Yes, dealerships can be a problem, if you go in for maintenance that requires them to drop the plates you'll be charged for the labor unless you do it beforehand. However, if you're lucky enough not to have real problems (as I have been so far, knock on wood) then the only time you really need to do it would be for the big maintenance checkups, i.e. 15K, 30K, etc. Once you've gotten used to it, taking them off only takes like 30 minutes, and about an hour to put them back on.

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gothamist -- MAXC member
http://www.beatdriven.com/xterra.html