# Uber planning on a flood immigrants applying for new cars?



## Schulz (Nov 25, 2014)

Hello, I am new to the forum obviously. I'm glad I found it, because the opinions that I read here and at redditt regarding the UBER/Santander lease program saved me a visit to my local (Dallas) Ford dealer.

All of the UBER reps at the dealerships called me. Since I have good credit, one of them encouraged me to get the vehicle on my own, after I told him I was going to see what has been said online about the lease program.

This is my concern about UBER right now: I listen to Mark Levin on talk radio, and I agree with him that some illegal immigrants who get amnesty are going to compete for jobs with me in the future. So I wondered why UBER would partner with Santander to offer this terrible lease program? I am cynical enough to believe that UBER and Santander guessed that many illegal immigrants could be in the market for a new car. If this is so, then does UBER have long-term plans to saturate the market with drivers? I read in the NYT where an UBER exec said that the company can't grow without new drivers.


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## DriversOfTheWorldUnite (Nov 11, 2014)

Honestly, I think the vast majority of these illegals (who are receiving 2 year work permits, not true legal status) are too smart to Uber. I wouldn't worry about it.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Schulz said:


> I listen to Mark Levin on talk radio, and I agree with him that some illegal immigrants who get amnesty are going to compete for jobs with me in the future.


 The jury is still out on this. There is no consensus of opinion among economists as to whether unskilled labor immigration either harms or benefits the indigenous workforce. Mass unskilled immigration was required to build this economy into the world's largest. Without it, we'd still all be in Jamestown chasing wild turkeys around with muskets. Maybe.



> So I wondered why UBER would partner with Santander to offer this terrible lease program?


Because Uber takes 20% of all the fares you'd need to make to pay the large lease payment. You need to earn 180 bucks a week just to make the payment? Uber makes $45 off your lease, every week.

More importantly, Uber needs a fleet of new vehicles. Why not get drivers to pay for them for you? Genius.



> I am cynical enough to believe that UBER and Santander guessed that many illegal immigrants could be in the market for a new car.


 Dunno. Are you?



> does UBER have long-term plans to saturate the market with drivers?


 Of course.



> I read in the NYT where an UBER exec said that the company can't grow without new drivers.


That would seem logical.


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## LookyLou (Apr 28, 2014)

Ah, what's a few million more Uber drivers. Just a drop in the bucket. 

In my honest opinion, I think we will see a lot of these newly legalized immigrants giving this a try. For many, this less than minimum wage gig might be just the ticket to getting that brand new car.


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

The market is more saturated than this summer.


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

At Tyson's corner toyota, one if the top car salesmen spoke Spanish and was making over 100k a year selling to the Spanish speaking community.

Markets can change from year to year. A big change is the ratio of new car sales to used car sales. Now one new car sells for every two used car. It used to be the opposite in the mid 2000s.


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## ElectroFuzz (Jun 10, 2014)

This is just a gut feeling I have from looking at the Uber cars 
on the map for the past 6 months I have been doing this.

It seems to me they activate 50-100 new drivers every 3 weeks.
When this happens there are cars on every corner.
All the pings I get are really close 3-5 minutes away.
But after 2-3 weeks they all seem to disappear and I start getting pings
that are 20-25 minutes away.
Then the cycle begins again.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

uberdc/Virginia said:


> A big change is the ratio of new car sales to used car sales. Now one new car sells for every used car. It used to be the opposite in the mid 2000s.


How can that have an opposite?


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

When I signed up at the office it looked like they were signing up hundreds each day Uber had an open house. It was really busy and crowded.


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## DriversOfTheWorldUnite (Nov 11, 2014)

uberdc/Virginia said:


> When I signed up at the office it looked like they were signing up hundreds each day Uber had an open house. It was really busy and crowded.


Like sheep to the slaughter.



elelegido said:


> How can that have an opposite?


My thoughts exactly.


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## prdelnik666 (Sep 17, 2014)

well, have anyone notice all the recruiting on social media - all the FB ads looking for drivers? Always recruiting drivers but not getting any new riders, what could possible go wrong with that?


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

prdelnik666 said:


> well, have anyone notice all the recruiting on social media - all the FB ads looking for drivers? Always recruiting drivers but not getting any new riders, what could possible go wrong with that?


Uber will always have revolving door recruitment. Who knows how many drivers start driving and are then disappointed with the reality of Ubering. There may even be a few such people on this forum.  So, lots of drivers leave and they must be replaced.


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## Schulz (Nov 25, 2014)

Uber could have made new cars available to approved drivers for an affordable lease payment. But the lease terms I am reading about are ridiculous. Who is desperate enough to enter into such a deal? Poor people with bad credit? Newly minted US citizens? Could the lease program just be another part of Uber's political strategy to undercut political support of those who would shut Uber down? The lease deal is so bad. Why couldn't they offer good lease terms to drivers with good credit? The dealer told me "We won't pull your credit." Another dealer told me "You are approved for the new Suburban."

From a July 2014 article from Wired:

"By drastically lowering its prices, Uber is doing more than increasing its customer base. It’s cultivating constituents — the people who will complain when someone in power tries to take away their Uber. If Uber can survive its many political battles, it stands to become a huge, and hugely valuable, global enterprise. For investors, that’s a billion dollars well spent."


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## No-tippers-suck (Oct 20, 2014)

for every 100 new driver Uber adds to their system they will recruit 10.000 new pax !

THey will stalk them and send them textmessages like: hey it's time to take an UBER now..
Or I detected that you also installed the Lyft App on your phone.. DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT USING LYFT !
lol.. whatever.


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## DriversOfTheWorldUnite (Nov 11, 2014)

I remember back in the day when ride-sharing was such a nice, wholesome concept. Now the whole idea just feels dirty and wrong, no better than the old Taxi system. What happened??


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## Hustler (Nov 27, 2014)

Schulz said:


> Hello, I am new to the forum obviously. I'm glad I found it, because the opinions that I read here and at redditt regarding the UBER/Santander lease program saved me a visit to my local (Dallas) Ford dealer.
> 
> All of the UBER reps at the dealerships called me. Since I have good credit, one of them encouraged me to get the vehicle on my own, after I told him I was going to see what has been said online about the lease program.
> 
> This is my concern about UBER right now: I listen to Mark Levin on talk radio, and I agree with him that some illegal immigrants who get amnesty are going to compete for jobs with me in the future. So I wondered why UBER would partner with Santander to offer this terrible lease program? I am cynical enough to believe that UBER and Santander guessed that many illegal immigrants could be in the market for a new car. If this is so, then does UBER have long-term plans to saturate the market with drivers? I read in the NYT where an UBER exec said that the company can't grow without new drivers.





Schulz said:


> Hello, I am new to the forum obviously. I'm glad I found it, because the opinions that I read here and at redditt regarding the UBER/Santander lease program saved me a visit to my local (Dallas) Ford dealer.
> 
> All of the UBER reps at the dealerships called me. Since I have good credit, one of them encouraged me to get the vehicle on my own, after I told him I was going to see what has been said online about the lease program.
> 
> This is my concern about UBER right now: I listen to Mark Levin on talk radio, and I agree with him that some illegal immigrants who get amnesty are going to compete for jobs with me in the future. So I wondered why UBER would partner with Santander to offer this terrible lease program? I am cynical enough to believe that UBER and Santander guessed that many illegal immigrants could be in the market for a new car. If this is so, then does UBER have long-term plans to saturate the market with drivers? I read in the NYT where an UBER exec said that the company can't grow without new drivers.


...Hey listen "genious" I can't believe you are so ignorant no wonder you are afraid of immigrants "competing" with your job. Not to burst your bubble but Uber is not concerned that they have too many drivers. Your nothing but another car on the street making money for them. They are concerned about riders which is what makes them money by the driver being at their destination in a timely manner. What a low self esteem you have and get a real job where those so called immigrants that I'm sure one way or another you rely on them can't compete with you. If you got skills other than driving


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## Samename (Oct 31, 2014)

DRIVERSOFTHEWORLDUNITE said:


> I remember back in the day when ride-sharing was such a nice, wholesome concept. Now the whole idea just feels dirty and wrong, no better than the old Taxi system. What happened??


The customer wants a cheap service. The cheapest possible. They would rather spend less even if it means the driver doesn't speak english. Although UberX used to be twice as expensive a year ago, it's obvious the goal is low price. If you want luxury as a passenger you go with UberBLACK. And to all those smart enough to use a forum but still driving UberX fulltime, maybe it's time to consider advancing your career in transportation. You can make a decent living in this business, just not with UberX. Some of you say "quit complaining and do something", well I dont think that the best thing to do is protest driving for one hour a week. Consider starting your own livery business and do UberBLACK/SUV on the side. Whoops, maybe I need my own thread for this.


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

Most customers want there driver to speak English. Phases like stop, take me to the airport and don't hit that pedestrian are phrases drivers should understand.


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## UberXNinja (Jul 12, 2014)

Schulz said:


> I listen to Mark Levin on talk radio


That shows all those illegal immigrants are smarter than you.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

uberdc/Virginia said:


> Most customers want *there* (*their*) driver(*s*) to speak English. *Phases* (*phrases*) like stop, take me to the airport and don't hit that pedestrian are *phases* (*phrases*) (*that*) drivers should understand.


If you are going to write a post about some drivers' English fluency, I'd think that you'd take a moment to ensure that your own post was upto snuff in that department!


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

One time I visited the Uber office there was a guy switching one iphone for another.
The driver could barely communicate and the Uber manager was getting really annoyed. It was sad and funny at the same time. 

Other passengers tell me stories about drivers who don't speak much English and don't know the city.


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## chi1cabby (May 28, 2014)

uberdc/Virginia said:


> Other passengers tell me stories about drivers who don't speak much English and don't know the city.


I don't blame these new drivers. I don't blame the Riders, who'd thought that Uber was promising and delivering something far superior in service quality. I blame uber for initially setting the bar high, but having no initial quality standards that a new driver has to meet before on boarding. 
Many of these drivers won't make the cut of the rating system and will get deactivated and discarded.


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## Optimus Uber (Oct 7, 2014)

DRIVERSOFTHEWORLDUNITE said:


> Honestly, I think the vast majority of these illegals (who are receiving 2 year work permits, not true legal status) are too smart to Uber. I wouldn't worry about it.


Have to speak English to drive, oh wait, nevermind.


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## Optimus Uber (Oct 7, 2014)

elelegido said:


> Uber will always have revolving door recruitment. Who knows how many drivers start driving and are then disappointed with the reality of Ubering. There may even be a few such people on this forum.  So, lots of drivers leave and they must be replaced.


Agree, high turn over rate. Eventually word will get out and the amount of applicants will dry up


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## SDUberdriver (Nov 11, 2014)

elelegido said:


> The jury is still out on this. There is no consensus of opinion among economists as to whether unskilled labor immigration either harms or benefits the indigenous workforce. Mass unskilled immigration was required to build this economy into the world's largest. Without it, we'd still all be in Jamestown chasing wild turkeys around with muskets. Maybe.
> 
> Because Uber takes 20% of all the fares you'd need to make to pay the large lease payment. You need to earn 180 bucks a week just to make the payment? Uber makes $45 off your lease, every week.
> 
> ...


Yup as a TCP Partner with an airport permit. Thats what I am working on.


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## SDUberdriver (Nov 11, 2014)

SDUberdriver said:


> Yup as a TCP Partner with an airport permit. Thats what I am working on.


Thanks Optimus. There are many drivers here in San diego ,willing to lease a vehicle. Especially with the airport permit.


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

It is simple supply and demand. Too much supply of drivers will equal lower demand for their services. All it takes is a small fraction of new immigrants to choose to be drivers. I saw many day laborers at seven eleven at three in the afternoon waiting for people to come by and hire them. 

They were looking at me to hire them as I drove up.


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## Schulz (Nov 25, 2014)

I said illegal immigrants, not "immigrants." There is a big distinction. Illegal immigrants should be sent back to their homes no matter how old or young they are. People born in other countries are not born with a right to become an American. Conservatives like myself have become aware that the country is either past the point of saving or getting close to it. What this country becomes will be up to the newly minted citizens from Hispanic countries and the liberals.

The people complaining about Uber on this board appear to me to be libs. A conservative such as myself just moves on to a better deal while libs cry and scream.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Schulz said:


> I said illegal immigrants, not "immigrants." There is a big distinction. Illegal immigrants should be sent back to their homes no matter how old or young they are. People born in other countries are not born with a right to become an American. Conservatives like myself have become aware that the country is either past the point of saving or getting close to it. What this country becomes will be up to the newly minted citizens from Hispanic countries and the liberals.
> 
> The people complaining about Uber on this board appear to me to be libs. A conservative such as myself just moves on to a better deal while libs cry and scream.


Trying to link posts on a forum about driving for rideshare companies to politics? Really?

A lot of people here just want to find out for example why Uber just jipped them on their last 2am pickup of drunks from the local titty bar. They may not care to link their work experiences to any agenda.

Some things are best avoided here, like politics and religion. Post what you want, of course, but I think this may not be the place for that kind of thing.


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## Berliner (Oct 29, 2014)

Remember Lehman Brothers in 2008. Illegals got credits for buying houses. Do ya think Uber takes care about the refinance for their cars? They`ll give a shit on it.


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## LAuberX (Jun 3, 2014)

I thought you needed 3 years good driving record in USA. For Uber?


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## Optimus Uber (Oct 7, 2014)

LAuberX said:


> I thought you needed 3 years good driving record in USA. For Uber?


Well that should eliminate most anyway, not the licensed part, just the good driving part. ;-)


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## drivernotfound (Nov 5, 2014)

No-tippers-suck said:


> for every 100 new driver Uber adds to their system they will recruit 10.000 new pax !
> 
> THey will stalk them and send them textmessages like: hey it's time to take an UBER now..
> Or I detected that you also installed the Lyft App on your phone.. DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT USING LYFT !
> lol.. whatever.


What an empty threat. "Don't you even think about using Lyft."
Positive re-enforcement works: "25% discount code for Uber if you uninstall Lyft and do not re-install for at least one year." (And its not impossible to detect that, at least for the Android client.)
(Of course with our luck, they will cut these discounts off of the driver's share of their 80% or something equally as malicious and unethical.)


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## dogmatize (Oct 5, 2014)

We all are immigrants.


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## No-tippers-suck (Oct 20, 2014)

True! They will always use our part of the fare to make cuts.

We are their cheap (or actually free!) resource of human labor and equipment.

Why should they change anything as long there is enough hungry drivers out there.

Yesterday I drove another guy that believed Uber would own the cars. So I corrected him about how Uber works,
It was a really guy and he dropped me $20 tip ! Very rare.


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

Ads written in Spanish recruiting drivers are appearing on craigslist. Maybe there are many Spanish speaking only riders?


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## Samename (Oct 31, 2014)

In SD a lot of the immigrant taxi drivers have switched to Uber. They tell me its busier, but with fares at 1.25 a mile vs 3.00 a mile for taxi, its not much more profitable.


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## grUBBER (Sep 11, 2014)

When every illegal gets a new car, I will start a used car business. Imagine endless supply of repoed cars it will bring. 
It's a gold mine!


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## uberdc/Virginia (Sep 14, 2014)

Bankruptcy auctions are booming right now.


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