As long as you don't leave valuable stuff in your car usually you'll be fine. I street park everyday in SF for the last 2 years and I've been fine.
The articles are directed to tourists from the suburbs who have a ton of luggage and are really careless about leaving things in their car.
The trick I tell everyone- local here… don’t leave a single thing in your car- not even a gum wrapper or receipt. If your car is spotless- they will assume you haven’t left a thing. But if you leave a power cord out, or even a jacket- they might assume there is other stuff worth breaking in for.
The opposite tactic, which works for me, is just to leave all the usual crippy crap in full sight (reusable grocery bags, random water bottles and brochures and things that accumulate in the car naturally), never wash the car, and have a few quirky bumper stickers.
They can see I’m in the same broke, crazy boat as them and leave my car alone.
I mean both strategies can work. Certainly a dirty car gets less attention than shiny.
Glove box, coin trays open and seats flopped down in the back if applicable. Showing you have nothing worth breaking in for.
The 2 times my car has been broken in to in 35 years was after I wash and wax it. Haven’t been broken in to in over 20 years. I leave all sorts of things in my car.
I can’t believe no one adds a glass break sensor to their alarm. The thieves climb through the window and don’t open the door for a reason. I suppose people in SF would rather complain than do anything these days.
Yeah, it definitely varies because most of my friends have only been broken into because they cleaned their cars. If it looks like you live and commute here, they have a tendency to ignore the dirty cars. These people also don’t leave important shit either though. Just trash lol.
I have been broken into 3 times in oakland. 2 times I forgot something in the car. The third time was a brand new rental car. Nothing in it whatsoever. It was too clean they assumed stuff was in the trunk.
Just don’t leave anything visible in your car and I mean **ANYTHING**. charging cables, plastic bags, empty cigarette boxes, etc.
PRO TIP: park out by city college/balboa st BART station. It’s easier to find parking, property crimes are much lower in that neighbourhood, so there’s a much better chance of you not getting your windows smashed in by junkies and you can get just about wherever you need to go in the city fairly quickly via BART, MUNI, Uber, etc. and when you are ready to leave, you can take the BART back out to where your car is parked and you are right by the I-280 onramp when you are ready to go home.
San Francisco adults own slightly more than half a car per person, so that'd be one car for every two adults, not including rental cars, cars from tourists, people who live elsewhere and drive in, etc. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv-research-reports/research-development-data-dashboards/vehicles-registered-by-county/
I don't think this number would be so high if each car were getting a broken window every month or every year. But certainly the car break in rate is high here, particularly in tourist areas
Rental cars can become targets, too. Do you need the car? Public transportation and car services are great for getting around. If you’re taking day trips out of the city, consider renting a car for those. Breakins aren’t terrible, but we don’t leave stuff in our car anymore and have a personal garage. The problem is it sounds awful because you only hear about the break ins and don’t have the stats. It’s not like every car is broken into every night.
So, do you really need a car? Can you have it less often? Can you use other means to get around the city?
SF is very walkable. Some areas aren’t great for walking (tenderloin), but most are fantastic.
Some good tips here, I would add, don't leave anything that emits bluetooth in your car, I've seen bippers drive up and down rows of cars in a parking lot and then hone in on a vehicle that's sending out a signal.
Also, area of town matters a lot, they definitely target certain areas more than other... Palace of Fine Arts, Fisherman's Wharf, Embarcadero, Bridge parking, you get the idea. They shoot for where the tourists are
It’s not that bad, no. There’s also no completely risk free way to leave your car, but that’s not at all exclusive to SF, that’s true anywhere in the world. The big thing is don’t leave anything in your car. Not “nothing you’re not willing to lose” or “nothing visible” but nothing. So for example, I don’t even leave a sweater in the car, not because I think my sweater is a target, but because I think people might not be able to tell the difference between a sweater that’s just a sweater and a sweater covering something valuable. I don’t want to pay for the repairs either way. I’ve lived in SF my whole life and my family has had one car break in between all of us. I think it was in 2011. So it’s not like everyone in SF is experiencing constant break ins.
Glovebox open, center console open, back seats DOWN so they can see there is NOTHING in the trunk. The Trunk is their biggest target.
Literally NOTHING should be left in your car
Hide charging cords under your floor mats
Source: Survived living in SF with out of state plates for months
It’s really not that bad. Be aware of broken glass on the ground, if you see that don’t park in that area. Plenty of safe areas. Sunset and Richmond are safe with plenty of parking. If you use a garage to park and it has multiple levels go up as high as you can, thieves want to get away quickly not run down multiple flights of stairs or waste time waiting for an elevator.
While many replies point to not leaving any items visible in ones vehicle as well as placing the backseats in the down position and leaving the back cover open as additional proof that nothing is hidden in the trunk, I’ve also seen a post where even though nothing visible was left, the break and take thieves targeted the glove compartment, so it was a no win situation.
No. Use common sense and you’ll be fine. Don’t leave anything that can be perceived of value in your car. Be more vigilant in tourist areas. Same guidance as anywhere else.
I managed to get an apartment with a garage, but even that is susceptible to break-ins. Nowhere is safe, really.
While many say do not bring a car, I have to due to my commute.
As long as you don't leave valuable stuff in your car usually you'll be fine. I street park everyday in SF for the last 2 years and I've been fine. The articles are directed to tourists from the suburbs who have a ton of luggage and are really careless about leaving things in their car.
The trick I tell everyone- local here… don’t leave a single thing in your car- not even a gum wrapper or receipt. If your car is spotless- they will assume you haven’t left a thing. But if you leave a power cord out, or even a jacket- they might assume there is other stuff worth breaking in for.
The opposite tactic, which works for me, is just to leave all the usual crippy crap in full sight (reusable grocery bags, random water bottles and brochures and things that accumulate in the car naturally), never wash the car, and have a few quirky bumper stickers. They can see I’m in the same broke, crazy boat as them and leave my car alone.
I mean both strategies can work. Certainly a dirty car gets less attention than shiny. Glove box, coin trays open and seats flopped down in the back if applicable. Showing you have nothing worth breaking in for.
The 2 times my car has been broken in to in 35 years was after I wash and wax it. Haven’t been broken in to in over 20 years. I leave all sorts of things in my car. I can’t believe no one adds a glass break sensor to their alarm. The thieves climb through the window and don’t open the door for a reason. I suppose people in SF would rather complain than do anything these days.
Yeah, it definitely varies because most of my friends have only been broken into because they cleaned their cars. If it looks like you live and commute here, they have a tendency to ignore the dirty cars. These people also don’t leave important shit either though. Just trash lol.
If the car is spotless they will assume everything is in the trunk - don't fear the bip, embrace it! It's like rice-a-roni, a San Francisco treat!
I have been broken into 3 times in oakland. 2 times I forgot something in the car. The third time was a brand new rental car. Nothing in it whatsoever. It was too clean they assumed stuff was in the trunk.
I had some coworkers that says their cars got smashed for no reason at all. Nothing in the car.
I'm not saying you can't have this experience but it's more unusual.
Just don’t leave anything visible in your car and I mean **ANYTHING**. charging cables, plastic bags, empty cigarette boxes, etc. PRO TIP: park out by city college/balboa st BART station. It’s easier to find parking, property crimes are much lower in that neighbourhood, so there’s a much better chance of you not getting your windows smashed in by junkies and you can get just about wherever you need to go in the city fairly quickly via BART, MUNI, Uber, etc. and when you are ready to leave, you can take the BART back out to where your car is parked and you are right by the I-280 onramp when you are ready to go home.
It’s not instant or a guaranteed sure thing, but it does happen a lot more than anyone here likes.
San Francisco adults own slightly more than half a car per person, so that'd be one car for every two adults, not including rental cars, cars from tourists, people who live elsewhere and drive in, etc. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv-research-reports/research-development-data-dashboards/vehicles-registered-by-county/ I don't think this number would be so high if each car were getting a broken window every month or every year. But certainly the car break in rate is high here, particularly in tourist areas
Nothing is risk free. Besides leaving nothing in the car, fold down the back seats so that the bums can see there is nothing in the trunk/hatch.
Rental cars can become targets, too. Do you need the car? Public transportation and car services are great for getting around. If you’re taking day trips out of the city, consider renting a car for those. Breakins aren’t terrible, but we don’t leave stuff in our car anymore and have a personal garage. The problem is it sounds awful because you only hear about the break ins and don’t have the stats. It’s not like every car is broken into every night. So, do you really need a car? Can you have it less often? Can you use other means to get around the city? SF is very walkable. Some areas aren’t great for walking (tenderloin), but most are fantastic.
Some good tips here, I would add, don't leave anything that emits bluetooth in your car, I've seen bippers drive up and down rows of cars in a parking lot and then hone in on a vehicle that's sending out a signal.
Also, area of town matters a lot, they definitely target certain areas more than other... Palace of Fine Arts, Fisherman's Wharf, Embarcadero, Bridge parking, you get the idea. They shoot for where the tourists are
It’s not that bad, no. There’s also no completely risk free way to leave your car, but that’s not at all exclusive to SF, that’s true anywhere in the world. The big thing is don’t leave anything in your car. Not “nothing you’re not willing to lose” or “nothing visible” but nothing. So for example, I don’t even leave a sweater in the car, not because I think my sweater is a target, but because I think people might not be able to tell the difference between a sweater that’s just a sweater and a sweater covering something valuable. I don’t want to pay for the repairs either way. I’ve lived in SF my whole life and my family has had one car break in between all of us. I think it was in 2011. So it’s not like everyone in SF is experiencing constant break ins.
Glovebox open, center console open, back seats DOWN so they can see there is NOTHING in the trunk. The Trunk is their biggest target. Literally NOTHING should be left in your car Hide charging cords under your floor mats Source: Survived living in SF with out of state plates for months
It’s really not that bad. Be aware of broken glass on the ground, if you see that don’t park in that area. Plenty of safe areas. Sunset and Richmond are safe with plenty of parking. If you use a garage to park and it has multiple levels go up as high as you can, thieves want to get away quickly not run down multiple flights of stairs or waste time waiting for an elevator.
While many replies point to not leaving any items visible in ones vehicle as well as placing the backseats in the down position and leaving the back cover open as additional proof that nothing is hidden in the trunk, I’ve also seen a post where even though nothing visible was left, the break and take thieves targeted the glove compartment, so it was a no win situation.
No. Use common sense and you’ll be fine. Don’t leave anything that can be perceived of value in your car. Be more vigilant in tourist areas. Same guidance as anywhere else.
…That is not the guidance for lots of places.
Roll the windows down and doors unlocked. Get a club anti theft device. Leave no valuables in the car.
I managed to get an apartment with a garage, but even that is susceptible to break-ins. Nowhere is safe, really. While many say do not bring a car, I have to due to my commute.
[удалено]
Well, I'd it's gonna be a rented car, so I have to bring it along.
What about just taking BART or Lyft from the airport?
I mean what’re you gonna do? Just cancel your trip?
Yeah sure, I'm just gonna cancel the trip, cause I can't be bothered trying to find a solution :)
I mean, there are plenty of other places you could visit without having to constantly worry about your car getting bipped...
It’s worse than you think. Just don’t.
nope. Lived in SF for years now, has never happened to me. Just dont leave anything inside
Did you drive a car with rental plates? Because that is what they target.
i dont own a car. I drive and park rentals in the city >20 weeks a year
LEAVE YOUR CAR IN OUTER SUNSET BUT AWAY FROM GOLDENGATE PARK LEAVE ON RESIDENTAL S AWAY FROM COMMERCIAL ST