{"id":367873,"date":"2026-06-20T01:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/367873\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T01:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:19:08","slug":"auto-glass-repair-businesses-suffer-as-oakland-break-ins-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/367873\/","title":{"rendered":"Auto glass repair businesses suffer as Oakland break-ins decline"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fewer \"Fewer Fewer car break-ins in Oakland means less business for repair shops<\/a> <\/p>\n

Oakland has seen a decrease in car break-ins over the past year, which is good news for car owners, but less so for some repair shops. Those businesses that specialize in replacing windows and windshields have seen a sharp decline in the once-reliable portion of their income.<\/p>\n

OAKLAND, Calif. – A decline in car break-ins across Oakland is being welcomed as a public safety win, but it is also contributing to a downturn for some local auto glass repair businesses.<\/p>\n

Police data show a sharp drop in vehicle burglaries over the past year. According to the Oakland Police Department\u2019s crime dashboard, car break-ins are down 37 percent year-to-date, comparing May 2025 to May 2026.<\/p>\n

At Low Price Auto Glass on San Leandro Street in East Oakland, owner Raj Singh said the decrease has directly impacted a once-reliable portion of his business.<\/p>\n

“There is the door glass repair if there is any break-ins or vandalism \u2014 that segment of my business has been down about 30 percent,” Singh said.<\/p>\n

The shop\u2019s five service bays, once frequently filled with vehicles needing repairs from smash-and-grab incidents, are now more often occupied by cars requiring windshield replacements due to road debris.<\/p>\n

Customer M. Sisneros said a cracked windshield brought them in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The windshield got cracked and (I’ve) just been needing to get it replaced for a while,” Sisneros said.<\/p>\n

A big hit <\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Singh\u2019s experience reflects a broader trend. Several auto glass repair businesses across Oakland report similar declines tied to fewer break-ins.<\/p>\n

James Serwa, owner of Glass on the Move Inc., said his business has dropped significantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“About 35 percent \u2014 35 to 40. It\u2019s a lot. We\u2019ve taken quite a hit,” Serwa said.<\/p>\n

Serwa said he has reduced his workforce from seven installers to four due to decreased demand.’<\/p>\n

Changing tides <\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Business owners say the decline in break-in-related repairs coincides with other shifts, including a reduction in catalytic converter thefts, rising costs tied to inflation and global supply issues, and increased competition within the industry.<\/p>\n

“We noticed this trend about a year ago, about the same time the catalytic converters started to die out, so did the calls for break-ins,” Serwa said.<\/p>\n

While the economic impact on some businesses is significant, shop owners acknowledge the broader benefit to the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a surprise, but I would say from a community point of view, it\u2019s a good surprise,” Singh said.<\/p>\n

Despite the downturn in break-in repairs, Singh said demand for windshield replacements caused by road debris remains steady enough to keep his business operating.<\/p>\n

The overall effect underscores a mixed outcome: improved public safety alongside new economic challenges for certain sectors.<\/p>\n

News<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fewer car break-ins in Oakland means less business for repair shops Oakland has seen a decrease in car…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[2042,100,143,145,144],"class_list":["post-367873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-news","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}