Piggybacking this;

My parents were LEOs with the LAPD for years, and the disposition and background of the person pulled over could be a huge factor. If you've got a stack of traffic violations in your history and you're trying to beg out of the current situation - probably not going to happen. If you're being incredibly difficult, rude, refusing to take any ownership for your actions - your chances of leaving with the ticket originally intended aren't the only thing rising, but the officer's interest in checking for other violations is rising too.

In so much as getting pulled over in the first place - my parents readily admit that it's hard to ignore a car that's been made to gather more attention. When your car is modified in a way that stands out, painted in unusual or bright colors, you're more likely to be noticed. It could come to the fact that you were overlooked because the officer's attention was glued to the brightly painted, slammed sports car, and your less attention grabbing ride just blended in with 'the usual traffic'.

I've certainly noticed it in my own life. I was practically invisible in my beige Toyota Camry. My Scion xB and modified Hyundai Genesis Coupe were magnets for attention though. As was a totally thrashed Mazda B2200. It's as attention getting to drive a beater that appears to be little cared for as it is to drive a car that someone is perhaps a little too invested in or proud of. In the unfortunately numerous times I've been pulled over, almost every single time I've left with a warning instead of a ticket, I treated the cop as if it were a more average business transaction; courteous, respectful, calm, and I know reddit has this psychotic affection for "deny everything, never admit to anything", but I've always felt that was terribly silly when it comes to minor traffic violations, especially when I know I'm guilty. So when I know I did something wrong? I owned it and I expressed a little humility about it, and hey... I'd say over 3/4s of my pull overs did not result in a ticket, so something is working for me.

(And no, I never mention any of my family has worked in law enforcement; that's a great way to guaran-fucking-tee you get the ticket.)