[cruisingdownthestreet]

is it possible to lease a cheap daily, drive as a(n) uber/lyft driver part-time while staying under the mileage limit, and break even or maybe profit slightly? know of anyone who has done this?

i would do it just to meet people (granted they're willing to chat) and stay out of the house. too bad 2-seaters aren't allowed.

[The Wind Breezes]

Not worth messing with, too much competition and not enough pay now. Get a real job. You could probably break even on a cheap lease but I'll be damned if that doesn't sound like the most unpleasant thing in the world.

[zx10guy]

As an FYI, a friend of mine was doing the Uber thing for a short period just to try it out. Not many people are aware of this...at least I wasn't, that there are tiers of Uber service. If you have a vehicle that qualifies under the Uber black or SUV services, you can charge more per fare. That's where I think it's a bit more lucrative to be an Uber driver. But you would have to do a careful analysis on if leasing a vehicle to qualify for those upgraded services is worth it.

[CanadianGatorBacon]

From what I've heard talking to Uber drivers, black cars are real hit or miss. You can charge more generally (excluding some surge pricing on lower tiers that don't apply to upper tiers), but it's also often harder to get fares because they are more expensive.

Supposedly UberXL (car holds up to 6 passengers) is where it's at for Uber drives.

I know nothing about Lyft and what I know about Uber comes from the people I talk to while they are driving.

[David70]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

is it possible to lease a cheap daily, drive as a(n) uber/lyft driver part-time while staying under the mileage limit, and break even or maybe profit slightly? know of anyone who has done this?

i would do it just to meet people (granted they're willing to chat) and stay out of the house. too bad 2-seaters aren't allowed.

With your goal of making no money I think it is likely to work. I think it is very unlikely you will truly be happy just breaking even and you want to get out but be stuck with the lease and a really small part of the population wants to drive for either company with the goal of breaking even.

This is for the fares, I don't know how much the driver receives.

How are Uber fares calculated?

When a rider takes a trip with you, they are charged a fare at the end of the ride. Each fare is calculated based on how far and how long the trip took to complete.

Fares are calculated by adding a base fare (if applicable) + time and distance rates. Riders are also charged a booking fee (approx $1-2).

Here are the time and distance rates for uberX in select cities across the country (as of July 2016):

Los Angeles - $0.15 per minute and $0.90 per mile
San Francisco - $0.22 per minute and $1.15 per mile
Chicago - $0.20 per minute and $0.90 per mile
Boston - $0.20 per minute and $1.24 per mile

Problem with the above is it looks good while you have passengers but I don't know how far you will go or how much time you will spend with no one in the car.

Same with the "XL", probably pays really well with the passengers but likely to come with more time without passengers than the standard service.

[gramboda]

I drive Uber [on the side] in NE WI in my wife's Flex. The money isn't really there except during events like festivals, Packer games and late night bar time (drunks). I do it for fun mostly and to have a slush fund for crap for my F82.

On the other hand, I road in a Tesla Uber in Chicago and the guy SAID between gas savings and the money he makes driving downtown, driving Uber pays his $900/m payment.

[gramboda]

I will also add that unless you are in a metro area, driving Uber is more trouble than it is worth. They have all the money-making-angles covered. Figure $20/hr if you are lucky. That's $100 for five hours on top of your regular job. Is $100 really worth driving drunks around on YOUR Saturday night?

You'd be better off bartending to make some extra cash. IMO.

Also, my wife's Flex qualifies for XL. And while XL makes more money, you still get calls for Uber X. It is only when people specifically call for an XL that you get paid XL. If someone calls for just an X and you are in the pool, you'll only get paid X if you pick up the fare. Make sense? I drove two dudes from Appleton to Green Bay for a Packer game. It was only Uber X so my cut was about $46. In contrast, I've gotten XL fares for the same route and it was more like $76. The route is about 30 miles.

[mojobmw_e90]

I do Uber food delivery as a side job on my days off especially during this cold wave we got in Chicago. I average about 40-70 bucks a day. I'm in my car about 4hrs or so, but actual delivery I'm about 2hrs.plus they have promotions daily and being paid weekly, I average about 250 300 doller weekly checks with promotions and such. Bought my neon for 500 bucks so it's almost paid for itself

[jmg]

Look into a Fiat 500e lease. You are in LA, so you would qualify for the state and federal incentives which is $2500+$7500 for the 500e. That plus the inflated residuals means you only pay $60-70 a month with $500 out of pocket down (you pay the $2500 up front, but you get the rebate check in the mail). That's for only 10k miles/yr so you can't be a full time UBER driver, but I can imagine it would only take a few trips a month to pay the $60.


LOL, now they are advertising $40 a month!!!

http://www.ocfiat.com/inventory/New-...rMxoCW_bw_wcB#

edit: *$40 before taxes

[cruisingdownthestreet]

Originally Posted by jmg

Look into a Fiat 500e lease. You are in LA, so you would qualify for the state and federal incentives which is $2500+$7500 for the 500e. That plus the inflated residuals means you only pay $60-70 a month with $500 out of pocket down (you pay the $2500 up front, but you get the rebate check in the mail). That's for only 10k miles/yr so you can't be a full time UBER driver, but I can imagine it would only take a few trips a month to pay the $60.


LOL, now they are advertising $40 a month!!!

http://www.ocfiat.com/inventory/New-...rMxoCW_bw_wcB#

edit: *$40 before taxes

now THAT'S some legit research!

i see $49 + tax. and i recall you must have 4 doors in order qualify as an Uber driver.

and $32,000 for a fiat? W...T...F.... i might as well buy a 10-year-old lambo, wrap in satin chrome purple and put a ski box on top!

[DUI Elite]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

now THAT'S some legit research!

and $32,000 for a fiat? W...T...F.... i might as well buy a 10-year-old lambo, wrap in satin chrome purple and put a ski box on top!

It was in a thread that was talking about leasing electric vehicles a few months back.

All the research was discussed there.

At any rate, including insurance and charging the thing (with only a 70 mile range) you'd work out to around $200 a month. Pretty manageable but you can't uber a Fiat 500e because it's a 2-door.

Not sure why you'd want to go through the trouble of doing this just to break even anyway. Not factoring the amount of time it takes + the value of your time.

[dagolfpro]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

is it possible to lease a cheap daily, drive as a(n) uber/lyft driver part-time while staying under the mileage limit, and break even or maybe profit slightly? know of anyone who has done this?

i would do it just to meet people (granted they're willing to chat) and stay out of the house. too bad 2-seaters aren't allowed.

Depends on how much you want to drive for Uber/Lift. I know guys do it for during peak driving times to make during tiered pricing (NYE and other holiday times). You might also want to look into this:

https://turo.com

I know people lease BMW's and rent it out there, even thought BMW forbids it.

Good luck.

[08njSTEP]

If you're looking to meet new people and make a little cash I have the answer.
Grab some cardboard and write in large, legible letters...WILL WORK FOR FOOD, I have 2 kids.
Then just stand at the entrance/exit of a supermarket or mall.
The amount of people/hr you're likely to meet will blow the doors off being a cab driver(oh my bad, Uber driver).

[jmg]

Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet

is it possible to lease a cheap daily, drive as a(n) uber/lyft driver part-time while staying under the mileage limit, and break even or maybe profit slightly? know of anyone who has done this?

i would do it just to meet people (granted they're willing to chat) and stay out of the house. too bad 2-seaters aren't allowed.

You should apply for a job at disneyland. You meet people all day, you're in the happiest place on earth, and you can get your friends and family into the park for free. I used to work there when I was young. I always imagined coming back after I was retired to drive the buggy around or something. Just make the kids and vacationers happy.

[eluded]

Not worth it. Uber drivers will soon be replaced by autonomous cars

[Never_Enough]

Why bother unless it's gonna net you a profit big enough to warrant doing it?

[gtron]

I've been leasing a lambo and paying it off with lyft tips. Shit pays for itself and I'll get a free lambo when done!

Checkout these cheap ass leases:
http://www.lambonb.com/newspecials.aspx

[MightyMouseTech]

Uber driver's won't be a thing for long. You can expect Uber to switch to driverless cars at some point. Right now they are just using the drivers as software testers.

[David70]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Uber driver's won't be a thing for long. You can expect Uber to switch to driverless cars at some point. Right now they are just using the drivers as software testers.

Depends on what you mean by "long and at some point". My wife would be fine with having her car drive her all of the time (and I sure wouldn't mind about 70% of the time), I think the idea that she should wait for a fully autonomous car before getting another car isn't going to happen. I think the idea that you shouldn't take a part time job today because someday the job won't exist is pretty far out there.

I also think the fully autonomous car will drastically reduce the reasons my wife and I will need multiple cars as the cost for an Uber trip should drop like a rock when you aren't paying the driver, or the car we have can be used by both of us far easier when it can leave one of us and go get the other. If the cost per trip were half and the number of Uber cars went up (as more people use them at the reduced rate), I am not sure we would bother having two daily drivers. I work out of my house or travel and both of our cars spend a decent amount of time parked at the airport, not being used and paying for parking.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by David70

Depends on what you mean by "long and at some point". My wife would be fine with having her car drive her all of the time (and I sure wouldn't mind about 70% of the time), I think the idea that she should wait for a fully autonomous car before getting another car isn't going to happen. I think the idea that you shouldn't take a part time job today because someday the job won't exist is pretty far out there.

I also think the fully autonomous car will drastically reduce the reasons my wife and I will need multiple cars as the cost for an Uber trip should drop like a rock when you aren't paying the driver, or the car we have can be used by both of us far easier when it can leave one of us and go get the other. If the cost per trip were half and the number of Uber cars went up (as more people use them at the reduced rate), I am not sure we would bother having two daily drivers. I work out of my house or travel and both of our cars spend a decent amount of time parked at the airport, not being used and paying for parking.

Agreed, it is not going to happen soon. But Uber is loosing money about the exact same rate they are currently paying their drivers. Makes one think. I think that is intentional.

[pgviper]

I'll leave this right here...

https://medium.com/@SteveSasman/how-...c10#.d0n5mwlc7

[Z K]

Uber is not a friendly company for drivers. They only look after their own pocketbooks and take advantage of people for their profit. No benefits, low wages and lots of regulations on what you can and can't do. They can also "fire" you for any reason or no reason at all.

Also, as soon as driverless cars are available, Uber drivers will be out of jobs.

I have a few friends who drive Uber on the weekends and they have nothing but complaints.