# Buying a car solely for Uber



## JDEUberguy (Aug 4, 2017)

Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


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## geauxfish (Jun 10, 2016)

JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


If you buy a car strictly for uber my advice is make sure it's used, under 5 k, & gets 35mpg+. Also make sure you can use it on the platform for a couple of years. Keep your operating cost as low as possible.


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## JDEUberguy (Aug 4, 2017)

geauxfish said:


> If you buy a car strictly for uber my advice is make sure it's used, under 5 k, & gets 35mpg+.


Well, I was planning to do XL so getting a vehicle that cheap would only be good for X, I would imagine. But thanks for the input. It makes sense. Less expense is easier and quicker to pay off for sure.


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## geauxfish (Jun 10, 2016)

JDEUberguy said:


> Well, I was planning to do XL so getting a vehicle that cheap would only be good for X, I would imagine. But thanks for the input. It makes sense. Less expense is easier and quicker to pay off for sure.


Get a used minivan if you're looking for xl. It's the only way to not lose money at these rates.


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## brianboru (Nov 3, 2016)

JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


Don't forget to factor in depreciation and other operating costs. You should be able to get a good idea of whether or not it makes sense for you by looking at your deductible mileage @.535 per mile and earnings over the same time period.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


Please tell me youre kidding

Price ranges are:
$1-3k uberx
$1.5-5k uberxl
$5-10k xl/select double dip


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Buying a new car for uber is a bad idea... just a bad terrible idea.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

JDEUberguy said:


> Well, I was planning to do XL so getting a vehicle that cheap would only be good for X, I would imagine. But thanks for the input. It makes sense. Less expense is easier and quicker to pay off for sure.


Uhm, no, there's XLs here as cheap as $1k....although that requires some understanding of the market, good eye for vehicles and deals, and possibly a bit of creativity with paperwork


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

I bought a car as my Uber only car and kept my personal car and did very well. Threw 60k miles on it over a year and sold it for almost the same amount I bought it for . Only maintenance done was 3 used tires , some oil changes, and an air filter . Less then $300 in a year and 60k miles . The car I bought was a year old with 2,800 miles on the clock got a screaming deal on it


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## pacifico (May 13, 2017)

UberDezNutz said:


> I bought a car as my Uber only car and kept my personal car and did very well. Threw 60k miles on it over a year and sold it for almost the same amount I bought it for . Only maintenance done was 3 used tires , some oil changes, and an air filter . Less then $300 in a year and 60k miles . The car I bought was a year old with 2,800 miles on the clock got a screaming deal on it


too good to be true


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

pacifico said:


> too good to be true


If you're smart with your vehicle purchase, can work on your own car and can sell you can do that too. Not hard to get cars on the cheap and then sell them. I bought, fixed up and sold cars as a side hobby for about 8 years


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## Robertk (Jun 8, 2015)

I bought a new car for Uber, In fact in the last two years I've bought TWO new cars for Uber.

- I don't like used cars and I can afford new.

*Car #1 Kia Soul Manual Transmission $13,800 new*
this car replaced a crappy old beater which broke down several times
drove 2 years, did about 1700 trips and earned about $18,000 gross revenue
gas mileage only 24 mpg, and the lugging that manual transmission around the hills of Seattle actually caused physical injury to my left knee. I had to sell that car because I could not physically drive the stick anymore

When I sold it the car was certainly used but no one would be able to tell that maybe 3000 people had sat inside. No pukers either.

*Car #2 Kia Niro *
$20,000 new
50+ mpg = half as much spent on gas
now I'm allowed to do airport pickups (requirement is 45mpg +)
I'm laid off currently so I'm doing alot of Uber. In the last three weeks I've already put on 3500 miles and earned about $6500

In Seattle I average about $23-24/hr after gas costs (which aren't much at 50mpg!)

Car payment = $238/mo
Insurance = $99/mo (liability/comp/rideshare)

that's about 15 hours a month to pay for a new car

or, to put it another way, my house went up $30k in value last month but I bought a car for $20k. I figure I'm $10k ahead.


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## RedANT (Aug 9, 2016)

Robertk That just makes sense to me. If you purchase new, the price isn't really that bad.

When I started driving I used my existing vehicles, and while they were comfortable to drive, they ate sooo much gas and depreciated too quickly.

I'm going to drive again soon, so last weekend I bought a new Nissan Sentra. $0 down, $302 /mo + $60 /mo to insure. (Still sitting in the garage with 23 miles on it) If I clear $20 /hr driving in Seattle, the car pays for itself after driving 4-5 hrs a week. After it's run into the ground, I'll just pay it off, give it to one of my grandkids and buy another car.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Robertk said:


> I bought a new car for Uber, In fact in the last two years I've bought TWO new cars for Uber.
> 
> - I don't like used cars and I can afford new.
> 
> ...


You hated your first Kia... so you bought another one???

That 45mpg rule is completely insane. What is wrong with your city?!?!


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## Robertk (Jun 8, 2015)

Adieu said:


> You hated your first Kia... so you bought another one???
> 
> That 45mpg rule is completely insane. What is wrong with your city?!?!


I didn't hate the Kia brand. I had to sell my Kia Soul because the manual transmission caused physical injury to my left knee. The pain became so bad I could not walk. There's more to that story of course but it's long, complicated and pointless to recount here.



RedANT said:


> Robertk That just makes sense to me. If you purchase new, the price isn't really that bad.
> 
> When I started driving I used my existing vehicles, and while they were comfortable to drive, they ate sooo much gas and depreciated too quickly.
> 
> I'm going to drive again soon, so last weekend I bought a new Nissan Sentra. $0 down, $302 /mo + $60 /mo to insure. (Still sitting in the garage with 23 miles on it) If I clear $20 /hr driving in Seattle, the car pays for itself after driving 4-5 hrs a week. After it's run into the ground, I'll just pay it off, give it to one of my grandkids and buy another car.


be sure your insurance covers ride share use.


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## Precisionist (Jul 6, 2017)

What about buying a new car in order to work a higher platform, like select/xl/premier etc.?

I have a 2013 Impreza that's paid for, get's great mileage, but only qualifies for X. Are the other platforms more profitable to justify an upgrade?


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Precisionist said:


> What about buying a new car in order to work a higher platform, like select/xl/premier etc.?
> 
> I have a 2013 Impreza that's paid for, get's great mileage, but only qualifies for X. Are the other platforms more profitable to justify an upgrade?


If your car is paid for and you like it , it makes no sense to get another car . However I would never do this job as just UberX or Lyft again


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

brianboru said:


> Don't forget to factor in depreciation and other operating costs. You should be able to get a good idea of whether or not it makes sense for you by looking at your deductible mileage @.535 per mile and earnings over the same time period.


Is this the same weather he gets a 2017 BMW or a 2005 Honda Civic?


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## NoDay (Jul 25, 2017)

I've been thinking about replacing the 1 borken down vehicle and 1 beater with a vehicle that qualifies for uber xl instead of using my families caravan. Keep the miles off of the family vehicle and buy a car at a auction for < $2,000. This I hope will be worth it.


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## brianboru (Nov 3, 2016)

Cableguynoe said:


> Is this the same weather he gets a 2017 BMW or a 2005 Honda Civic?


Yes, under the standard mileage deduction both cars would cost out the same. This is because the standard mileage deduction is an average calculated by the IRS so he gets the same dollars for both cars. To recover depreciation on the 2017 he would have to use actual expenses and the advantage of using an average, in the form of the standard mileage deduction, is lost.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Precisionist said:


> What about buying a new car in order to work a higher platform, like select/xl/premier etc.?
> 
> I have a 2013 Impreza that's paid for, get's great mileage, but only qualifies for X. Are the other platforms more profitable to justify an upgrade?


NOBODY in livery or taxi operates NEW vehicles...it's sheer madness.

XL and Select should be OLD, and double-dippers hitting both classes if anywhere near (much less above) the $10k mark.


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## KCDriver (Jul 30, 2017)

Adieu said:


> NOBODY in livery or taxi operates NEW vehicles...it's sheer madness.
> 
> XL and Select should be OLD, and double-dippers hitting both classes if anywhere near (much less above) the $10k mark.


You're absolutely right. Often times police departments have arrangements with taxi companies where the PD puts the first 100k miles on them, then they get repainted and new interiors and the taxi company puts 150k miles on them then their sold. All planned before the pd makes the purchase.


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Adieu said:


> NOBODY in livery or taxi operates NEW vehicles...it's sheer madness.
> 
> XL and Select should be OLD, and double-dippers hitting both classes if anywhere near (much less above) the $10k mark.


I'm probably dealing with the ONLY cab company on earth that does.

But here's what the cars get rented for.

$73 for overnight $120 for day shift.

X 7 shifts a week
$1351

X 50 weeks a year (to account for down time
$67550

X 4 years (400-450,000 miles)

$270,200
-10% (for cars that get totaled or don't make it to 400,000)

$243,000 on a $28,00 car purchase

Saving $10,000 or even $20,000 doesn't hurt their bottom line as much as squeezing in an extra year does.

But then again there's no medallions and just the annual bribes to the resorts that need made and like $200 a year in permits to the county/city.

I did a cab new and kept it for 3 1/2 years an cleared over $200,000 on it so depending on your market the math is there.

It' also a lot more cost effective to drop $10,000 on a wheelchair van conversion on a new car than a used car.

The math that uber is doing is nothing compared to what the cab companies are pulling per car, that's the problem.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> I'm probably dealing with the ONLY cab company on earth that does.
> 
> But here's what the cars get rented for.
> 
> ...


By your own math, you shoulda rented out that cab instead of driving yourself... same money less work

Anyway... not many people can clear that much on fuber, so...

And I was talking about black car limos and escalades and whatnot, cars that cost easily >50k new, sometimes 100 or more.

Dont forget that a large operation or an established cabbie/limo driver at least know what they're getting into, and have some notion of whats going on in the market...

Now an unemployed dude takes a subprime loan on a shiny new fully optioned Escalade, he might starve... a non-XL select car? Almost guaranteed hurt


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## JDEUberguy (Aug 4, 2017)

Mears Troll Number 4 said:


> Buying a new car for uber is a bad idea... just a bad terrible idea.


Not buying new. It's used.


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## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.





NoDay said:


> I've been thinking about replacing the 1 borken down vehicle and 1 beater with a vehicle that qualifies for uber xl instead of using my families caravan. Keep the miles off of the family vehicle and buy a car at a auction for < $2,000. This I hope will be worth it.


Thing is
A lot of public agencies wont auction cars off until they are 10 years old.


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## Nightdriver27 (Aug 27, 2016)

JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


I bought a Prius because I was going to start Uber and I've paid it iff in 11 months.


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## Rat (Mar 6, 2016)

JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


Buy a used car. Still doubtful, depends on where you work


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Rat said:


> Buy a used car. Still doubtful, depends on where you work


This week I'm sitting at $675 net fares (around $70 in Tolls and Gas so $605 haven't done the math yet and I commute for work 25 miles each way so my gas is included in that,) and I've worked 18.5 hours (I also drive select and XL got lucky on a few Select Rematches and Long Plus rides plus some good tips, usually for a $20 week I clear around $500 after deducting gas and tolls from my net fare)


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## Trebor (Apr 22, 2015)

Adieu said:


> Uhm, no, there's XLs here as cheap as $1k....although that requires some understanding of the market, good eye for vehicles and deals, and possibly a bit of creativity with paperwork


You can always buy in a different state and drive it back. Stealerships require just $500 to hold it.



JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


The new car will be bad in 2-3 years depending how part time you really are. 50k miles part time is not hard to do. How many cars can last 150,000 miles? You cant buy a Hyundai and expect it to last. 150,000 miles, your looking at a $20,000 car at least.

However, you can buy a pretty reliable car for $5,000 or less and have it last at least a year easily with minimal (routine) maint. i.e. brakes and tires, oil changes. Just dont drive it like a race car and you'll be fine, but if you bought a car nice a year for 5k, your only spending 15k... less of a price as a Hyundai. Oh, and that new car and used car that you bought? Is going to be worth the same when your done driving it. Plus, its always fun to drive a new (to you) car. Gettting a new vehicle makes it funner for you to drive for uber.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

Trebor said:


> How many cars can last 150,000 miles?


Pretty much any car will last 150k if maintained properly


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## Mars Troll Number 4 (Oct 30, 2015)

Adieu said:


> By your own math, you shoulda rented out that cab instead of driving yourself... same money less work


Except I was just 1 man in a taxi.. not ginormacorp with deals for staging at themeparks and hotels and the dispatch line.


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## andy19550505 (Aug 11, 2017)

JDEUberguy said:


> Has anyone ever bought a new car solely for Uber and earned enough to make the payment (and then some) working part time? I'm seriously considering this but not sure if it's a wise investment. I welcome any input.


I'm planning rent a car, I got this information from a website, hope it would be help.

With Maven Gig you can lease a car to drive for anyone, so you can shift seamlessly with the daily demand for ridesharing, food, package, and grocery delivery services. Low weekly rates for newer Chevrolet models include unlimited miles, maintenance, insurance (less the deductible), and OnStar roadside assistance. And if you're interested in working with no fuel costs, our Chevrolet Bolt EV rental includes free charging (limited time offer). Plus with no early return penalty, you can return the car any time after 7 days.


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## lesh11 (Jan 4, 2017)

I bought a 2015 Kia Soul just for Uber. Paid cash so no payments.


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## RedANT (Aug 9, 2016)

I didn't think that Maven Gig had expanded into Washington yet. Last I saw they were only active in California, so if you need to rent with a lot of miles, HyreCar may be your only choice. Even there, though, the prices are extremely expensive for a rental. 

With Xchange leasing closing their doors, maybe I'll buy a couple of vehicles and rent them through HyreCar. Right now I have a new Nissan Sentra with ~400 miles at my home in Florida that I plan to transfer and store in Seattle in the next 2-3 weeks. If people need a rideshare rental in SEA, I may just register it with HyreCar while I'm in Hawaii until the end of the year. If you're interested, let me know and I'll tell you when I post it. (I'm looking at $40 /day $240 /week $940 /month.


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## Robertk (Jun 8, 2015)

RedANT said:


> I didn't think that Maven Gig had expanded into Washington yet. Last I saw they were only active in California, so if you need to rent with a lot of miles, HyreCar may be your only choice. Even there, though, the prices are extremely expensive for a rental.
> 
> With Xchange leasing closing their doors, maybe I'll buy a couple of vehicles and rent them through HyreCar. Right now I have a new Nissan Sentra with ~400 miles at my home in Florida that I plan to transfer and store in Seattle in the next 2-3 weeks. If people need a rideshare rental in SEA, I may just register it with HyreCar while I'm in Hawaii until the end of the year. If you're interested, let me know and I'll tell you when I post it. (I'm looking at $40 /day $240 /week $940 /month.


I'm sure your renters will take great car of your car


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