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Bay Area Vandalism
- Thread starter rainforest
- Start date
It's not just Model 3s. It's not just Teslas. It's about a hundred cars a day in SF proper, and many more in the surrounding area. I don't recommend taking any nice car into SF proper for any reason (and honestly I don't recommend going there in general), and if you're going to have one in the bay area, you need to be very careful about parking.
@run-the-joules is correct. It's not all Teslas. Plenty of cars are subject to break-ins or vandalism.
Though, if we focus on just Tesla, Model 3 rear windows and Model S rear windshield are commonly smashed into. Model X is usually fine in that department. (And when I say fine I mean average. Don't get me wrong, any car in SF can be damaged)
NeverFollow
Active Member
I noticed quite often people leaving a back pack on the rear seat.
This occurs easily if before driving, you put your backpack behind you on the rear seat.
But the next time you will park you will forget to take your backpack with you.
Best is to put your backpack next to you, may be on the floor by the passenger side.
So you will see it when leaving the car or it will not be too noticeable if you forget to take it with you.
Also, after parking in the street, try avoiding to open your trunk and put stuff inside.
This would certainly raise the attention of strangers.
About your trip in SF, I imagine that you will stay in an hotel, so you might then have your car parked at night in a parking.
I doubt that you will use your car too much during the day inside the city, because of the traffic and the parking situation.
There are still quite few public parking, you can even make reservation, try avoiding the private parking with valet $$$ service.
Most of the main attractions would certainly be walking distance from your hotel, or accessible using public transportation or taxi.
However having a car to visit the area is certainly a plus. Depending how long you plan to stay, there are many options.
One recommendation if you have few days to spare is driving along the hwy 1, especially since it recently re-opened.
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thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
1. Leave nothing in the car to steal. Definitely don't leave bags of any kind, since these are easy to grab and check for valuables later.
2. Remove the cargo shelf so a potential thief can see your trunk is empty. (Refer to #1.) If they can't see inside, odds are that the trunk might contain something and they will speculatively smash a window to find out.
3. Never park on the street... find a secured parking garage with an attendant.
I have not yet heard of a Model S rear liftgate window being smashed. Usually they break the small quarter window, fold down the rear seat, and if something in the trunk looks interesting, then they'll smash the larger window on the rear door to get in.
2. Remove the cargo shelf so a potential thief can see your trunk is empty. (Refer to #1.) If they can't see inside, odds are that the trunk might contain something and they will speculatively smash a window to find out.
3. Never park on the street... find a secured parking garage with an attendant.
I have not yet heard of a Model S rear liftgate window being smashed. Usually they break the small quarter window, fold down the rear seat, and if something in the trunk looks interesting, then they'll smash the larger window on the rear door to get in.
On a recent trip to the LA area, you need to realize the number of Teslas in California at this time. Whereas in Vancouver, I suspect that you may see a couple each day, in LA, you tend to see one about every 10 minutes. There are tons of them in CA.
So, take the dozens of reports in the forums and compare that to the probably hundred thousand Teslas in California and you will probably see that it isn't something that should significantly worry you. It's not as if every car has had their windows popped.
1. I never leave anything in my car. It is always spotless and empty, but I'm afraid people will break the window just to see what's inside or in the trunk well. If my car is smashed, I don't know how I would drive 20 hours back to Vancouver.
2. Model X doesn't have a cargo shelf, but the rear window IS tinted, so not sure if they will smash it just to see through.
3. But how can I tour SF and only park in parking garages with attendants? That would limit most of my usage of the car, I'm assuming.
You're probably right, but if my window gets smashed, I just don't know how I would drive my car 20 hours back with my family. It's not like I can get the window replaced immediately.
You'd be surprised. We're tree huggers in Vancouver (West Coast), and I believe we might be the second most popular market for Tesla behind California (someone can fact check me). I see one about every 10 minutes, esp after the Model 3 launch. Service Centre is bursting at the seams. Two of them are in my garage.
bayx
Member
Not just Teslas, any cars can get broken into especially if you leave anything remotely of any value visible, even 5 cents maybe is enough to warrant a break-in because the lovely leaders in Sacramento decided to make such crimes irrelevant. So the crooks know they aren't even going to be caught, let alone face punishment! Welcome to La La Land (pun intended)!
Enjoy the great weather, diverse cultures, great dining experiences and maybe you may have to put up with a window smash! If you have never been to San Francisco, be prepared to be walking some filthy & smelly streets, but other than that it's a good city to visit, good luck!
Lhshockey24
Member
In 2017 there were 30,000 car break-ins in San Francisco. Tourist spots are targeted as well because people will typically leave their cars unattended for a while to go hike and take pictures, like at Battery Spencer to get a good shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. We were there this weekend with our X and there was broken glass in EVERY parking spot. What we do when visiting downtown specifically is Valet park at one of the nicer hotels. You can do so without being a guest and it usually costs $40-$60 for a few hours if not the whole day. They're happy to take your money 
Filth & stench, hordes of crazy people doing crazy things (not in the charming sense of the word, either), horrifying traffic, needles on the ground, and lots of petty crime.
But yeah, some good restaurants.
(I cannot for the life of me see the appeal of living in SF unless you commute by helicopter and live in a secluded, gated enclave)
If you are outside the 10 by 10 mile square that is the city San Francisco proper it is a non-issue. Break in rates are no higher than in Vancouver. Probably lower than down by the arena.
And in the suburbs,Teslas are even more popular. I see one per 10 cars in my town. When you go the market you have to keep track of where you parked because White Model X is not enough to visually locate your car. There are likely 3 or 4 of them there at the same time.
And in the suburbs,Teslas are even more popular. I see one per 10 cars in my town. When you go the market you have to keep track of where you parked because White Model X is not enough to visually locate your car. There are likely 3 or 4 of them there at the same time.
jeffro01
Active Member
If you want to have your car broken into, then park on the street in SF... At this point, you're almost guaranteed to have such an occurrence... This is car agnostic although the more expensive the car is perceived to be the more likely a target you are... I don't think Tesla's are being specifically targeted anymore than any other brand...
When I have to drive into SF, I only park in specific garages that I know have good physical security, otherwise I take mass transit...
Jeff
When I have to drive into SF, I only park in specific garages that I know have good physical security, otherwise I take mass transit...
Jeff
Regardless of the theft, I always take BART in the city. The city is walkable, and parking is so expensive and the spaces are really small in most lots.
umeshunni
Member
I live in SF (downtown) and leave my Tesla in my garage and take an Uber or BART everywhere in the city and use the car only for out of town trips.
The hassle of getting my car broken into is not worth saving a few $ on Ubers.
The hassle of getting my car broken into is not worth saving a few $ on Ubers.
Just recently took a short weekend trip to SF, we had our car parked in the hotel garage and didn't have any problems. Opted to walk and take lyft instead of driving around which seemed more convenient. It worked out well since the city is pretty compact/dense and the car felt safe in the parking garage with security and cameras. We were only out there for 2 days so my experience with this is pretty limited.
Probably saved you a lot of time. It seems to take forever to find any parking on the street near the zoo, park, etc.
Grand Hyatt, not a bad hotel. A little old but the room we were given was newly renovated, and the location seemed pretty good.
