care of it. If they don't, and it becomes delinquent, you could have a warrant placed out for you, because you were issued the ticket, not the person from Unity. No problem unless you are stopped again, then you might be arrested for outstanding tickets.
Have someone from Unity e-mail you the receipt when it is paid, and keep the copy with you in case you are stopped.

i would much rather have a french plate that doesnt spell it out like an "r"

Personally I wouldn't be too hard on Unity. I think Michael and his brother run the best car rental operation on SXM and I don't think anybody could accuse Michael of not caring about his customers or going well out his way to look after a customer. There have been many instances of Michael and his brother coming to the rescue of a customer who was renting from a rival. Unity erred, but in my experience, it is the exception, rather than the rule with Unity.

The other thing to check is if you have French plates is the little NAGICO insurance envelope on the lower passenger side windshield. It should have a current insurance certificate in it.

They have been talking for years on controlling french plates from a dutch side company. Here is a Daily Herald from 3 years ago.

Like you could pass as a local. Ya right... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Certainly helps when it comes to getting your car broken in to.

I keep hearing people say this and yet, the only time our much maligned "R" plated car was broken into over forty years of mostly "R" plates was a few years ago when we arrived at the lot in the later part of the day and we parked in a row of cars in the rear section of the Mullet Beach parking lot towards the tall grass and the dumpster and in a spot where there wasn't as much people activity going on.

We, along with six or seven cars in total, were broken into that day. I made a point of noting the majority of the cars were French based on the plates and I drew the conclusion the assault on ALL the cars had much more to do with location, location, location along with opportunity than any markings on the plates or windshields.

I agree the R plate is a dead give away but in the end I really do believe location and opportunity have more to do with it than the type of license plates. Just MHO...... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Story in the Daily Herald today

I took a closer look at the plates today. There is no date or year on them. Nothing to tell a tourist they are going to expire.

They change the color year to year. Thats all they need to see.

The plates last year were orange in color. The 2016 plates are aqua green.

Yes, we know that now, but when we arrived 2 and half weeks ago, there were lots of orange plates. No way to know what was old or new or to even think it mattered. At home we have a several different colors for current plates. Next year we will certainly know!

That's because the Dutch license plates expire every year (new color every year) and the French never expire.

What happens to the old plates on the Dutch side? Husband and I will be there at the end of May, and he trades and collects plates and would love to pick up a few. Will the rental car company have a pile of them lying around?

Many shops on the island sells expired plates.

I have my plates with pic of Mullet Bay Beach on the front of my car here in Miami! That was the best one.
Cheers
irina

All 12 of my Grandchildren have a Dutch license plate. Now they are asking for a French plate too. They didn't like my answer.

Mand:
You might ask your rental car place. They might have some around their place that they will give you.
How sale of old number plates got started. When I lived on the island I got the bright idea that I could make some extra cash by selling them. I collected them from car rental companies and persons looking to get rid of there's. I asked Jack if he would put one up on the wall behind the bar at Peg Leg's with a Fore Sale sign and I would split the money with him. He said he would do it for free so he became my outlet. I made a fare amount of money but could have made a lot more if the rental places didn't use French plates so much. I only did it one year and then I started seeing them in gift shops the next.

There are a lot of shops around the island that sell the old Dutch plates, normally for $5. It is very rare to see a French plate for sell as those are issued for the life of the vehicle. There is a web site where you order a replica plate of the French plate with St Martin region on it.