# Is Select going away?



## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

Buddy of mine wanted to buy a new 2020 leather Suburban. Uber said he couldn't get it onto Select. Said that was true in every market in GA. No new Select drivers? I'm still Select with my 08 Tahoe...


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## TheDevilisaParttimer (Jan 2, 2019)

Not trying to be funny but your buddy should seriously reconsider buying a 50k+ car for Uber.


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## Clint Torres (Sep 10, 2019)

Of all the vehicle investments suburban and Prius have best ROI


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## TheDevilisaParttimer (Jan 2, 2019)

Op lives in Georgia where Atlanta average pay is 60k, the rest of Georgia average pay is around 30-35k.

Buying a suburban in Georgia means driving Uber x/pool at .60 cent per mile in a $50k+ Vehicle


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## 2kwik4u (Aug 27, 2019)

JimS said:


> Buddy of mine wanted to buy a new 2020 leather Suburban. Uber said he couldn't get it onto Select. Said that was true in every market in GA. No new Select drivers? I'm still Select with my 08 Tahoe...


Louisville is no longer accepting select drivers according to the website. No idea if they are trying to keep driver count low, or phasing out though.


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## 25rides7daysaweek (Nov 20, 2017)

TheDevilisaParttimer said:


> Op lives in Georgia where Atlanta average pay is 60k, the rest of Georgia average pay is around 30-35k.
> 
> Buying a suburban in Georgia means driving Uber x/pool at .60 cent per mile in a $50k+ Vehicle


But he could take naps in the back
while parked waiting for pings..
Sure wouldn't wanna be driving 
that tank around empty much idt..


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## Babak (May 25, 2016)

Uber is trying to get rid of Select. In my area it's in the "More" category. They say it will be off permanently by 2020.


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## ColumbusRides (Nov 10, 2018)

I wouldn't shuffle pax in a new 50k truck, ugh... I don't care if select or not


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## TPAMB (Feb 13, 2019)

Since the introduction of Comfort, as said before here, Select had seen a sharp decline in requests. It has also affected XL but not by those who need 5 or more seats but rather by those who just want(ed) more room.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

Given that the rules of the game change often and without warning, it's a TERRIBLE idea to buy a new car much less a 50K car to drive for Uber, nevermind that the rates simply won't sustain it.


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## Christinebitg (Jun 29, 2018)

TPAMB said:


> Since the introduction of Comfort, as said before here, Select had seen a sharp decline in requests.


I'm sure that Comfort is what Uber is planning to replace Select with.

They wanted to do a big price reduction for Select, and decided this was the best way to do it. That way, they don't listen to as much whining from drivers.

It doesn't affect me. I drive an incredible car (Acura RDX) but it's not new enough for Uber to allow it to be either Select or Comfort.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

Christinebitg said:


> I'm sure that Comfort is what Uber is planning to replace Select with.
> 
> They wanted to do a big price reduction for Select, and decided this was the best way to do it. That way, they don't listen to as much whining from drivers.
> 
> It doesn't affect me. I drive an incredible car (Acura RDX) but it's not new enough for Uber to allow it to be either Select or Comfort.


You may well be correct. The added benefit is that they keep a LOT more of the fare on Comfort than they do on Select.

I interestingly enough have a car that fits in the bizzarro land that is Uber where I'm qualified to take Select but not eligible for Comfort. This can only make sense to them.


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## losiglow (Dec 4, 2018)

Babak said:


> Uber is trying to get rid of Select. In my area it's in the "More" category. They say it will be off permanently by 2020.


Where did they say it would be off by 2020?


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

OK. So I see a lot of speculation and un-sourced claims.

For the record, I'm in the "rest of Georgia", but I am not in a Suburban. I drive an 08 Tahoe Hybrid that is Select and XL, but I am not eligible for Comfort. Ever since comfort hit, I think I've had like 3 Select rides. XL is where it's at, and I told my buddy not to waste on a Suburban. We are practically saturated out for XL in Savannah. Best vehicle for that is a Dodge Caravan that's 10 years old. Kid seems to have money from elsewhere, though. So whatever floats his boat.

Interestingly, they seem to be not accepting new Select vehicles ANYWHERE in Georgia. If he wants to dump 50K+ into a car, I'll recommend he goes Black SUV. 

Thing that sucks about this Comfort thing is that there are Teslas, Mercedes, Cadillacs, Tahoes, Audis, etc., that are MUCH too valuable to drive as "Comfort". Select needs to stay (unless they introduce Black here).


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

JimS said:


> Buddy of mine wanted to buy a new 2020 leather Suburban. Uber said he couldn't get it onto Select. Said that was true in every market in GA. No new Select drivers? I'm still Select with my 08 Tahoe...


Uber came out with Comfort rides, just costs slightly more than Uber X, with newer roomier cars. So yes, Select is dead or dying, fast!

If you drove a 2020 Suburban it should be on Uber black! Uber XL still has a market also, for vans/SUVs with 3rd row seats.


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## TPAMB (Feb 13, 2019)

Transportador said:


> Uber came out with Comfort rides, just costs slightly more than Uber X, with newer roomier cars. So yes, Select is dead or dying, fast!
> 
> If you drove a 2020 Suburban it should be on Uber black! Uber XL still has a market also, for vans/SUVs with 3rd row seats.


That's what I said!


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## charmer37 (Nov 18, 2016)

Babak said:


> Uber is trying to get rid of Select. In my area it's in the "More" category. They say it will be off permanently by 2020.


Uber Comfort is in my market, I use the service as a rider and there's never any comfort drivers available when I request a ride, I think they're phasing out select on the platform.


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## Amos69 (May 17, 2019)

Every market is different. Each market sees stops in onboarding from time to time. Black SUV in Seattle has been stagnate for almost a year now.

Vehicles are aging out and drivers quitting.

Everything changes.

YMMV


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

No new selects in Ft Myers Fla either. This since the introduction of comfort.


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## 2kwik4u (Aug 27, 2019)

Glad it's not just my market phasing out Select.

Not going to bother getting the truck on that level then. I have a much better argument for Comfort anyway, although I doubt the pay difference is much.


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

TPAMB said:


> That's what I said!


So sorry, I'm a slow reader!


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## R3drang3r (Feb 16, 2019)

JimS said:


> Buddy of mine wanted to buy a new 2020 leather Suburban. Uber said he couldn't get it onto Select. Said that was true in every market in GA. No new Select drivers? I'm still Select with my 08 Tahoe...


 In my market select rides were far and few in between before Comfort came along.
Comfort seems to be a more popular option.


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

So, Comfort is charging the passenger a couple dollars more, but drivers aren't getting paid any more than X. So, basically what Uber is saying is that a 2019 Mercedez, BMW, Cadillac, etc are no more valuable than a 2017 Camry. I know that a lot of people had a LOT to say about their new "basic" cars being worth Select, but Uber has screwed the pooch and declared that high end cars are worth pennies.

I continue, personally, to use the cheapest, oldest, nicest, worthless vehicle to Uber in.


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## R3drang3r (Feb 16, 2019)

JimS said:


> So, Comfort is charging the passenger a couple dollars more, but drivers aren't getting paid any more than X. So, basically what Uber is saying is that a 2019 Mercedez, BMW, Cadillac, etc are no more valuable than a 2017 Camry. I know that a lot of people had a LOT to say about their new "basic" cars being worth Select, but Uber has screwed the pooch and declared that high end cars are worth pennies.
> 
> I continue, personally, to use the cheapest, oldest, nicest, worthless vehicle to Uber in.


Comfort pays more than X.


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## Transportador (Sep 15, 2015)

JimS said:


> So, Comfort is charging the passenger a couple dollars more, but drivers aren't getting paid any more than X. So, basically what Uber is saying is that a 2019 Mercedez, BMW, Cadillac, etc are no more valuable than a 2017 Camry. I know that a lot of people had a LOT to say about their new "basic" cars being worth Select, but Uber has screwed the pooch and declared that high end cars are worth pennies.
> 
> I continue, personally, to use the cheapest, oldest, nicest, worthless vehicle to Uber in.


Even before Comfort, Uber has always screwed Select and even Black drivers since we have to pick up Pools to stay busy. Years ago, drivers in Dallas went on "strike" to protest this absurdity.

Now, only very few people order Select anymore.

Lyft Lux is still alive though. But not for long...


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## TheDevilisaParttimer (Jan 2, 2019)

JimS said:


> OK. So I see a lot of speculation and un-sourced claims.
> 
> For the record, I'm in the "rest of Georgia", but I am not in a Suburban. I drive an 08 Tahoe Hybrid that is Select and XL, but I am not eligible for Comfort. Ever since comfort hit, I think I've had like 3 Select rides. XL is where it's at, and I told my buddy not to waste on a Suburban. We are practically saturated out for XL in Savannah. Best vehicle for that is a Dodge Caravan that's 10 years old. Kid seems to have money from elsewhere, though. So whatever floats his boat.
> 
> ...


Man my car is comfort and I'm getting a lot of rich clientele. I don't think most of them cared if it was a luxury car. They just wanted to have legroom and be comfortable.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

JimS said:


> Buddy of mine wanted to buy a new 2020 leather Suburban. Uber said he couldn't get it onto Select. Said that was true in every market in GA. No new Select drivers? I'm still Select with my 08 Tahoe...


Its true. I was just in the hub last week and I didn't even ask her specifically about this but she volunteered the information as we were trying to figure out what was going on with my account. Here in Denver they have stopped taking new select accounts. No new vehicles can come on the platform regardless if it's a new driver or a current select driver with a new vehicle. Those that are on select currently , are it. No more. So I guess now it is see you can hold out the longest in their current vehicle eventually you'll get all the select requests LOL



TPAMB said:


> Since the introduction of Comfort, as said before here, Select had seen a sharp decline in requests. It has also affected XL but not by those who need 5 or more seats but rather by those who just want(ed) more room.


Funny thing is, I'm getting more select requests than I've gotten in a long time. I'm getting them randomly in town as well as the airport. The queue seems to be moving quicker. Maybe they've already cleaned up a lot of the drivers. This is where we had a lot of problem drivers


Disgusted Driver said:


> You may well be correct. The added benefit is that they keep a LOT more of the fare on Comfort than they do on Select.
> 
> I interestingly enough have a car that fits in the bizzarro land that is Uber where I'm qualified to take Select but not eligible for Comfort. This can only make sense to them.


Yep! Me to! I someone at the Hub about that. How do I qualify for XL and select but not comfort? Clearly I have the room because I'm XL and clearly I have the Quality because I'm select. She said my car is one year outside of the range. My truck is a 2015 and it needed to be a 16 LOL they all have lost their damn mind. If they think anyone is going to buy a brand new SUV to drive Comfort which pays the older drivers $0.02 more a mile, I think it's officially time they all check themselves into a mental hospital.


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## Tarvus (Oct 3, 2018)

JimS said:


> So, Comfort is charging the passenger a couple dollars more, but drivers aren't getting paid any more than X. \


Actually, yes, drivers are being paid more. In my market, comfort pays 11.2 more cents per mile and 3.5 more cents per minute. Assuming 30mph, that amounts to 18.2 more cents per mile - a not insignificant amount. I have found that comfort passengers tend to tip more frequently too.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

Tarvus said:


> Actually, yes, drivers are being paid more. In my market, comfort pays 11.2 more cents per mile and 3.5 more cents per minute. Assuming 30mph, that amounts to 18.2 more cents per mile - a not insignificant amount. I have found that comfort passengers tend to tip more frequently too.


Yeah because they're all of our select passengers! Select passengers are either using the company credit card or they got money.

I'm confused how 11.2 cents more a mile equals 18 cents per mile?. Basically now they're paying you the old uberX rates before the pay cut LOL I will say you got it better than us. Older drivers only got $0.02 mile pay increase with comfort. The newer drivers are getting $0.06 more??


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## Tarvus (Oct 3, 2018)

Daisey77 said:


> I'm confused how 11.2 cents more a mile equals 18 cents per mile?.


At 30mph it takes 2 minutes to cover one mile. 3.5X2=7
7+11.2=18.2 more cents per mile with Comfort over UberX.
Obviously, rates will vary by market.


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

Happy to stick with XL in my 08 Tahoe until Select completely dies. I can just about guarantee that the number of luxury sedans will disappear with Select. Who would drive a 2017 Benz for less than $1/mi?

With the big news being that Uber is close to half the value than it had at IPO, expect more ways to charge the passenger more and pay the drivers less.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

JimS said:


> Happy to stick with XL in my 08 Tahoe until Select completely dies. I can just about guarantee that the number of luxury sedans will disappear with Select. Who would drive a 2017 Benz for less than $1/mi?
> 
> With the big news being that Uber is close to half the value than it had at IPO, expect more ways to charge the passenger more and pay the drivers less.


Select passengers are going to have a bunch of old vehicles with rebuilt engines versus brand new fancy vehicles??


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## VictorD (Apr 30, 2017)

JimS said:


> Who would drive a 2017 Benz for less than $1/mi?


A lot of people. They're all over the place here in Philly with Uber/Lyft stickers plastered all over the place.

And Select isn't even available in Philly!



JimS said:


> ... expect more ways to charge the passenger more and pay the drivers less.


They already are. Our driver rates, when established, were set at 75% of the pax rates among all three parts that comprised the pax fare (base fare, mileage, time). Recently, Uber has lowered our share of those to 72% across the board by raising the pax rates and keeping all of it for themselves. Now, on an Uber "X" ride, Uber's straight rake is 28% - never less.

"Comfort" is an even bigger scam. Uber's rake on that is a flat 40% while these morons go $35K in debt to buy new cars to make 6¢ more a mile.

You cannot fix stupid.


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

VictorD said:


> A lot of people. They're all over the place here in Philly with Uber/Lyft stickers plastered all over the place.
> 
> And Select isn't even available in Philly!
> 
> ...


I'd have to see evidence of that. Been at this for 4 years. I get 80% of the published miles, minutes and pick up rate except for the booking fee on Uber X. On XL, it's 72%. Now, since "up front pricing", I get closer to 45-60% of what the passengers pay. Sometimes I get more, but that's rare.

Different markets, perhaps? Can you screenshot a trip earnings?


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## SurgeMasterMN (Sep 10, 2016)

JimS said:


> Buddy of mine wanted to buy a new 2020 leather Suburban. Uber said he couldn't get it onto Select. Said that was true in every market in GA. No new Select drivers? I'm still Select with my 08 Tahoe...


They stopped new Select Drivers in Minneapolis. They did the massive shell game. Get everyone to buy nice cars and then converting them to Comfort which only pays a little more then X. If u want to stay semi stable in this industry buy a 5k-7k Minivan for XL that gets ok gas mileage. Count on burning it out in 2 years. Rinse Repeat...


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## 2kwik4u (Aug 27, 2019)

VictorD said:


> .........While these morons go $35K in debt to buy new cars to make 6¢ more a mile......


As a guy working a side gig and looking at buying a new vehicle. This seems off to me. Why would I not look at the approved list and choose a vehicle that is on the higher earning scale rather than the lower, if I'm buying something new anyway.

I'm considering buying a $40k SUV right now. Am I buying it to Uber in.....yes and no......When I went through the selection process I have a whole laundry list of requirements that drove me to a particular make/model. Some of those are Uber based, most are not. If there are two SUV's I like, and one is on comfort and the other isn't shouldn't that be considered? Would seem awfully short sighted to NOT investigate this if it's even a small shred of your income, and you can increase it right?

Since it's a side gig to rideshare, I will be choosing a few options to make my side gig more profitable. If I'm in there buying anyway, why not optimize this new tool for ALL of the things I do instead of just a few things I do? By selecting a SINGLE option on the new SUV I can move from UberX to Uber XL, second row bench instead of second row captains chairs. Moves the vehicle from 6 seat belts to 7, and I've moved up a level in earnings (this is discounting any kind of market demand for the various tiers of Uber, and assuming the same volume of rides on both).

My point here is that not all people who are asking these questions are sitting around with no car, and wanting to get into ridesharing. They most likely already drive, and are looking to increase that revenue when it's time to replace their vehicle. I'm not taking on significant additional cost, but I can earn some extra income along the way.

In the mean time I'll keep Ubering in my fullsize pickup just to agitate the haters here. Clearly I'm not making any money and wasting my time, I'm really bad at math and am just burning cash while polluting the whole time.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

2kwik4u said:


> As a guy working a side gig and looking at buying a new vehicle. This seems off to me. Why would I not look at the approved list and choose a vehicle that is on the higher earning scale rather than the lower, if I'm buying something new anyway.
> 
> I'm considering buying a $40k SUV right now. Am I buying it to Uber in.....yes and no......When I went through the selection process I have a whole laundry list of requirements that drove me to a particular make/model. Some of those are Uber based, most are not. If there are two SUV's I like, and one is on comfort and the other isn't shouldn't that be considered? Would seem awfully short sighted to NOT investigate this if it's even a small shred of your income, and you can increase it right?
> 
> ...


I think the idea is to minimize the depreciation. Certain Vehicles hold their value better than others but regardless our vehicles are going to depreciate way more rapidly than others. If you can keep the vehicle the full term of the loan with putting the miles on it that we do you won't have to worry about that. When it comes to trade in your vehicle in 3 years with 120000 MI and your $15,000 upside down, you might be rethinking it. The best thing is to buy used vehicle that qualifies for as many platforms as possible with super low miles so you have the negative miles to eat up. Buy a nice regular everyday vehicle for you and your family and buy a hooptie for Uber. Not to mention any extended warranty or gap insurance you purchase for this new vehicle is voided if they ever find out you do rideshare. Regardless if you tell them or not, the thing I wonder why you're doing oil changes every month and you're putting on 5,000 miles a month


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## VictorD (Apr 30, 2017)

JimS said:


> Different markets, perhaps? Can you screenshot a trip earnings?


Don't look at trip earnings. That's where you're making your mistake. Look at your rates and then look at the pax rates on the pax app. Those are the actual time/mile rates absent "upfront pricing" manipulation.

Uber's rake is now 28%.Or, in your case as a grandfathered 20%'er, 23%.



2kwik4u said:


> I'm not taking on significant additional cost, but I can earn some extra income along the way.


You most certainly are. You, like most, just don't realize it because the highest cost of doing this gig is the backend cost of accelerated depreciation. The higher the purchase price of that vehicle the greater and more rapid the depreciation. How much do you honestly think that brand new $40K SUV is going to be worth after 3 years and 100K miles of ridesharing?

It will be worth less than day-old dog shit.

And how much do you think you're going to make doing this as "some extra income" to absorb that loss and still have enough to buy another vehicle in 3 years when the $1,000+ repair bills start piling up?

You won't. You'll be just like all the other geniuses that used to pontificate their brillaince on this forum, never to be seen or heard from again after their vehicles took a shit on them, without 2 nickels in their pocket to wipe their ass let alone buy another vehicle when it did.

Smart people would learn from this treasure trove of history.

But you're an Uber driver.

And like the rest, you think you're smarter than everyone else who did the same exact thing you did and failed.

I expect no different result this time either.

Because the unwise never learn... even as it's happening right in front of their face.


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## JimS (Aug 18, 2015)

What are you talking about? XL and Select (I don't know about other premium services) have always been 28% of miles and minutes. Prior to November 2015, X drivers received 80%. Drivers that signed on after 11/2015 are at 25% for X (and Comfort, I guess).

Where'd you ever get 23%? As far as I know, the % has not been market based. Only the actual rate card.

Now, for the first time ever, Uber has actually increased their rate card and kept the driver pay the same. IE: $0.91/mi went up to $0.96/mi for the passengers but the driver pay remains the same at 73¢ or 68¢ per mile (20 vs 25%, Pre-11/2015 vs Post-11/2015).

It is important to note that Lyft has increased the rate card, AND rolled the driver pay to match in the Savannah market.


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## 2kwik4u (Aug 27, 2019)

VictorD said:


> You most certainly are. You, like most, just don't realize it because the highest cost of doing this gig is the backend cost of accelerated depreciation. The higher the purchase price of that vehicle the greater and more rapid the depreciation. How much do you honestly think that brand new $40K SUV is going to be worth after 3 years and 100K miles of ridesharing?
> 
> It will be worth less than day-old dog shit.
> 
> ...


NO, I am not taking on any additional cost moving from a $45k pickup to a $45k SUV. *For me*, which is exactly what I was referencing in my first post, not generalities.....*FOR ME*.....I am not taking on any additional cost making the move to another vehicle with similar fuel economy, depreciation rates, and maintenance costs. We can argue until we're both blue in the face about whether you think my time is worth my pay, or if you think I'm actually making or losing money, but the simple fact is that *I'm* not taking on any significant change in cost by purchasing a different vehicle.

I'm completely glossing over your poor attitude and all the incorrect assumptions you have about my situation, motivation, or value. As well as all the assumptions you have about the intelligence, motivation, value, or work ethic of any of the other drivers here.

*edit*---for grammar/spelling and to add a note below

I'm curious on your take on what the "backend cost of accelerated depreciation" really is. How would you go about figuring this number? I'm using a pretty basic " (Cost of purchase-Cost of expected sale) / Number of miles driven " Formula. While this is currently depicted as a linear and constant decline, in the real world that is not so much the case. The first say 50k miles are going to hit the car value much harder than say the 50k between 250k and 300k. As it sits for my vehicle, the current depreciation is running around $0.08/mi, as tracked over the mileage from 36k to 86k on this vehicle......I'm curious, though, that if I'm not really understanding this relationship as you claim, then how should I be accounting for this in my profitability studies?


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

JimS said:


> What are you talking about? XL and Select (I don't know about other premium services) have always been 28% of miles and minutes. Prior to November 2015, X drivers received 80%. Drivers that signed on after 11/2015 are at 25% for X (and Comfort, I guess).
> 
> Where'd you ever get 23%? As far as I know, the % has not been market based. Only the actual rate card.
> 
> ...


I am grandfathered in at the old 80% rates. While XL was 28%, my select was at 25%. The change from 80% to 75% actually happened mid- December of 15. Comfort? There is no set percentage. It came long after the percentage aspect was removed. If you think it's close to X,?? nope . In fact this might be the platform where their cut is actually the highest. Considering my rates are based off the old 80%, Comfort would pay me $0.02 more per mile than x and $0.06 more per minute. They are charging customers the midpoint of X and XL! Generally speaking in my market, XL is almost exactly double of what X is. If they're cut was equivalent to what they take from X, we'd be getting paid out at the midpoint rate as well which would be more like $0.92 a mile. Why do you think the introduced comfort and why do you think they're pushing out select? They're slick talking it by requiring the vehicles to be newer than 2016 which makes them feel like it's some more adequate for select. Meanwhile it's a new platform introduced on our new agreements terms. Their profit is insane on this platform compared to the other platforms. Not that there's any Rhyme or Reason to the other platforms anymore but they basically restructured select and put a new name on it.

Lyft ??? Lyft is a bigger con artist than Uber. Before they made their API private, you should have seen the Primes they were charging passengers with absolutely not one penny in a power zone for us drivers. I saw it get up to 300 and 350% with nothing to the drivers. My whole city was at a constant 25% Prime. They may have upped your rates, but trust me they upped their variable platform fee as well. I am curious about your increased pay rates though. I think you're the only Market in the country that had this happen. What did they bless you guys with?



2kwik4u said:


> NO, I am not taking on any additional cost moving from a $45k pickup to a $45k SUV. *For me*, which is exactly what I was referencing in my first post, not generalities.....*FOR ME*.....I am not taking on any additional cost making the move to another vehicle with similar fuel economy, depreciation rates, and maintenance costs. We can argue until we're both blue in the face about whether you think my time is worth my pay, or if you think I'm actually making or losing money, but the simple fact is that *I'm* not taking on any significant change in cost by purchasing a different vehicle.
> 
> I'm completely glossing over your poor attitude and all the incorrect assumptions you have about my situation, motivation, or value. As well as all the assumptions you have about the intelligence, motivation, value, or work ethic of any of the other drivers here.
> 
> ...


And what's the depreciation rate on the first 50000 miles? Did you factor in the increased mainte TTnance? You'll have to get oil changes, replace tires, replace brakes twice as often. You will really feel the costs hit your pocketbook if Lord forbid something goes wrong with the vehicle or even worse it's in an accident and totaled. Those will be all out-of-pocket expenses to you , all because of the part-time job you chose to work


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

my goodness. IRS determines depreciation methods. Depreciation only matters if you are a company and 'own' the vehicle (title in company name). There are strict rules on when or how often you can change depreciation methods. Really, tho, end of day it only matters when you go to sell the vehicle and what somebody agrees to pay. nuff said


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## 2kwik4u (Aug 27, 2019)

Daisey77 said:


> And what's the depreciation rate on the first 50000 miles?


Someone else took the beating on the first 36k miles depreciation. Truck sticker price was just shy of $60k, I paid $36k for it. No idea what the first 50k really is, but I can tell you what the 50k from 36k to 86k is....about $0.08/mi



Daisey77 said:


> Did you factor in the increased mainte TTnance? You'll have to get oil changes, replace tires, replace brakes twice as often.


Breaks/tires/oil changes are on a set schedule based on mileage, not the calendar. Sure the calendar time will come quicker, but the maintenance is all done on a mileage basis, same basis that cost is calculated on. It won't increase the operating cost on a per mile basis. You could perhaps argue that the maintenance will come faster on a per mile basis due to the nature of stopping and starting more often. Not what you said, but there is an argument for that. I suspect it's less than 15% difference on a modern vehicle. Even the "severe duty" schedule in my owners manual doesn't increase the intervals by more 10%

Maintenance is factored the same as it is if I'm driving it myself. Total dollars spent divided by miles driven. Since this is like any other machine, the maintenance will rarely track with time, but more with usage. Mileage is the usage here, so if it's taken $0.178/mi to maintain it before, that average is not likely to change significantly.......so yes, mileage is figured in there.



Daisey77 said:


> You will really feel the costs hit your pocketbook if Lord forbid something goes wrong with the vehicle or even worse it's in an accident and totaled. Those will be all out-of-pocket expenses to you , all because of the part-time job you chose to work


Insurance is in place to cover a loss of property. Liability, collision and comprehensive, as well as a Rideshare policy on top. All of that covered with a $1mil umbrella. So long as I survive he crash/damage, then my checkbook isn't going to take the hit beyond the deductibles for those policies. To have this kind of liability without insurance would be a bad move IMO.

I'm still curious how I'm taking on additional expenses by upgrading/changing to another vehicle.


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

2kwik4u said:


> Someone else took the beating on the first 36k miles depreciation. Truck sticker price was just shy of $60k, I paid $36k for it. No idea what the first 50k really is, but I can tell you what the 50k from 36k to 86k is....about $0.08/mi
> 
> Breaks/tires/oil changes are on a set schedule based on mileage, not the calendar. Sure the calendar time will come quicker, but the maintenance is all done on a mileage basis, same basis that cost is calculated on. It won't increase the operating cost on a per mile basis. You could perhaps argue that the maintenance will come faster on a per mile basis due to the nature of stopping and starting more often. Not what you said, but there is an argument for that. I suspect it's less than 15% difference on a modern vehicle. Even the "severe duty" schedule in my owners manual doesn't increase the intervals by more 10%
> 
> ...


You're missing the point on everything I'm saying. I was simply pointing out the cost of maintenance is going to double or triple. I went from getting one set of tires every 4 years to one set of tires a year. Cars aren't built to run 12 hours a day 7 days a week. It gets run into the ground quicker than you can get out of upside down equity.

That's great you have liability and collision insurance. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to not have it, especially on a financed vehicle. I was referring to extended warranties and gap insurance, which are both voided if the companyies ever find out you drive rideshare


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## 2kwik4u (Aug 27, 2019)

Daisey77 said:


> You're missing the point on everything I'm saying. I was simply pointing out the cost of maintenance is going to double or triple. I went from getting one set of tires every 4 years to one set of tires a year. Cars aren't built to run 12 hours a day 7 days a week. It gets run into the ground quicker than you can get out of upside down equity.


No, I understand you just fine. You're having a rough time distinguishing between a load cycle basis (mileage) and a calendar basis (time).

The maintenance gets no better or worse on a per mile basis. Unless neglected for years, tires need replaced based on use, not time. Use is measured in miles not days. This applies for every single piece of mechanical device such as a an automobile.

Cars are in fact built to run 24/7/365. All of the components are designed around an expected life. That life is measured in number of rotations, number of load cycles, or some other number of uses. Not on calendar days, or clock hours. Every system is designed to handle a "steady state load case". That's how they can do YEARS of testing in a few months time. They increase the number of cycles per day to fail parts faster on the calendar. The parts still last a number of cycles.......which we are counting in miles here.

Source: I'm a mechanical engineer that determines and sets service intervals for large industrial machines. I'm not pulling this out of my butt, I'm quite literally paid to do these analyses on a daily basis.

I suspect you have another argument that you can't articulate in a manner I can understand. Let's keep discussing.



Daisey77 said:


> That's great you have liability and collision insurance. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to not have it, especially on a financed vehicle. I was referring to extended warranties and gap insurance, which are both voided if the companyies ever find out you drive rideshare


Called and asked all applicable warranting and insuring bodies what my risk is for commercial use. All involved have given the all clear for using the vehicle for commercial duty.

I highly recommend everyone here do the same to ensure they know what is and isn't covered and plan their own risk management strategy.


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## poblack (Jan 4, 2018)

2kwik4u said:


> NO, I am not taking on any additional cost moving from a $45k pickup to a $45k SUV. *For me*, which is exactly what I was referencing in my first post, not generalities.....*FOR ME*.....I am not taking on any additional cost making the move to another vehicle with similar fuel economy, depreciation rates, and maintenance costs. We can argue until we're both blue in the face about whether you think my time is worth my pay, or if you think I'm actually making or losing money, but the simple fact is that *I'm* not taking on any significant change in cost by purchasing a different vehicle.
> 
> I'm completely glossing over your poor attitude and all the incorrect assumptions you have about my situation, motivation, or value. As well as all the assumptions you have about the intelligence, motivation, value, or work ethic of any of the other drivers here.
> 
> ...


I have a '15 Tahoe I bought almost new. I, like you, needed a new vehicle. When I first bought it I wasn't doing ride share but two years later I decided to start doing it part time and it was a good idea. I drive XL and Select on Uber and XL, Lux, Black, Black SUV on Lyft. I make about $500-$600 per week averaging about 24-30 hrs. That's enough to more than pay for the Tahoe and repairs.

Don't worry about depreciation. If you are part time like me yes you will rack up some miles but you'll be ok. Plus remember that you won't be getting as many pings as UberX drivers get so you won't be getting as many miles on your ride but still make the same amount of money.

Don't by a new car. Find one with 10-15K miles on it for $5-$10K less so that you won't get hit with that initial depreciation.

Stay on top of maintenance.

Only take XL, select, or other premium rides. Only take UberX if you had a long trip and you need to get back to a spot to get more premium rides.

Do this is you will come out great!


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## MyJessicaLS430 (May 29, 2018)

Christinebitg said:


> I'm sure that Comfort is what Uber is planning to replace Select with.
> 
> They wanted to do a big price reduction for Select, and decided this was the best way to do it. That way, they don't listen to as much whining from drivers.
> 
> It doesn't affect me. I drive an incredible car (Acura RDX) but it's not new enough for Uber to allow it to be either Select or Comfort.


I would think in this way. Uber is following the footsteps of Lyft (they only allow 2014+ cars for new drivers now) but implementing it gradually. If Uber announces suddenly that Select will be removed from the platform, I bet a lot of drivers including me, would quit without hesitation. Through the introduction of Comfort, a transition period is then possible. Most Select vehicles are also eligible for Comfort. With time, Uber is likely to reduce the mile rate for Select again and again until there is not much difference between Select and Comfort. It is when I predict they would get rid of Select permanently. I bet some Select drivers would still do Comfort. This is going to be a win situation for Uber - they would then have a luxury X fleet!

The following observation has also been made: Uber tends to take over 50% of a X fare. In contrast, unless there is surge, they only take about 30% of Select fares. As for comfort, Uber's s

I registered my 04 and 11 together when signed up. I am surprised that my 04 was approved for Select by default and also subsequently became eligible for Comfort too.



R3drang3r said:


> Comfort pays more than X.


Yes, but merely by 6 cents.
X VS Comfort = $ 0.6 vs $ 0.6624/mile

As for the time rate = $ 0.1275 vs $0.1872/min



poblack said:


> Only take XL, select, or other premium rides. Only take UberX if you had a long trip and you need to get back to a spot to get more premium rides.
> 
> Do this is you will come out great!


Which market are you in? If you can do great with Select alone, good for you.

Due to the low demand of Select in Houston, most drivers need to do X too. When there is surge, X is not too bad...


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

MyJessicaLS430 said:


> I would think in this way. Uber is following the footsteps of Lyft (they only allow 2014+ cars for new drivers now)


Exactly! 


MyJessicaLS430 said:


> If Uber announces suddenly that Select will be removed from the platform


I had a lady at our local hub tell me they're phasing out. It's already gone in San Francisco. That happened a couple weeks ago


MyJessicaLS430 said:


> Most Select vehicles are also eligible for Comfort.


Funny thing is, I qualify for select and XL but don't comfort. WTF?


MyJessicaLS430 said:


> With time, Uber is likely to reduce the mile rate for Select


 they just did a couple months ago here. By 1/3! Now the same price as XL. I think they were trying to get select passengers used to XL


MyJessicaLS430 said:


> I am surprised that my 04 was approved for Select


So you have a 2004 vehicle that you are currently driving on select???


MyJessicaLS430 said:


> Yes, but merely by 6 cents.
> X VS Comfort = $ 0.6 vs $ 0.6624/mile


 And even worse, the older drivers only make $0.02 more a mile!


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

Selected isn’t going away, sooner or later you’ll be selected for deactivation ?


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## Nina2 (Oct 6, 2018)

SHalester said:


> my goodness. IRS determines depreciation methods. Depreciation only matters if you are a company and 'own' the vehicle (title in company name). There are strict rules on when or how often you can change depreciation methods. Really, tho, end of day it only matters when you go to sell the vehicle and what somebody agrees to pay. nuff said


Millage is almost always better for deduction as a Uber driver anyways. And you can deduct millage on a car you do not own as well and have no need to form a LLC to hold the title of the car.


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## maxroyalty1 (Mar 8, 2017)

I bought a $40,000 SUV and make about $600 a day. Whoever is feeding you BS about depreciation and the cost of parts and repair is just a jealous piece of _______


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## ObsidianSedan (Jul 13, 2019)

In Connecticut, we have _UberPREMIUM_ rather than Select. Per our state's web site, "At this time, Uber is not accepting new UberPREMIUM driver partners in Connecticut." As a part-time driver, I average less than one Premium ride per week, although I got one last night.


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## peteyvavs (Nov 18, 2015)

maxroyalty1 said:


> I bought a $40,000 SUV and make about $600 a day. Whoever is feeding you BS about depreciation and the cost of parts and repair is just a jealous piece of _______


BS


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

Nina2 said:


> Millage is almost always better for deduction as a Uber driver anyways


amen. So much so for part-timers we generate a 'tax' loss. THAT will reduce other income come tax time. :biggrin:


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## MyJessicaLS430 (May 29, 2018)

Daisey77 said:


> I had a lady at our local hub tell me they're phasing out. It's already gone in San Francisco. That happened a couple weeks ago
> 
> Funny thing is, I qualify for select and XL but don't comfort. WTF?
> they just did a couple months ago here. By 1/3! Now the same price as XL. I think they were trying to get select passengers used to XL
> ...


It seems the rate in SF is not very different from Houston. Given that the living cost is multiple times higher in CA....I am actually surprised drivers there can endure the ridiculously low rate when regular gasoline can hit $ 4 / gal..... Perhaps I am ignorant, honestly I do not see any room for profit regardless of how smart one drives.

Comfort has a higher requirement - driver has to be at least 4.85 and the car must be newer. Whether the car itself is of a luxury brand does not matter according to Uber. A driver with a 14 Lexus LS/GS/ES get paid the same as another with a 17 Camry. This is @@@@ing nonsense. A 08 Lexus is eligible for Select but not Comfort. Hence, it really depends on the age of your car. Check the list of eligible vehicles in your market to confirm. If not eligible, take it easy. Select still pays more than Comfort at least until now ($1.04 vs $ 0.66 /mile).

Yes, I have been driving Select with my 04 (I do speculate there is a glitch in the app because the oldest allowed year for Select is 08 in Houston). Many passengers have made compliments about how smooth the rides are. It is kind of sad that Uber thinks newer cars are always better than older cars. Not necessarily! A few months ago Uber suspended my account because my 04 no longer meets their oldest year requirement after I had renewed the registration sticker. People at the hub helped to reactivate my account but said I could only drive until New Year's Eve. Since my 04 has completely depreciated anyway and I only drive a few hours each week, I do not worry about putting too many miles on it. The air suspension of my 11 fails (dealer quotes $4k repair) and this is why I traded it in for my current 15. With the current rates, I don't think it is worth driving at all with my 15....

It is a shame how Uber treats drivers thinking the 2 cents more per mile is going to be a life-changing $.... Anyway I do think Uber is less unethical and devious than Lyft because Uber at least
1) offers flat dollar surge compared with the BS heat map in Lyft
2) does not require a vehicle to be 14+ even for X
3) never adds a passenger without your consent (and you cannot even see the rating!)
4) gives you another 2 chances to accept terminal pick-ups before kicking you out from the queue

Lyft what is the point of showing me the rating of a passenger or if the trip is going to be a 30min+ if you kick me out from the queue once I ignore / reject a single ping??

The only reason I drive Lyft is that they give me many more Lux trips than Select. Got to love days like this... (only happens on Saturday; do not know why)


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## Daisey77 (Jan 13, 2016)

Nina2 said:


> Millage is almost always better for deduction as a Uber driver anyways. And you can deduct millage on a car you do not own as well and have no need to form a LLC to hold the title of the car.


Not true. If you're in the car rental oh, you cannot deduct the miles. You can deduct your rental payments, after the bonuses of coursecourse


maxroyalty1 said:


> I bought a $40,000 SUV and make about $600 a day. Whoever is feeding you BS about depreciation and the cost of parts and repair is just a jealous piece of _______


How long have you been driving? Better yet, how long have you had this new vehicle? Who cares how much money you supposedly make a day. Doesn't change the maintenance and depreciation on your vehicle. Now it may offset it but it doesn't change it



ObsidianSedan said:


> In Connecticut, we have _UberPREMIUM_ rather than Select. Per our state's web site, "At this time, Uber is not accepting new UberPREMIUM driver partners in Connecticut." As a part-time driver, I average less than one Premium ride per week, although I got one last night.


Yeah Colorado says the same thing for select. They're currently not accepting any new select vehicles. That goes for new drivers as well as current drivers who get a new vehicle



SHalester said:


> amen. So much so for part-timers we generate a 'tax' loss. THAT will reduce other income come tax time. :biggrin:


Just be careful you don't claim it as a loss too many years in a row. You don't want it to become a hobby



MyJessicaLS430 said:


> It seems the rate in SF is not very different from Houston. Given that the living cost is multiple times higher in CA....I am actually surprised drivers there can endure the ridiculously low rate when regular gasoline can hit $ 4 / gal..... Perhaps I am ignorant, honestly I do not see any room for profit regardless of how smart one drives.
> 
> Comfort has a higher requirement - driver has to be at least 4.85 and the car must be newer. Whether the car itself is of a luxury brand does not matter according to Uber. A driver with a 14 Lexus LS/GS/ES get paid the same as another with a 17 Camry. This is @@@@ing nonsense. A 08 Lexus is eligible for Select but not Comfort. Hence, it really depends on the age of your car. Check the list of eligible vehicles in your market to confirm. If not eligible, take it easy. Select still pays more than Comfort at least until now ($1.04 vs $ 0.66 /mile).
> 
> ...


I agree with everything you said.

I'm not upset about not having comfort . It's funny to see all these drivers getting upset that they don't qualify in asking if they should go in to ask for an exception . They act like it's the new Big Money Maker . Regardless if it's $0.02 or $0.06 , a money maker it is not LOL then again they also didn't drive when rates for double what they are now and had the multiplier surge LOL so what vehicle are you using on Lux?


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

Comfort in my market requires a vehicle less than 3 years old. The pay increase does not offset the incredible depreciation. Say you bought a 1 year old vehicle and drove it for 2 years... what are the odds that the comfort rides you got will pay for the depreciation you paid for in those 2 years? Virtually nothing.

Uber just introduced Comfort in my market at the same time as Lyft introduced Lux in my market... both about a week ago. Prior to that both services just had X and XL. I guess that is a pretty good indication if there ever was one that Uber intends to replace Select with Comfort.


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## Lavito79 (Jun 1, 2017)

JimS said:


> So, Comfort is charging the passenger a couple dollars more, but drivers aren't getting paid any more than X. So, basically what Uber is saying is that a 2019 Mercedez, BMW, Cadillac, etc are no more valuable than a 2017 Camry. I know that a lot of people had a LOT to say about their new "basic" cars being worth Select, but Uber has screwed the pooch and declared that high end cars are worth pennies.
> 
> I continue, personally, to use the cheapest, oldest, nicest, worthless vehicle to Uber in.


Honestly this is the smartest thing to do.


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