# I'm thinking of starting but worried about my car



## bobtheoilguy104 (Oct 2, 2017)

I have a ford fusion with leather seats but I'm worried that customers will damage my car. 

I feel like the amount I make will not be worth the repair costs and gas.

Is this true or am I overly paranoid?


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## NCHeel (Jan 5, 2017)

true


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## WeDreams (Sep 14, 2017)

Depends on market and what program...I do it with leather seat. I never had a issue.


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## bobtheoilguy104 (Oct 2, 2017)

How much have you paid in repair costs this year?


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## POOLKiller (Oct 5, 2016)

True. You’re killing your car for pennies. 

Use a 2007 POS for ridershare. You’ll be glad you did. I’m super happy with my 190K 2007 Accord with a torn seat. 

Don’t learn the hard way since we’re offering real honest advice.


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## Tysmith95 (Jan 30, 2017)

Not much information. Is it a brand new ford fusion? Or is it a 2009 ford fusion with some miles on it. If the latter it's a good car for ride-share (although some of the Asian makes may be more reliable).


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## POOLKiller (Oct 5, 2016)

If the car is worth less than $3,000, use it.


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## WeDreams (Sep 14, 2017)

None on my seats...... but breaks,tires, car washes like the brownies are coming over the guadalupe river


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

I have fabric seats, not leather, and my pax have put tears in my seats. If my seats were leather I know they'd look like a battle ground.

Your car will not be immaculate on the inside if you do a lot of fares... that's just how it is. But, you are paid for fares. So you need to choose... what do you want... to get paid to drive your car? Or to have a really nice car to drive with zero scratches on the interior? Because that car can only be one.

Personally I choose to get paid to drive my car... because I'm not going to be upset by a few dings and scratches on the upholstery. That's just me. Aesthetic damage does not really matter at all in my mind for my personal enjoyment of my car.

If you continue to Uber and decide to take the damage, I'd personally say don't bother paying to fix the seats unless maybe you qualify for select or something... because the seats are just going to get messed up again. I wouldn't expect to get more than $250 from Uber for damages easily... more than that and it becomes tricky...

This guy did get $400 out of Uber though: https://uberpeople.net/threads/bigg...ax-ever-done-to-your-car.205883/#post-3074250


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## Cableguynoe (Feb 14, 2017)

true


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## streetkings01 (Sep 28, 2017)

I just purchased a 2008 Dodge Caravan for $2700 with 170k on the dash. I'm going to use that for Uber. As far as maintenance is concerned , you can find parts online via ebay/amazon etc. , plus I have a mechanic that works off the books and a friend that owns his own mechanic shop that gives me great rates on work. As far as keeping the car clean , about 15 minutes away there is a carwash that has unlimited monthly wash & vacuum plans for $30.


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## Over/Uber (Jan 2, 2017)

When it comes to rideshare, a car is a tool. Simple as that. Keep it clean, safe and reliable.

It is not an investment, not an asset, not a future collectible, not even good for reasonable resale value.

If you're not willing to use your car as a tool for a job, don't rideshare.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

I think you should give it a go for a a month or two and see . I've done over 4k rides and I haven't had any damage to my car caused my passengers

I started out in a BMW did it for a couple months to see if I wanted to continue and then bought a cheaper more economical car to do it in . Some markets a Ford Fusion qualifies for Select so check that out . I couldn't imagine doing this gig with out at least being able to do XL or Select rides , in some markets you can get a car for under $12k that will qualify for every non licensed level of Uber and Lyft

Ohh and in those 4k rides I haven't had to do any repairs to any of my cars just general maintenance . 

I did have a single tire blow out on the highway with a passenger in my vehicle . Other than that just replaced tires due to wear (buy high tread wear tires and check out used tire options places have great take off tires that are basically new for a quarter of the price) , oil changes, filters , spark plugs, 1 set of break pads and some other fluid changes


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## Snowblind (Apr 14, 2017)

Interior Seat covers:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072YNTYPS/?tag=ubne0c-20

Are cheap, look ok, (so-so) but will safe your leather interior.


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

1700+ trips in my CTS with no issues on my leather.

Although I may question if your fusion has pleather....


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

bobtheoilguy104 said:


> I have a ford fusion with leather seats but I'm worried that customers will damage my car.
> 
> I feel like the amount I make will not be worth the repair costs and gas.
> 
> Is this true or am I overly paranoid?


I'm going to answer your question with a question..

Have you ever been inside of a taxi?

You know how they get kinda worn and fugly and pick up a strange smell?

That's what happens to your car if you use it for uber full time.

Uber's pay rates may or may not cover your costs, and turn you a profit. I would go to the sub forum in "cities" here and see how well your market is paying. The per mile pay rates vary from 53c per mile in Orlando, to over $1.00, for the same exact car, driving a customer the exact same distance.

Also the number of customers you can get per hour will vary a lot as well..

Combine everything together and you will get a variation of everything between...

25 miles driven and $7-10 Per HOUR of driving.

TO

15 miles driven and $20+ PER HOUR of driving

Where you are has a bigger impact on how much TAX you owe than how much you work...

Think about that for a second... whether or not you work 1 hour a week or 50!, has less of an impact on your ability to cover your expenses (OR EVEN OWE TAXES) than how many hours you work.

If your looking at doing uber full time?
Don't just don't..

Part time? (like for extra pizza/beer money)
Depends on the market

Your living out of your car?
Move in with your mom


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## ShinyAndChrome (Aug 18, 2017)

https://uberpeople.net/threads/here-is-how-to-calculate-your-cost-per-mile.206404/#post-3082177

I personally net $8-15/hour depending on when I drive. I drive an XL and if it's daylight it's mainly people to work and back. They don't tip for crap and the XL is a waste of space so I net very little. I can get more driving drunks around especially with so many calling XL. Driving drunks around is of course not terribly relaxing, particularly when I ought to be sleeping, so I don't do more than $100-150 week gross these days on both platforms combined.


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