The original Chinese license plates are obscured to protect the previous owner's personal privacy, and also because the plates have been forcibly reclaimed by Chinese traffic management after the vehicle completed the "transfer pending export" registration. This serves as physical proof that the vehicle has legally and compliantly completed the upgrade.

It does not affect basic driving and regular speed cruise, but it will trigger a fault alert for advanced driver assistance on the dashboard. The LiDAR assembly is extremely expensive, so we focus on checking the integrity of the glass cover with a strong flashlight during inspections.

Based on practical risk assessment, we strongly recommend setting aside 3% to 5% of the car price as a buffer fund for even the highest-rated used cars, to cover oil changes, new tires, minor shipping scratches, and local inspection labor costs.