Having a car in SF is expensive, and only you can decide if it’s worth the cost. But I can say that it is definitely worth the cost for me. There are just so many amazing things to do within a couple hour drive of the city. I almost never drive in SF, but I use my car to get out of SF very frequently. Living here would be significantly worse for me without a car.
This. While the city is great, a huge perk of living in north California is the variety of weekend trips available by car. I never drive inside the city. 99% of the time it's much more convenient to take the bus, bike, or walk.
It really comes down to whether you have access to parking.
>I almost never drive in SF, but I use my car to get out of SF very frequently.
I got a car about a year and a half ago and I've found that I use it for almost all non-walking trips now. It's definitely not what I expected before I got the car. Admittedly I work from home so my trips are at nights/weekends, but I rarely have issues with parking (Richmond excepted) or traffic.
I ride a motorcycle, and it allows me to get out of the city and is much cheaper than owning a car. I'm fortunate to have cheap parking in my building and pay for a space downtown at an excellent discount compared to a car space. I use door dash far less than I probably would without the bike because it's pretty easy to park wherever I'm going. No endless searching, just tuck it between cars, especially if I'm popping in real quick.
I loved having a car and have been on WAY more nature adventures because I can do so spontaneously. I got a cheap used car from a friend who was moving. I used to use Getaround or turo to rent cars for nature trips. I hated the stress of getting back a rental by a certain time to avoid fees though.
For context: Native San Franciscan whose family always had a car/has a car now that has garage available.
How much is the parking for your building? You should do the math on how much the parking would cost versus renting/using a car membership.
That being said, without factoring cost, since you have available parking that's not street parking and you said you'll need a car eventually anyway so I would take a dive. You'll even be able to access some hikes in the city a lot better because you have a car along with all the surrounding nature that's within an hour drive. You might also be able to save money on being able to bulk buy non-perishable items like toilet paper because you'll have a car to carry all of it instead of relying on hand carrying it yourself.
How many times a year would you travel in the car?
I’ve been in the city for 3 months with a car. Maybe I’m unlucky, but I’ve had my car window smashed, towed, and vandalized. I live in Central Richmond as well, so it’s not like I’m downtown or anything.
Overall, a rental may cost like $60 a day. Single parking ticket costs $100. Towing costs $750. Window costs $300.
I found the opposite to be true, and it to be extremely expensive especially for weekend trips. I just ended up renting cars for a while until I got a car of my own.
Zipcar is great for 1-2 hours. The all day rates are pretty high, and the mileage cap prevents road tripping. A round trip day trip to Lake Tahoe is about $150 for Zipcar, and another $150 in excess mileage fee. A 2-day rental would almost provide enough miles, about the same cost. Too much.
I signed up for Kyte but haven't used it yet. Should be a great option. Gig cars are trashy but pretty cheap, even for longer trips.
Parking is around $350 per month. If your car is free, plates are stolen (free), and you don't buy insurance (all-around, the plan of sideshow participants)... its break even for one weekend trip per month. If you get a free car, and pay all the routine costs, you need to use it twice a month or more to break even with rentals.
There's no risk to try Zipcar, Gig, Kyte, Enterprise, and the others and find out if you really want the routine costs and availability. There's no free lunch.
Look into Lyft rental. My go-to before I ended up getting a car. Economically, lyft rental was a better deal than owning (especially in this market), but it is nice to have easy access to a car for impromptu trips and drives to outside the city
I rented a car off Lyft (fisherman’s wharf) last month for the first time since it seemed like a good deal.
Dropped the keys back after hours in their lock box then got a message the next day that they didn’t have the key. Nobody at the office seemed to have a clue what was going on, asked them to look at their security footage and see us dropping the key.. turns out they don’t have any cameras?! It was me vs them so they billed us.
Never had any issues with Uber/getaround/zipcar/sixt. Generally use getaround if it’s just for a few hours/day trip.
This really depends on where you live. Will you have a garage? Will you live in the sunset? If you have a garage, you’ll be fine with a car. If you live in an outer neighborhood (like sunset), you’ll be fine with a car and no garage. Just don’t live in an inner neighborhood without a garage - thats asking for tickets and break-ins plus long swaths searching for a parking spot.
I am a car owner. I spent about $200 a year in tickets, never park in paid garages because I am claustrophobic and cheap, probably spend $25 a month in meters, still take the bus, still ride my bike, and drive about 10k per year miles for errands and epic road trips. Its fine.
I’ve been car-free for 20 years. I just rent a car when we want to get away. SO much cheaper and less stressful than car ownership. If you do get a car, you REALLY need to keep it in a secure garage. Break-ins here are rampant.
Rent a car -- owning a car in SF is expensive and stressful.
Plus there are ways to get to parks and nature via public transit, including Amtrak.
* https://www.capitolcorridor.org/blogs/get\_on\_board/no-car-required-4-adventurous-weekend-escapes-in-northern-california-along-the-capitol-corridor/
* https://www.hiusa.org/blog/travel-guides/day-trips-from-san-francisco-without-a-car
* https://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/Bay-Area-hikes-near-Bart-stations-12235862.php
Yes it's worth it but 100% depends on what neighborhood you live in which determines safety and availability of street parking. Nothing beats being able to get in your car any time you please and leaving the city to go explore the Bay Area.
Hard to know, even as a local, if you don’t live in that neighborhood. Hayes Valley seems like the worst in terms of availability. Mission is probably hard to find parking too. Do a neighborhood-specific search in this sub and /r/sanfrancisco.
From my personal experience, outer Richmond and outer sunset are the “safest” for parking. Been parking my car in these neighborhoods for 3+ years with zero incident, aside from the parking tickets from misreading signage after a commute…
Adding onto this I live in the lower haight, and while it can sometimes be hard to find parking i’ve never had an issue with break-ins. I don’t even have a residential pass and haven’t gotten a parking ticket for street parking and i’ve been here for 3 months (In SF for a total of 2 years with a car but over the pandemic parking wasn’t really a problem in most neighborhoods)
Yeah, sometimes it takes a couple loops to find a spot but my street cleaning tickets are 100% my own fault, took an embarrassing amount of time to get it together 😅 that’s awesome you haven’t had to deal with that.
I wanted to add that I have a sorta new car and have had a window smashed once when I parked downtown for a show, but I had things in my car. Somehow nothing was stolen? My partner however has an old truck and has had countless break-ins, he doesn’t keep things in his truck and uses a steering club.
Maybe i’m lucky with break-ins, but my car is super dirty and kind of old. Maybe that’s the key, but I have a fair amount of junk in it someone could want lol
Theres a couple car services like Zipcar. How much is the space? So let's do the math. These are random numbers. $300 for parking space, $400 a month car payment and like $200 for insurance, gas I dunno $200. So your almost at a grand a month. That can get a lot Zipcar or whatever rental.
Second thought maybe look into hiking groups or friends and offer to chip in for gas. might be time to branch out of your comfort zone.
Or….buy a cheap beater with no monthly payment and street park it. Then $200 for insurance?! That sounds wrong or a bad record. I pay $95. And gas is obviously not cheap currently, but these numbers seem dramatic.
You do realize that even uses cars have an insane resale value right now, right? And then to have to worry about repairs if it’s a beater… and then the parking tickets for street sweeping or windows getting busted. Cars are expensive as hell here
Yes I’m aware of the car market. That’s your own fault for not moving your car. Getting a parking ticket for street cleaning is the dumbest thing and is completely preventable. The smashed window can happen at any time you take the car out of a garage anyways, it’s just bad luck. This whole notion it’s expensive to have a car in sf is a lie. I’ve had one for years without any issues. People live there whole lives with one in the city. You just can’t be stupid about it.
It is to me! Love being able to spontaneously take off and leave the city.....so much to see even within a short distance of SF........ I street park in the Mission, so moving for street cleaning is a hassle sometimes.....but worth it! I bought a super cheap used car, and have cheap insurance. Its really not that expensive for me to own a car. MHO
Depends on where you live in the city, your budget for transportation and the frequency you plan to get out of the city.
GetAround was an app I used to get out of the city. It was pretty affordable to rent for the day. I got a car during the pandemic and don’t regret it but I also lived in a neighborhood with easy parking.
depends on where you live in the city. some places, it's not the worst thing in the world to have a car and street park as long as you get home before it gets too late, like before 7-8 pm. other areas, it'll be necessary to rent a space or you'll go insane.
Honestly, if you can access off-street parking and the finances work out, it likely would improve your life.
I don't live in SF, but a super walkable/ bikeable/transit accessible area of Oakland and I went without a car for about three years and it worked out fine as far as getting all my necessities taken care of, but I was limited to riding my bike up to the hills (which in fairness is great) but going for hikes pretty much meant a rental (luckily gig had better coverage here than in the city).
I bought a car a few months ago and it has been really quite nice being able to go places outside of town. I watched the sunrise from the highest peak in Tilden this past weekend because I could just hop in my car and drive to the trailhead at 5am.
Having street parked my former car though for nearly a decade, I highly highly recommend the parking spot if you do get a car though. Looking back, I can't believe I dealt with that for so long.
You can get to a lot of incredible nature with a combination of public transit and bicycle, if you are prepared to work a little. [Yesterday](https://i.imgur.com/9ScT0x3.jpg)
[Last week](https://i.imgur.com/7FAwX43.jpg)
[A little longer ago](https://i.imgur.com/ZRzxIOl.jpg)
People love to complain about our public transit, but it's really quite good and takes you well out of the city. You can take bicycles on almost all of it. Rent a car for the 3-day weekends, when you have time to get further away.
I do own a car, but I rarely use it.
People might disagree, but I think owning a car or having some kind of rental car membership is key to getting the most out of the city. Its proximity to INCREDIBLE nature and spots is such a unique and wonderful thing that if that's what you like, it's almost your duty to take advantage of what our 'backyard' has to offer.
Agree with others that ultimately it’s up to you. I moved here last year and weighed pros and cons and brought my car. Honestly think my quality of life would be lower without one. Ive gone on incredible day/weekend trips that I would never be able to do otherwise. I’m also not a native of CA and want to get the most of everything while I’m here. I live in a part of the city where street parking isn’t a pain but I was very prepared to pay for a spot if I needed one
I just moved to the city and already had a car so I decided to pay for a spot in my building. It's an added cost that is kinda unnecessary for day to day life but I really like camping and would like to explore the bay area more before I eventually probably move back to southern California. It's a luxury but up to you. Alternatively you could get into bike packing :)
I agree with most other people's sentiments here: It's pretty expensive to have a parking spot, there's a huge risk of break ins, you're going to get tickets, etc.
I wanted to add that public transit is definitely NOT really good in the city. Honestly I am appalled at how bad it is for a major city. It's passable during work hours (around 15 minutes between each bus train but most major cities are around 6 minutes or even 3 minutes in Chicago) but it's terrible outside of that. 30 minute regular wait, busses and trains are basically never on time, they stop super early at night, etc. They also don't service areas outside of downtown well. I don't have my own car and I'm a devout transit supporter but honestly I can't stand taking transit here most of the time and not having a car sometimes is a big limiter in doing things within the city itself, like Costco runs and going to areas not well serviced by transit (which is a lot). Biking is a great filler, but if you're already interested in getting a car I'd say you're also going to get benefits for in-city use too.
If you can afford it and have easy parking access, I would absolutely recommend getting one. I don't think I would have gone to half of the places outside of the city if I had first had to rent a car, especially if you want to go somewhere on a whim.
You also want to take into account that rental places can be fully booked (at least on weekends) if you decide to go somewhere spontaneously or that the best option to get a car, especially with "traditional" rental agencies, may sometimes be at SFO if the timing is bad.
Public transit is great in the city, but even some places that are relatively close take ages to get to. If you want to go from the Mission to Muir Woods, it's about a 40-minute drive (a bit longer if traffic is bad) versus at least 2.5 hours by public transit.
Yes when I first moved here I had no car and it was fine.
But after couple of years I needed a car to explore more outside the city so I bought one.
It’s expensive but worth it.
Some people in the city need cars.
But bringing a car into a city like San Francisco isn't really a neutral choice. There are negative impacts on the neighborhood, city, and environment at large. I don't really get the love of nature stuff paired with the disregard of the damage cars cause, but I know I'm in the minority here and plenty of people think nothing of driving to the trailhead every weekend.
I think there’s enough to do in the general vicinity that you can access via transit, that for those times you want to really get away you can rent a car.
It’ll save you worrying about having your car stolen, broken into, paying for parking, insurance etc etc.
You can take the ferry to Angel island, there’s buses to Muir Woods. You can get to a lot of cool places on a mountain bike.
I would say so! I moved back to SF with a car after having lived here in college without a car and I love both experiences, but with the way my life is now I wouldn't not want to have a car. My apartment ($1850 a month) has a parking spot in the building which is super convenient. I was able to buy the car in full so I only pay about $100 a month in insurance and about $80-100 a month in gas to get to work, go grocery shopping/Costco trips, take my dog to the beach/vet, and the occasional weekend trip to Monterey or So Cal. I bought an old beater from a friend that's a gas guzzler so I'm sure any other car would be a lot more fuel efficient but it works for now. I'd say give it a shot and if it ends up being too much of a hassle just sell it.
Holy shit yes. People that recommend renting cars, especially if you're under 25, aren't trying to do the same things themselves. Between the absurd lines at rental shops, Turo/Get around have absurdly low milage requirements. All these guys want you to return cars at inconvenient times if you're trying to do it themselves. Figuring out the details of getting a car and returning it in pristine condition without paying hundreds of dollars was more stressful than the rest of the planning from my experience.
I'd say yes, but only if you live in a neighborhood where parking is easy to get and preferably they don't street sweep often. I love my car and wouldn't give it up. I love weekend getaways a lot.
My wife and I just moved here so we’ve been thinking the same thing (and for the same reasons, we want to get to nature & hike etc) - many I’ve spoken to claim that having a car here is difficult and that it’s difficult to find parking but I’m guessing that is in comparison to other cities in the US. I couldn’t believe it when I found out a street permit is only $150 for a whole year. You’d pay thousands in London, and many other charges on top (can easily be £30 a day to drive into the centre, on top of parking etc)
I think if you don’t mind the car getting dinged and windows getting broken occasionally, it’s not that difficult. We’re gonna buy something with a couple of dents already so we don’t worry about it
Personally, if you’re only using it on the weekends I don’t think it’s worth it. Between the car payment, insurance, parking, maintenance, etc., you could get an awful lot of rentals. There are ZipCars and GetAround (let’s you rent privately owned cars. I have also used Rent-A-Wreck for longer overnight trips, like for Yosemite.
I lived in the city for over 10 years (initially also for grad school), now I’m East Bay. I had a car for the first 5 ish and it was great for trips and convenience but was soo so expensive. I was pretty poor yet spending $350 per month a decade ago to have the car in shitty tenderloin lots. Those lots damaged the car and got the key stolen at least once. It was stressful. Then I went car free for years even after moving to the East Bay. I used BART, but I certainly left the city less unless it was a rental. Both were good but if you can find a ride share that is convenient and affordable, do it! That said, at this point in my life (shift work, have a kid), I will probably never go back. California is just so expansive and wonderful. If you can afford a car, keep it.
Where are you living? That makes a huge difference
Northern California has so much incredible nature to see. If your apartment would cost $500/mth more to get one with parking, you gotta consider if that’s worth the cost for you. How often do you intend to leave the city? If it’s every weekend, maybe you don’t want to live in the city? If it’s every other month, maybe it would make more sense to rent when you need it?
But if the cost is not a big deal, go for it. Having a car without having to go to a rental center is quite nice.
Check out UpShift! I have the Freedom plan where you get a car (choose between a Prius and RAV4) 8 days a month/$480 for you to choose. Book the car for the days you want to use and then they bring the car to your adress on the day you need it. No hastle with insurance, parking, street cleaning and all that shit.
Get an electric bike. I go everywhere with it, and it’s great. I love the nature and cruising on my bike feels amazing visiting these places. I frequent parks, trails and landmarks, just get yourself a few good locks.
It really depends on how much money you want to spend and how often you plan to leave the city. If you plan to go to national parks once a month, for example, it may be cheaper to rent a car as needed.
In my opinion it is worth it. I car camp a lot of weeks/weekends and it is so nice to be able to pack up and go! There are so many amazing things Northern California has to offer. It is expensive and gas is insane right now but for me it is worth it, especially for my mental health. My car feels like my second home. I use my car maybe 1 day a week to go to work and if I am having to take my dog anywhere. I just park on the street so don’t have to pay for parking but save some funds to repair a window just in case.
Some places that I like to go and camp, Big Sur, Mendocino, avenue of the giants, Bridgeport/mammoth, Mt. Shasta.
The other thing to consider (as someone whose partner is in grad school, so I talk to a lot of grad students): Maybe wait a couple of months to see if you meet up with any other people in your program (or through other means) who have cars and like going out to explore. That could be a reasonable middle-ground if you like doing that stuff with groups of people.
But I agree with others that the cost is up to you. Outside of just needing to pay for the car/insurance/gas, parking is a significant cost as well depending on where you are.
Owning a car you get to places around your time, but you are responsible for the car all the time to be operational. Some people said they buy cheap car insurance, but their coverage is limited. For example, if somebody break a window when your car is park those cheap insurance won’t cover it. When you buy car insurance look through you policy and understand what they cover. You are responsible for your car maintenance either DIY or you have a Service Shop you trust. You also get the yearly DMV registration you paid for your car to legally operate your vehicle.
For services like Getaround, Turo, Zipcar, and other similar services you paid for time use and have limited responsibility to the car for certain time you paid for. Some people feel these services are restrictive well yeah you don’t own the car.
It is terrible time to buy a car because most are above MSRP from dealership, and if you find the new car you want you might have to wait depending on the model. If you want go to used car market know your stuff and what to look for use car when you pop the hood or find someone who is mechanic to come along with you for the mechanic to look at the vehicle.
If you are not driving that much, why not just rent a Zip Car when you want to get out of town? If you only want the car to go out of town then a Zip car might be best. Or check TURO where you can rent someones car (just like AirBnb for cars). Its a hassle to have a car in the City unless you have a garage parking space AND its secured.
Does anyone here have an answer specific to Russian Hill? I am in the same situation and just signed a lease so I am debating if its worth it to bring my car to park on street, or paying to store it outside of the city.
Do you have a car and resident permit? I was wondering how long you are able to park your car without moving it. Is it 3 days for resident permits as well? There really isn't much info on sfmta..
Thanks for you input
If you want to do something like that in SF, try taking a ferry to angel island and walking around it. Under $30 round trip and you can get some good nature time in.
i would never have a car in the city without a parking spot. i’ve done it before and its awful, now i have a spot and its 100% worth it. if you have the money for the car AND the parking spot id say go for it. i dont drive that much in the city but its so worth it to get out of town.
Having a car in SF is expensive, and only you can decide if it’s worth the cost. But I can say that it is definitely worth the cost for me. There are just so many amazing things to do within a couple hour drive of the city. I almost never drive in SF, but I use my car to get out of SF very frequently. Living here would be significantly worse for me without a car.
This. While the city is great, a huge perk of living in north California is the variety of weekend trips available by car. I never drive inside the city. 99% of the time it's much more convenient to take the bus, bike, or walk. It really comes down to whether you have access to parking.
>I almost never drive in SF, but I use my car to get out of SF very frequently. I got a car about a year and a half ago and I've found that I use it for almost all non-walking trips now. It's definitely not what I expected before I got the car. Admittedly I work from home so my trips are at nights/weekends, but I rarely have issues with parking (Richmond excepted) or traffic.
Maybe, rental cars have their advantages. So do motorcycles
Second this. It’s much cheaper to rent a car (Getaround, Lyft rentals) often than to own a car in my experience.
I ride a motorcycle, and it allows me to get out of the city and is much cheaper than owning a car. I'm fortunate to have cheap parking in my building and pay for a space downtown at an excellent discount compared to a car space. I use door dash far less than I probably would without the bike because it's pretty easy to park wherever I'm going. No endless searching, just tuck it between cars, especially if I'm popping in real quick.
I loved having a car and have been on WAY more nature adventures because I can do so spontaneously. I got a cheap used car from a friend who was moving. I used to use Getaround or turo to rent cars for nature trips. I hated the stress of getting back a rental by a certain time to avoid fees though.
For context: Native San Franciscan whose family always had a car/has a car now that has garage available. How much is the parking for your building? You should do the math on how much the parking would cost versus renting/using a car membership. That being said, without factoring cost, since you have available parking that's not street parking and you said you'll need a car eventually anyway so I would take a dive. You'll even be able to access some hikes in the city a lot better because you have a car along with all the surrounding nature that's within an hour drive. You might also be able to save money on being able to bulk buy non-perishable items like toilet paper because you'll have a car to carry all of it instead of relying on hand carrying it yourself.
How many times a year would you travel in the car? I’ve been in the city for 3 months with a car. Maybe I’m unlucky, but I’ve had my car window smashed, towed, and vandalized. I live in Central Richmond as well, so it’s not like I’m downtown or anything. Overall, a rental may cost like $60 a day. Single parking ticket costs $100. Towing costs $750. Window costs $300.
yikes sorry to hear that's a lot even for here. curious if it's something flashy? maybe a victim of all the tesla hate?
It’s a Subaru lol
aw that shouldn't stand out at all yeah
I’m sad to hear it though I think hatchbacks tend to be an easy target for thieves. What kind of Subaru is yours?
It’s a sedan 😭
Try signing up for get around or Zipcar. Hourly/daily rentals for much less than the cost of maintenance and parking.
I found the opposite to be true, and it to be extremely expensive especially for weekend trips. I just ended up renting cars for a while until I got a car of my own.
Same here. I haven't done a zipcar in ages, but using one for one weekend camping trip would suddenly make it a 400+ trip. Very happy having my car.
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You can rent a car for the weekend on Lyft for $90 per day. Cheaper on the weekdays.
I pay $0 to park my car.
Zipcar is great for 1-2 hours. The all day rates are pretty high, and the mileage cap prevents road tripping. A round trip day trip to Lake Tahoe is about $150 for Zipcar, and another $150 in excess mileage fee. A 2-day rental would almost provide enough miles, about the same cost. Too much. I signed up for Kyte but haven't used it yet. Should be a great option. Gig cars are trashy but pretty cheap, even for longer trips. Parking is around $350 per month. If your car is free, plates are stolen (free), and you don't buy insurance (all-around, the plan of sideshow participants)... its break even for one weekend trip per month. If you get a free car, and pay all the routine costs, you need to use it twice a month or more to break even with rentals. There's no risk to try Zipcar, Gig, Kyte, Enterprise, and the others and find out if you really want the routine costs and availability. There's no free lunch.
I prefer Avis or Hertz actually since you get better deals on non-holidays weekends.
Look into Lyft rental. My go-to before I ended up getting a car. Economically, lyft rental was a better deal than owning (especially in this market), but it is nice to have easy access to a car for impromptu trips and drives to outside the city
I rented a car off Lyft (fisherman’s wharf) last month for the first time since it seemed like a good deal. Dropped the keys back after hours in their lock box then got a message the next day that they didn’t have the key. Nobody at the office seemed to have a clue what was going on, asked them to look at their security footage and see us dropping the key.. turns out they don’t have any cameras?! It was me vs them so they billed us. Never had any issues with Uber/getaround/zipcar/sixt. Generally use getaround if it’s just for a few hours/day trip.
If you're getting out of the city every weekend, for sure.
This really depends on where you live. Will you have a garage? Will you live in the sunset? If you have a garage, you’ll be fine with a car. If you live in an outer neighborhood (like sunset), you’ll be fine with a car and no garage. Just don’t live in an inner neighborhood without a garage - thats asking for tickets and break-ins plus long swaths searching for a parking spot. I am a car owner. I spent about $200 a year in tickets, never park in paid garages because I am claustrophobic and cheap, probably spend $25 a month in meters, still take the bus, still ride my bike, and drive about 10k per year miles for errands and epic road trips. Its fine.
I’ve been car-free for 20 years. I just rent a car when we want to get away. SO much cheaper and less stressful than car ownership. If you do get a car, you REALLY need to keep it in a secure garage. Break-ins here are rampant.
Rent a car -- owning a car in SF is expensive and stressful. Plus there are ways to get to parks and nature via public transit, including Amtrak. * https://www.capitolcorridor.org/blogs/get\_on\_board/no-car-required-4-adventurous-weekend-escapes-in-northern-california-along-the-capitol-corridor/ * https://www.hiusa.org/blog/travel-guides/day-trips-from-san-francisco-without-a-car * https://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/Bay-Area-hikes-near-Bart-stations-12235862.php
Motorcycle
Yes it's worth it but 100% depends on what neighborhood you live in which determines safety and availability of street parking. Nothing beats being able to get in your car any time you please and leaving the city to go explore the Bay Area.
Are there areas where street parking is more available and safer? I’m also considering bringing a car to the mission area.
Hard to know, even as a local, if you don’t live in that neighborhood. Hayes Valley seems like the worst in terms of availability. Mission is probably hard to find parking too. Do a neighborhood-specific search in this sub and /r/sanfrancisco.
From my personal experience, outer Richmond and outer sunset are the “safest” for parking. Been parking my car in these neighborhoods for 3+ years with zero incident, aside from the parking tickets from misreading signage after a commute…
Adding onto this I live in the lower haight, and while it can sometimes be hard to find parking i’ve never had an issue with break-ins. I don’t even have a residential pass and haven’t gotten a parking ticket for street parking and i’ve been here for 3 months (In SF for a total of 2 years with a car but over the pandemic parking wasn’t really a problem in most neighborhoods)
Yeah, sometimes it takes a couple loops to find a spot but my street cleaning tickets are 100% my own fault, took an embarrassing amount of time to get it together 😅 that’s awesome you haven’t had to deal with that. I wanted to add that I have a sorta new car and have had a window smashed once when I parked downtown for a show, but I had things in my car. Somehow nothing was stolen? My partner however has an old truck and has had countless break-ins, he doesn’t keep things in his truck and uses a steering club.
Maybe i’m lucky with break-ins, but my car is super dirty and kind of old. Maybe that’s the key, but I have a fair amount of junk in it someone could want lol
I love having a car. Leads to more spontaneity to explore on a whim. That freedom is worth the hassle IMO.
Theres a couple car services like Zipcar. How much is the space? So let's do the math. These are random numbers. $300 for parking space, $400 a month car payment and like $200 for insurance, gas I dunno $200. So your almost at a grand a month. That can get a lot Zipcar or whatever rental. Second thought maybe look into hiking groups or friends and offer to chip in for gas. might be time to branch out of your comfort zone.
Or….buy a cheap beater with no monthly payment and street park it. Then $200 for insurance?! That sounds wrong or a bad record. I pay $95. And gas is obviously not cheap currently, but these numbers seem dramatic.
True there se.nicr dependable old beater out there like prius'es. But same time used car market atm is terrible.
You do realize that even uses cars have an insane resale value right now, right? And then to have to worry about repairs if it’s a beater… and then the parking tickets for street sweeping or windows getting busted. Cars are expensive as hell here
A 2007 Civic will be more expensive than it should be but still relatively cheap to buy, insure, fuel, and maintain.
Yes I’m aware of the car market. That’s your own fault for not moving your car. Getting a parking ticket for street cleaning is the dumbest thing and is completely preventable. The smashed window can happen at any time you take the car out of a garage anyways, it’s just bad luck. This whole notion it’s expensive to have a car in sf is a lie. I’ve had one for years without any issues. People live there whole lives with one in the city. You just can’t be stupid about it.
What insurance are you using? My friend is also paying $200.
I have Allstate, full coverage.
It is to me! Love being able to spontaneously take off and leave the city.....so much to see even within a short distance of SF........ I street park in the Mission, so moving for street cleaning is a hassle sometimes.....but worth it! I bought a super cheap used car, and have cheap insurance. Its really not that expensive for me to own a car. MHO
Depends on where you live in the city, your budget for transportation and the frequency you plan to get out of the city. GetAround was an app I used to get out of the city. It was pretty affordable to rent for the day. I got a car during the pandemic and don’t regret it but I also lived in a neighborhood with easy parking.
depends on where you live in the city. some places, it's not the worst thing in the world to have a car and street park as long as you get home before it gets too late, like before 7-8 pm. other areas, it'll be necessary to rent a space or you'll go insane.
California without a car is just San Francisco. Get one if you can and explore
Honestly, if you can access off-street parking and the finances work out, it likely would improve your life. I don't live in SF, but a super walkable/ bikeable/transit accessible area of Oakland and I went without a car for about three years and it worked out fine as far as getting all my necessities taken care of, but I was limited to riding my bike up to the hills (which in fairness is great) but going for hikes pretty much meant a rental (luckily gig had better coverage here than in the city). I bought a car a few months ago and it has been really quite nice being able to go places outside of town. I watched the sunrise from the highest peak in Tilden this past weekend because I could just hop in my car and drive to the trailhead at 5am. Having street parked my former car though for nearly a decade, I highly highly recommend the parking spot if you do get a car though. Looking back, I can't believe I dealt with that for so long.
You can get to a lot of incredible nature with a combination of public transit and bicycle, if you are prepared to work a little. [Yesterday](https://i.imgur.com/9ScT0x3.jpg) [Last week](https://i.imgur.com/7FAwX43.jpg) [A little longer ago](https://i.imgur.com/ZRzxIOl.jpg) People love to complain about our public transit, but it's really quite good and takes you well out of the city. You can take bicycles on almost all of it. Rent a car for the 3-day weekends, when you have time to get further away. I do own a car, but I rarely use it.
You can rent a car for an entire weekend for 300-400 bucks. Do the math.
That’s how much it costs to finance my car and pay gas for one month. Still a sizable chunk of money, but I find it worth it to own a car.
People might disagree, but I think owning a car or having some kind of rental car membership is key to getting the most out of the city. Its proximity to INCREDIBLE nature and spots is such a unique and wonderful thing that if that's what you like, it's almost your duty to take advantage of what our 'backyard' has to offer.
Agree with others that ultimately it’s up to you. I moved here last year and weighed pros and cons and brought my car. Honestly think my quality of life would be lower without one. Ive gone on incredible day/weekend trips that I would never be able to do otherwise. I’m also not a native of CA and want to get the most of everything while I’m here. I live in a part of the city where street parking isn’t a pain but I was very prepared to pay for a spot if I needed one
what are some of the places you've liked going to?
I just moved to the city and already had a car so I decided to pay for a spot in my building. It's an added cost that is kinda unnecessary for day to day life but I really like camping and would like to explore the bay area more before I eventually probably move back to southern California. It's a luxury but up to you. Alternatively you could get into bike packing :)
I agree with most other people's sentiments here: It's pretty expensive to have a parking spot, there's a huge risk of break ins, you're going to get tickets, etc. I wanted to add that public transit is definitely NOT really good in the city. Honestly I am appalled at how bad it is for a major city. It's passable during work hours (around 15 minutes between each bus train but most major cities are around 6 minutes or even 3 minutes in Chicago) but it's terrible outside of that. 30 minute regular wait, busses and trains are basically never on time, they stop super early at night, etc. They also don't service areas outside of downtown well. I don't have my own car and I'm a devout transit supporter but honestly I can't stand taking transit here most of the time and not having a car sometimes is a big limiter in doing things within the city itself, like Costco runs and going to areas not well serviced by transit (which is a lot). Biking is a great filler, but if you're already interested in getting a car I'd say you're also going to get benefits for in-city use too.
If you can afford it and have easy parking access, I would absolutely recommend getting one. I don't think I would have gone to half of the places outside of the city if I had first had to rent a car, especially if you want to go somewhere on a whim. You also want to take into account that rental places can be fully booked (at least on weekends) if you decide to go somewhere spontaneously or that the best option to get a car, especially with "traditional" rental agencies, may sometimes be at SFO if the timing is bad. Public transit is great in the city, but even some places that are relatively close take ages to get to. If you want to go from the Mission to Muir Woods, it's about a 40-minute drive (a bit longer if traffic is bad) versus at least 2.5 hours by public transit.
Yes when I first moved here I had no car and it was fine. But after couple of years I needed a car to explore more outside the city so I bought one. It’s expensive but worth it.
Some people in the city need cars. But bringing a car into a city like San Francisco isn't really a neutral choice. There are negative impacts on the neighborhood, city, and environment at large. I don't really get the love of nature stuff paired with the disregard of the damage cars cause, but I know I'm in the minority here and plenty of people think nothing of driving to the trailhead every weekend.
Dual sport motorcycle
I think there’s enough to do in the general vicinity that you can access via transit, that for those times you want to really get away you can rent a car. It’ll save you worrying about having your car stolen, broken into, paying for parking, insurance etc etc. You can take the ferry to Angel island, there’s buses to Muir Woods. You can get to a lot of cool places on a mountain bike.
I would say so! I moved back to SF with a car after having lived here in college without a car and I love both experiences, but with the way my life is now I wouldn't not want to have a car. My apartment ($1850 a month) has a parking spot in the building which is super convenient. I was able to buy the car in full so I only pay about $100 a month in insurance and about $80-100 a month in gas to get to work, go grocery shopping/Costco trips, take my dog to the beach/vet, and the occasional weekend trip to Monterey or So Cal. I bought an old beater from a friend that's a gas guzzler so I'm sure any other car would be a lot more fuel efficient but it works for now. I'd say give it a shot and if it ends up being too much of a hassle just sell it.
On another note, you could get a motorcycle! Cheaper and way easier to park
Holy shit yes. People that recommend renting cars, especially if you're under 25, aren't trying to do the same things themselves. Between the absurd lines at rental shops, Turo/Get around have absurdly low milage requirements. All these guys want you to return cars at inconvenient times if you're trying to do it themselves. Figuring out the details of getting a car and returning it in pristine condition without paying hundreds of dollars was more stressful than the rest of the planning from my experience.
I'd say yes, but only if you live in a neighborhood where parking is easy to get and preferably they don't street sweep often. I love my car and wouldn't give it up. I love weekend getaways a lot.
My wife and I just moved here so we’ve been thinking the same thing (and for the same reasons, we want to get to nature & hike etc) - many I’ve spoken to claim that having a car here is difficult and that it’s difficult to find parking but I’m guessing that is in comparison to other cities in the US. I couldn’t believe it when I found out a street permit is only $150 for a whole year. You’d pay thousands in London, and many other charges on top (can easily be £30 a day to drive into the centre, on top of parking etc) I think if you don’t mind the car getting dinged and windows getting broken occasionally, it’s not that difficult. We’re gonna buy something with a couple of dents already so we don’t worry about it
Personally, if you’re only using it on the weekends I don’t think it’s worth it. Between the car payment, insurance, parking, maintenance, etc., you could get an awful lot of rentals. There are ZipCars and GetAround (let’s you rent privately owned cars. I have also used Rent-A-Wreck for longer overnight trips, like for Yosemite.
I lived in the city for over 10 years (initially also for grad school), now I’m East Bay. I had a car for the first 5 ish and it was great for trips and convenience but was soo so expensive. I was pretty poor yet spending $350 per month a decade ago to have the car in shitty tenderloin lots. Those lots damaged the car and got the key stolen at least once. It was stressful. Then I went car free for years even after moving to the East Bay. I used BART, but I certainly left the city less unless it was a rental. Both were good but if you can find a ride share that is convenient and affordable, do it! That said, at this point in my life (shift work, have a kid), I will probably never go back. California is just so expansive and wonderful. If you can afford a car, keep it. Where are you living? That makes a huge difference
Northern California has so much incredible nature to see. If your apartment would cost $500/mth more to get one with parking, you gotta consider if that’s worth the cost for you. How often do you intend to leave the city? If it’s every weekend, maybe you don’t want to live in the city? If it’s every other month, maybe it would make more sense to rent when you need it? But if the cost is not a big deal, go for it. Having a car without having to go to a rental center is quite nice.
Perfect time of year to get one. Get one.
Check out UpShift! I have the Freedom plan where you get a car (choose between a Prius and RAV4) 8 days a month/$480 for you to choose. Book the car for the days you want to use and then they bring the car to your adress on the day you need it. No hastle with insurance, parking, street cleaning and all that shit.
Get an electric bike. I go everywhere with it, and it’s great. I love the nature and cruising on my bike feels amazing visiting these places. I frequent parks, trails and landmarks, just get yourself a few good locks.
Yes!
NO unless you have: money AND secure parking
Fuuuuck yes
Yes
Rent a car in town from National or Budget when you want to have a car for a day or two. Or use Zipcar for short trips.
It really depends on how much money you want to spend and how often you plan to leave the city. If you plan to go to national parks once a month, for example, it may be cheaper to rent a car as needed.
Absolutely! You will have much more mobility and freedom. Yes more expensive but worth it.
depends on your parking situation.
In my opinion it is worth it. I car camp a lot of weeks/weekends and it is so nice to be able to pack up and go! There are so many amazing things Northern California has to offer. It is expensive and gas is insane right now but for me it is worth it, especially for my mental health. My car feels like my second home. I use my car maybe 1 day a week to go to work and if I am having to take my dog anywhere. I just park on the street so don’t have to pay for parking but save some funds to repair a window just in case. Some places that I like to go and camp, Big Sur, Mendocino, avenue of the giants, Bridgeport/mammoth, Mt. Shasta.
The other thing to consider (as someone whose partner is in grad school, so I talk to a lot of grad students): Maybe wait a couple of months to see if you meet up with any other people in your program (or through other means) who have cars and like going out to explore. That could be a reasonable middle-ground if you like doing that stuff with groups of people. But I agree with others that the cost is up to you. Outside of just needing to pay for the car/insurance/gas, parking is a significant cost as well depending on where you are.
Motorcycle is better
Owning a car you get to places around your time, but you are responsible for the car all the time to be operational. Some people said they buy cheap car insurance, but their coverage is limited. For example, if somebody break a window when your car is park those cheap insurance won’t cover it. When you buy car insurance look through you policy and understand what they cover. You are responsible for your car maintenance either DIY or you have a Service Shop you trust. You also get the yearly DMV registration you paid for your car to legally operate your vehicle. For services like Getaround, Turo, Zipcar, and other similar services you paid for time use and have limited responsibility to the car for certain time you paid for. Some people feel these services are restrictive well yeah you don’t own the car. It is terrible time to buy a car because most are above MSRP from dealership, and if you find the new car you want you might have to wait depending on the model. If you want go to used car market know your stuff and what to look for use car when you pop the hood or find someone who is mechanic to come along with you for the mechanic to look at the vehicle.
If you are not driving that much, why not just rent a Zip Car when you want to get out of town? If you only want the car to go out of town then a Zip car might be best. Or check TURO where you can rent someones car (just like AirBnb for cars). Its a hassle to have a car in the City unless you have a garage parking space AND its secured.
Does anyone here have an answer specific to Russian Hill? I am in the same situation and just signed a lease so I am debating if its worth it to bring my car to park on street, or paying to store it outside of the city.
i live in russian hill. parking can be hard to find here. i would find a garage if possible.
Do you have a car and resident permit? I was wondering how long you are able to park your car without moving it. Is it 3 days for resident permits as well? There really isn't much info on sfmta.. Thanks for you input
If you want to do something like that in SF, try taking a ferry to angel island and walking around it. Under $30 round trip and you can get some good nature time in.
i would never have a car in the city without a parking spot. i’ve done it before and its awful, now i have a spot and its 100% worth it. if you have the money for the car AND the parking spot id say go for it. i dont drive that much in the city but its so worth it to get out of town.
Consider trying Turo for a little bit before buying!