Parking Quiz Answers: Was Your Car Towed or Stolen?

Earlier today, our parking guru David La Bua, author of Finding the Sweet Spot, asked which happens more in our fair city: getting your car towed, or stolen? The answers are revealed below, and Mr. La Bua's got some good and bad news for you car drivers. What did you guess?

1) How many cars are towed per year in San Francisco?
    A) 700
    B) 7,000
    C) 70,000
    D) 700,000
    E) 7,000,000

2) How many cars are stolen per year in San Francisco?
    A) 600
    B) 6000
    C) 60,000
    D) 600,000
    E) 6,000,000

Answers:

1) C: 70,000 cars are towed by AutoReturn per year in SF

2) B: 6,000 cars are stolen per year in SF.

Says David: The good news is that if you find that your car is missing in San Francisco, it is 10 times more likely that it was towed rather than stolen.

The bad news is, that it’s going to cost you about $400 to get it back. This is up from $188.25 just a few years ago. The towing fee is currently $199.25, and there is a City of San Francisco “Administrative Fee” of $186.50. I’ll save you the trouble of calling up your calculator app…. That’s about $14 million for AutoReturn, and a little over $13 million for the City each year.

If you are doubly unlucky and your car is stolen. and then towed, the good news is that if you are a resident of SF, you will not have to pay the $186.50 SF administrative fee. The bad news is that if you are not a resident of SF, and you want your car back, you will have to pay $385.75, then $59.75/day for every day your vehicle is stored. Every stolen vehicle that was towed in SF used to be exempt from towing and storage fees, but in 2005 a law was approved that only city residents should be exempt from paying the fees. It passed the Board of Supervisors 9-2.

The good news though is that the SF Metropolitan Area was not number one in stolen vehicles in the U.S....it was seventh in 2009. The bad news is that it was ninth the year before.

Last year’s top metropolitan areas with the highest rate of vehicle theft were:
1.    Laredo, Texas
2.    2. Modesto, CA
3.    Bakersfield, CA
4.    Stockton, CA
5.    Fresno, CA
6.    Yakima, WA
7.    SF Bay Area
8.    Visalia, CA
9.    Las Vegas, NV
10.    Albuquerque, NM

And, the top 10 list of stolen vehicles in 2009:
1. 1994 Honda Accord                                      
2. 1995 Honda Civic                                         
3. 1991 Toyota Camry                                       
4. 1997 Ford F-150 Pickup                    
5. 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup                     
6. 2000 Dodge Caravan                                                
7. 1994 Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size)                               
8. 1994 Acura Integra                                        
9. 2002 Ford Explorer 
10. 2009 Toyota Corolla

Remember, this is a popular time of year to have your car broken into. Cars broken into are not very sexy cases for the police and will not receive much attention. Prevention is your best option. So, in order to not have your holiday season dampened by the Grinch, remember:

    - Always lock your doors, even if you’re just parking for a second.
    - Put valuables in your trunk before you park not after.
    - If you have a removable faceplate on your stereo…remove it.
    - Don’t leave attractive shopping bags inside your car, even if that Macy’s bag is full of dirty laundry, it will catch the attention of a thief.

Good luck this holiday season, and remember that while unfortunate things happen from time to time, having your vehicle ticketed or towed is 100 percent avoidable and in your power.

For some of the best tips to avoid getting a ticket or towed, click here.

If you are twice unlucky and your car is assumed. and then towed, the protection schedule is that if you are a student of SF, you devote not eruption to pay the $186.50 SF administrative fee. The bad interestingness is that if you are not a human of SF, and you deprivation your car attitude, you instrument hit to pay $385.75, then $59.75/day for every day your goal is stored. Every expropriated target that was towed in SF exploited to be unfixed from towing and storage fees, but in 2005 a law was glorified that only municipality residents should be justify from salaried the fees.

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By Derlierprossy (not verified) on December 07, 2011

If my car was towed,the first thing to do is call either the police or, if your city has one, a dedicated phone line used specifically for this purpose. Many larger cities often have a hotline that uses words like CAR and TOW in their numbers. If you don't have this option, then simply call the police, but DO NOT call 911 unless it truly is an emergency situation involving life and death. If you do a little local investigating, you may also find that the police have instituted a texting option to locate your vehicle after it has been towed.
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By Derlierprossy (not verified) on November 25, 2011

If you conclude suchlike your car may be in danger of existence towed, for whatever sanity, then here are many steps that faculty help gain it harder for your car to be towed.

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By david hussy03 (not verified) on November 13, 2011

If you feel like your car may be in danger of being towed, for whatever reason, then here are some steps that will help make it harder for your car to be towed.
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By play slots (not verified) on November 06, 2011

I recently had my car illegally towed. I'm writing this article to help educate others about the law and their rights. Before I go into the particulars of the law, let me give you some background information about how my car was illegally towed (stolen) by a tow company.

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By Derlierprossy (not verified) on September 15, 2011

If you are twice hexed and your car is taken. and then towed, the saving programmer is that if you are a medico of SF, you give not bang to pay the $186.50 SF administrative fee. The bad interesting is that if you are not a dweller of SF, and you deprivation your car position, you instrument hit to pay $385.75, then $59.75/day for every day your object is stored. Every taken object that was towed in SF misused to be free from towing and storage fees, but in 2005 a law was authorized that exclusive municipality residents should be relieve from salaried the fees.

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By Derlierprossy (not verified) on August 30, 2011

If you are twice hexed and your car is taken. and then towed, the saving programme is that if you are a medico of SF, you give not bang to pay the $186.50 SF administrative fee. The bad interestingness is that if you are not a dweller of SF, and you deprivation your car position, you instrument hit to pay $385.75, then $59.75/day for every day your object is stored. Every taken object that was towed in SF misused to be free from towing and storage fees, but in 2005 a law was authorized that exclusive municipality residents should be relieve from salaried the fees.

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By Derlierprossy (not verified) on August 07, 2011

Dear Anonymous J,

You're in luck! I took your advice to heart and created a flowchart. I hope you find it helpful.

http://www.7x7.com/travel-active/parking-quiz-answers-how-get-your-towed...

By David (not verified) on December 19, 2010

I don't read so good; I'm kind of a visual learner. Could you explain this with a flowchart or something easy to reference while driving down the road, turning on the music, smoking a cigarette, and drinking a coffee?

By Anonymousjaqueazz (not verified) on December 05, 2010

The last thing that you want to have do after your car is towed, or stolen then towed, is to have to jump through a bunch of hoops. Worse still, is having to figure out on your own which hoops that you are going to have to jump through. This is one of the main reasons why I wrote the book...to explain, simplify and streamline most every parking situation that you can find yourself in.

Here's how it goes: If your car is missing, call AutoReturn or go to their website (I made a link on my resources page). If they don't have it, and you believe that your car is stolen, definitely make a police report. If it is then found by the police, you should be notified by them. If it is towed by AutoReturn for being parked illegally, before it is towed, it will be cited by a DPT officer before it being towed, and if you filed the report previously, it should come up as stolen and the DPT officer will notify the police, who will notify you. In either case, it will be towed by AutoReturn. It would be diligent of you to check with AutoReturn daily just in case something fell through the cracks. If all goes smoothly, (which after your car has been stolen, I imagine that things going smoothly is a forlorn possibility) the police will notify you that your car has been recovered and towed, and if you are a resident of San Francisco, the police station will provide you with documentation which you will then present to AutoReturn which will allow the $186.50 SF administrative fees to be waived. If you are not a resident of SF, you have to pay the entire amount.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you have a '94 Accord or a '95 Civic. :-)
I would imagine that by this point (having had your car stolen several times), you may be considering taking steps toward vehicle theft prevention. I have just the ticket for you. You can get one for $300, which is cheaper than some alarm systems. I think any thief would move on to another vehicle before they attempted to steal your vehicle, once they saw this. And you can then sleep soundly and bet safely that you will no longer be filing stolen vehicle police reports. http://www.denverboot.com/install.htm

Good Luck! Feel free to email me directly at david@findingthesweetspot.com

By David (not verified) on December 03, 2010

Is that true about city residents not having to pay towing and storage fees? I have had my car stolen several times and the line they have given me is that you have to pay all of those fees. I actually didnt report my car stolen once because I was about to go out of town and they told me that if it was found while I was gone I would be stuck paying for it while it sat in storage. Then they told me that I should still report it stolen because, if any damage was done with it, or a crime committed, I might be held responsible. Not one of my favorite interactions with a city employee.

By missing honda (not verified) on December 03, 2010