# Prius to make Uber profitable



## Brianod (Apr 12, 2017)

I was banned from picking up PAX on January 1, 2018 when a law went into effect here in CT saying no networked transportation vehicle could be more than 12 years old. My 2004 VW Jetta was then only allowed me to deliver food. I tried this for 6 weeks but people don't order from restaurants that are far away from them. I was averaging about $5 a delivery and with gas was only making about $3 of that.

So I broke down and bought a 2011 Prius for about $9000. For Uber, it's fabulous. I get 50 mpg just about everywhere. It has a big hatch for luggage on those airport runs. It's surprisingly roomy on the inside and has more leg room for my PAX in the back seat. One big minus is that you can't see the very front of the vehicle when you are driving. The hood curves down so you can't see the bumper so I really have to watch out for that.

But, on an average 100 mile day my gas cost is about $6.








MPG is the biggest factor in making Uber profitable is *** MY *** most expensive out of pocket cost. I updated this post to reflect my situation. I know gas prices vary wildly throughout the country as do Uber mileage reimbursement fees. I pick up in two different counties here. One I get $0.825 / mile and the other $0.75 / mile without any Boosts or Surges. I see many drivers get only $0.65 per mile. How Uber determines this is above my pay grade. It does seem that wait fees are pretty standard at $0.12 / minute but I could be wrong.

This has just been my experience.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

I don't think anyone can argue against a Prius for an Uber car. But one could quibble about fuel being the most expensive cost. Take a look at https://www.edmunds.com/toyota/prius/2012/st-101420746/cost-to-own/

It only goes back to 2012, not 2011, so its estimates for fuel, maintenance, and repairs might be a bit low. Edmunds and KBB agree that depreciation is going to be a bit over a nickel a mile. Fuel is about $0.06 a mile. Expected repairs should be about another nickel. Maintenance during the 5th year is about $0.115 per mile (but only $0.07/mile during the first 75,000 miles). Adding fuel, depreciation, repairs, and maintenance totals $0.265 per mile during the 5th year.

You may be able to get a more accurate maintenance expense by looking in the owner's manual, give a cost for each maintenance item, then divide by the miles before the next service. If you do your own maintenance, I bet you can cut that number way down. If you bought the car strictly and solely for rideshare, you should add financing, taxes, and insurance.

If you want to be more accurate, you can plot the trends and anticipate future costs. Depreciation goes down, but at a decreasing amount each time period. But the savings in depreciation is consumed by increasing repair costs. Eventually, depreciation will near zero but repairs will continue to increase. Maintenance will probably be consistent.

I'd say a Prius is a very good (best?) rideshare car, but it costs more than just fuel. Using imaginary numbers, say 100 miles driven earns you $100. Those 100 miles cost $26.50 leaving $73.50 net. If it took 5 hours, your $20/hr gross turns to $14.70/hr net. Still good.


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## Brianod (Apr 12, 2017)

I don't disagree with anything bsliv has said in his response. I think one of the major downsides of hybrid cars is that your average garage mechanic can't fix much about them. I fear that when the Prius has problems that I will be at the mercy of the Toyota stealership. But my previous car (the 04 Jetta) had to be fixed at the dealer 1 out of every 3 times. The Jetta had known door latch problems that would fail if the doors were slammed and I had many PAX that would do that even when I begged them not to. It cost me $500 each to repair my rear doors eventually at the VW dealer.

There's no doubt driving for Uber is tough on any car and maintenance and repairs really cut into the drivers profit as they are inevitable but hard to forecast. 

I also calculate from experience that Uber is a $12 to $15 an hour job as things average out. I'm retired on SS and Uber about 4 or 5 hours a day so between the two I get by.

My dog likes your dog but Golden's love everyone and almost everything except being left alone. They do not like that.


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## ShinyAndChrome (Aug 18, 2017)

True about repairs on that car, but only for the drivetrain; common wear items like brakes are the same on that as anything else. Since the car is a hybrid it will consume brakes far slower than a non-hybrid. Also, the drivetrain is bullet proof. The motor, electric motor, and battery pack and other components should go for a very long time.

I had a prius same generation as yours. I hated how it drove (too slow and I can't stand the throttle lag in these cars), but in many ways it is an excellent car. Reliable, cheap to run, roomy with the hatch back. Objectively they are among the very best cars on the road. Only got rid of it when we needed a minivan. I currently have one of their 200 horsepower hybrid setups in a sedan. It still has the awful throttle delay, but I'm leaning on buying out the car when the lease is up as I fully expect it would give me many more tens of thousands of miles without issue. I really admire what a great job overall Toyota has done with this, and they've been at the forefront of hybrid tech for years because of it.


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## thatridesharegirl (Jul 7, 2016)

Brianod said:


> MPG is the biggest factor in making Uber profitable as gas is our most expensive out of pocket cost.


Think again.


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## bsliv (Mar 1, 2016)

Brianod said:


> My dog likes your dog


Arfff.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

thatridesharegirl said:


> Think again.


Depends what you drive

On an old cheap reliable guzzler, hells yes


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## Nagodesi (Aug 20, 2015)

Check out my ride.. 58 to 65 mpg with A/C int he summer, 48 to 54 mpg in the winter...


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## Brianod (Apr 12, 2017)

Nagodesi said:


> Check out my ride.. 58 to 65 mpg with A/C int he summer, 48 to 54 mpg in the winter...


I find it interesting that you get better mileage with the A/C then you do with the heat. That seems to be the opposite of my results. I find that because it's a hybrid that getting the heat up to a comfortable level is difficult because the car starts up in battery only mode. I absolutely hate that the car does not have an engine temperature gauge or an oil pressure gauge. Still a great car to Uber with.


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## Nagodesi (Aug 20, 2015)

Brianod said:


> I find it interesting that you get better mileage with the A/C then you do with the heat. That seems to be the opposite of my results. I find that because it's a hybrid that getting the heat up to a comfortable level is difficult because the car starts up in battery only mode. I absolutely hate that the car does not have an engine temperature gauge or an oil pressure gauge. Still a great car to Uber with.


Everyone forgets this is a hybrid vehicle, mostly the battery is working all the time, the cooler the battery the better the performance.. I'm glad it does not have those gauges, i've never past the anywhere near the heat indicators on a regular car. Also the recommended oil I use in the car is a Mobile 1 0w-20 the one with the green cap only. it pure synthetic, not the toyota dealer crap of synthetic and regular blend. this blend teh car runs very smooth and light wright, the very thin oil keeps the engine cool and I only changes @ every 10k with a mobile 1 filter. I have 90k miles on the car now for a 2015 model. no issues at all.


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## leon williams (Jun 26, 2018)

ok iam new just got my pco licence. SHOULD I JOIN UBER. LOOL . if not what can i use my pco for iam in london


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## Sal29 (Jul 27, 2014)

Brianod said:


> I don't disagree with anything bsliv has said in his response. I think one of the major downsides of hybrid cars is that your average garage mechanic can't fix much about them. I fear that when the Prius has problems that I will be at the mercy of the Toyota stealership. But my previous car (the 04 Jetta) had to be fixed at the dealer 1 out of every 3 times. The Jetta had known door latch problems that would fail if the doors were slammed and I had many PAX that would do that even when I begged them not to. It cost me $500 each to repair my rear doors eventually at the VW dealer.
> 
> There's no doubt driving for Uber is tough on any car and maintenance and repairs really cut into the drivers profit as they are inevitable but hard to forecast.
> 
> ...


The most important thing about a Gen 3 Prius is to make sure the EGR System does not get clogged up and cause a blown head gasket. Many Prius Owners install a high quality oil catch can after a complete EGR System cleaning and also change the engine coolant much earlier than recommended to ensure that their head gasket lasts hundreds of thousands of miles.


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