# Hertz Rental vs Xchange Lease



## onionhead (Aug 20, 2016)

I went to a dealership today and was told they only lease brand new cars with the Xchange program. I was quoted, for a 2016 Toyota Prius C, $185/week. I almost vomit. Then I remembered that Hertz will rent cars to Uber drivers for $180/week, with insurance included and I wondered if that would be the better choice.

I'm looking for validation. Here's what I figure:


If I don't want to drive for a week, I just don't rent a car and not have to worry about a lease payment coming in anyway
I could quit anytime and not have to worry about making payments or early termination fees on a lease
I save by not having to pay for rideshare insurance
I could beat the hell out of a car and then just get another clean one the next week

Basically I have my mind made up. But usually things aren't always as good as they seem. Am I missing something here? The only downside to this that I can think of is having to drop off and pickup a car every week. That could get old. But if it saves me from being trapped in a 3-year lease, I think it's worth it.

Oh, and I could get stuck with a gas-guzzler for 7 days because I imagine they don't have a healthy stock of cars for Uber drivers.


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## OC Lady Uber Driver (Jun 26, 2016)

Today, I spent time at the local HERTZ authorized rental office and this is what I learned:

-Uber drivers cannot rent without a reservation. You have to have a reservation a minimum of 24 hours in advance.
-Your Uber rental application has to be approved before you go in to pick-up your vehicle, otherwise you're waiting around for the approval. You cannot Uber in a rental you rent on your own.
-Your rental contract expires every 30 days. They only rent a month at a time. You will pay $250 deposit *each and every time* you rent.
-Your credit card has to be yours and have your name printed on it. It cannot be a pre-paid card.
-Your weekly rental fee will be deducted from your Uber earnings before you get paid. If you don't earn enough to pay the weekly fee, they charge your credit card. The weekly fee starts at $180.00 *a week which includes unlimited miles*, but...
-There are no cars available at that price on the HERTZ website at this rental location.
-Your Uber partner account has to be already established and approved *before* you rent/lease.
-You have to give them 2 weeks notice if you want to turn in the car early.
-You have to get the car inspected at the Uber Greenlight and then they added it to your profile before you drive.
-You're responsible for any extra wear and cleaning of the vehicle when it gets turned in and HERTZ charges you for that, too.

-The difference with a lease is it's $250 deposit and you don't have to turn in the vehicle until the end of the lease period. Payments are still weekly.
-Also, some car models in the LA market are only available as used on Xchange.


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## onionhead (Aug 20, 2016)

Interesting points. I'm not sure anymore if I want to rent each week if I have to pay $250 every 30 days. I was told it was a one time thing, but it makes sense that they would tell me that and leave out the fact that it's once every 30 days. I still think about the big picture of how if I leased a car through Xchange I'd be paying the lease amount weekly, plus rideshare insurance and I wonder how that total compares to the total after say, 1 year of renting a car weekly. It boggles the mind.

I think if you're going to get screwed regardless, you might as well get screwed by the most convenient of the two options. Which in my opinion is Xchange. You get a car that is persistently yours, no having to pickup/drop off, and since in my case I'm getting a Prius, gas prices will be a lot lower and more consistent. 

I've decided to go for a 3 year Xchange lease! But I can't promise I won't flake out 1.5 years in and completely destroy my already tattered credit.

Such is life.


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## OC Lady Uber Driver (Jun 26, 2016)

Personally, I just got pre-approved at my credit union for a car loan and I'm going to get rid of my gas guzzler, drive what I want and not worry about ditching a lease or a high weekly fee. This will reduce my current monthly car payment considerably.


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## Nubiwon (Aug 27, 2016)

I currently got a brand new Toyota Corolla thru exchange leasing. Already logged 2k miles in a week. So basically I am destroying the car in a year. Wouldn't do that to my own car.
Also, to my understanding that I can return the car with a 14 days notice no questions ask and it won't affect my credit rating.


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## OC Lady Uber Driver (Jun 26, 2016)

Nubiwon said:


> I currently got a brand new Toyota Corolla thru exchange leasing. Already logged 2k miles in a week. So basically I am destroying the car in a year. Wouldn't do that to my own car.
> Also, to my understanding that I can return the car with a 14 days notice no questions ask and it won't affect my credit rating.


... can return the car with a 14 days notice after the first payment and forfeiting the $250 deposit. How much is your weekly payment?


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## Nubiwon (Aug 27, 2016)

$167 a week plus $150 a month for insurance, also around $140 a week in gas. I know it's high but my credit was bad. This works well for me because I can save enough down the road to purchase a car.


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## Zapatasgrandson (Oct 6, 2016)

Hi everyone! I am new to Lyft, at least I am in the process of becoming a part of it. However, I do not have a car and have had a difficult time figuring out how to get a rental to start right away here in the Palm Springs/IE area. I see that both Lyft and Uber have rental programs but they are only based in certain cities, of which Palm Springs is not one. 

With that said, has anyone ever rented out a car outside of the designated cities? If so, what were your experiences? Any suggestions? 

I was thinking about renting out a car from the Hertz office in LA and bringing the car down to Palm Springs. Or, do you think it would be possible to just rent out with Hertz here in Palm Springs and see if they will let me use it to Lyft? 

Any info would be greatly appreciated by this newbie. Thanks!


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

Nubiwon said:


> $167 a week plus $150 a month for insurance, also around $140 a week in gas. I know it's high but my credit was bad. This works well for me because I can save enough down the road to purchase a car.


Damn that's a lot of gas for a week I spend $60 to 70 a week in gas in a full size turbocharged sedan. That's around 1200 miles a week give or take a couple hundred


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou (Oct 13, 2015)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> Damn that's a lot of gas for a week I spend $60 to 70 a week in gas in a full size turbocharged sedan. That's around 1200 miles a week give or take a couple hundred


Well he starts the week negative $340 so lots of uber slaving around pool pax.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

Jimmy Bernat said:


> Damn that's a lot of gas for a week I spend $60 to 70 a week in gas in a full size turbocharged sedan. That's around 1200 miles a week give or take a couple hundred


Doesnt add up unless you get 60 mpg. You are probably closer to 1000 or you are paying 100 per week.


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

Shangsta said:


> Doesnt add up unless you get 60 mpg. You are probably closer to 1000 or you are paying 100 per week.


I get 35mpg and gas is just under $2 plus I get one tank a month for under a buck with my local grocery rewards gas station


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## MrA (Jul 7, 2016)

Nubiwon said:


> $167 a week plus $150 a month for insurance, also around $140 a week in gas. I know it's high but my credit was bad. This works well for me because I can save enough down the road to purchase a car.


$140 a week gas= 140/2.75 per gallon=51 gallons of gas(30mpg)
=1527 miles(.90 LA rate per mile)
=1375-25%
=1031 payout-457 expenses
= $574 +.15 per minute(51x60)=$459-25%=918
$918 in 51 [email protected] average speed is being generous, thats $18 per hour, before taxes. I'm probably not doing any better. 
*onionhead *How close am I?
I bought my car, $9000. 40mpg. I've put 30k miles on it in 3 months. If I drive it to 200k it would only be worth $2k in a few years, plus the maintenance expenses. Depreciation is a huge expense. I don think of Uber as a way to make money anymore. It's just a way to withdraw equity from my vehicle once in a while. I'm looking for the cheapest uber qualifying American sedan. Crown Vic, Bonneville, Olds, etc. these old tanks are dirt cheap. $1000, drive the crap out of it, 30k-50k miles, throw it away, get another one.


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## Eggegg (Feb 1, 2017)

Zapatasgrandson said:


> Hi everyone! I am new to Lyft, at least I am in the process of becoming a part of it. However, I do not have a car and have had a difficult time figuring out how to get a rental to start right away here in the Palm Springs/IE area. I see that both Lyft and Uber have rental programs but they are only based in certain cities, of which Palm Springs is not one.
> 
> With that said, has anyone ever rented out a car outside of the designated cities? If so, what were your experiences? Any suggestions?
> 
> ...


Lyft have a coverage area and Palm Springs is not within that coverage area.
Car rental through Hertz is kind of impossible right now in LA because there are only 4 Hertz locations that allows to rent vehicle to Lyft drivers.
As you may guess by now, there is a huge waiting list, I was told there were 400 people on that waiting list. Since there are too many people trying to rent, there is no reservation but only first come first serve.
So to sum it up, If you want to drive Lyft, you need to be close to LA
If you want to rent from Hertz, you need to wait and wait and wait and wait.....or go to those 4 Hertz locations everyday to check availability.


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