# So, I get we're all in different situations, but... (long)



## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

I find the conversations about a new/used/decrepit to be interesting, and I think I can be empathetic enough to get the different perspectives. There truly isn't a global "right" answer, as it depends on your objective why you drive, your personal financial situation, full/part time, and the market you live in.

Of course driving 40+ hours a week is going to put a beating on your car. But if you're driving 40 hours a week, you're also making more $ and deducting more in mileage (which in theory should cover all costs of a car - payment, gas, maintenance, etc). For sure the mileage deduction would easily cover the cost of ownership, gas, and maintenance of a brand spankin' new car. But, the flip-side is that the cost of ownership is one of the few variables a driver can control to maximize their earnings - in addition being smart and how many hours you drive.

I'm a new driver and spent the first few weeks driving my wife's 2012 Mini Countryman. Fun car and I received tons of compliments and tips were actually not bad. Driving a bit more and maximizing my trips I'm easy at $4k/mo (minimum) - I haven't tried to maximize yet and I'm at $3k/mo. 

This Mini I've been driving was in need of new tires, so I was unable to get my TNC (long story about the inspection - approved for Uber but on re-inspection they noticed the tires), so I'm losing a bunch of $ not being able to pick up at the airport. It also gets crappy gas mileage (maybe 22/city) and is a rough ride, so not comfy for me or pax. But it's fun and cute, but I can't hear the radio for how loud the engine and road noise is. It was also seemingly close to needing some considerable work. It just was no longer feasible to expect to drive it for rideshare and be able to maximize earnings and experience.

I generally don't love the idea of buying new cars, but I've done it a few times. My primary vehicle - a Chevy Silverado, was brand new in 2016 because it's my baby and I expect to drive it forever, but driving a car for rideshare... uhhh... not sure I really wanted a new car. But, I also want to enjoy my ride experience as well as my pax, and I want the latest technology and warranty coverage. It would also be our second car and we zip around to neighboring towns and I drive back to MN from WA a couple times a year and wanted comfort and great mileage.

So, I could have bought a used Prius at about any year, mileage, and price I desired, but I didn't desire a Prius. I looked at a few used Accord hybrids but found them to be too price for the value (why pay the same for a 2015 with date tech as what I could buy new for?). So anyway, I settled on a 2019 EX trim Insight with 5 miles on it. Of course I know this will be beat up a bit even as much as I will care for it. But it will also have tangible and intangible rewards that can be quantified - and I'm also comparing it to the car I was currently driving, not an equivalent hybrid I could have picked up for $10k with no warranty, dated tech, and just plainly not as enjoyable to drive professionally or personally.

So, doing the mileage reimbursement math from the government at $.58/mile, assuming ~2,000 miles/mo, that's a $1,160/mo allowance for the car - payment, gas, and maintenance. After 3 years that's $41,760. Please don't tell me not to use that allowance because if I didn't you'd tell me I wasn't making enough of an accommodation. So, we'll just go what the government is giving us to drive the car. At the end of 3 years the car is paid for, gas is paid for, maintenance is paid for, and I got to use it for personal use and save a ton of money in gas over using the old Mini. 

Again - I totally understand that many people are driving to make their living. If so, of course you could make another $400/mo without a car payment - but you also may have more in maintenance, and if you're not driving a hybrid - but rather a Civic or Corolla or Camry that's not a hybrid, you're leaving a ton of money on the table in gas savings. So I can make that argument right off the top. I'm fortunate in that I'm 50, I've had a decent career in tech and am just taking a bit of a sabbatical and my wife has a good job, so I am thankful I can look at it with a different perspective.

So, if I drive ~2,000 miles/mo and have revenue of $4k/mo, that's $2,980 each month left after ALL brand new car expenses and gas (conservatively). What am I missing? I get it that if I'm paying the rent and feeding my family (I do have three kids in college) with it that the extra $400 car payment in my pocket would be super important, but it may be offset with worse gas mileage and/or lower tips, so does it really make that much of a difference?

I have budgeted an additional $300/mo for incidentals - washes, gum/mints, dashcam, etc - but that still doesn't have much of an impact on my objective to drive. And additionally I'm then driving a "free" personal car and I'm far more comfortable and enjoying the job more. Sure I can make a boatload more back in tech, and I could make more as a bartender down the block - but I wouldn't have the flexibility to fit my lifestyle and my other projects/biz. 

So when I cruise by you in my Insight I couldn't care less what you're thinking. Think I'm a moron, but I'm a very not bitter person enjoying myself.


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## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

I love it when I silence the crowd


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## VictorD (Apr 30, 2017)

Fuges said:


> I love it when I silence the crowd


You didn't silence anyone, genius. How can you "silence" people who were never paying any attention to you to begin with?

So, what did you write? I didn't read the post.


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## The_Solo (Feb 23, 2019)

The math I’m stuck on is you claim to make $2 a mile. Between deadmiles and regular miles I feel your estimation/belief you will make that is extremely high. Ignoring your incorrect math I then look at sure currently it SEEMS to be paying for itself but when you out drive the warranty with 6-9 months that benefit as you put it will be gone and quite quickly. Also within just a couple years the car will still be rather expensive monthly while the value will be tanked. Short term with rose covered glasses everything looks beautiful.


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## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

The_Solo said:


> The math I'm stuck on is you claim to make $2 a mile. Between deadmiles and regular miles I feel your estimation/belief you will make that is extremely high. Ignoring your incorrect math I then look at sure currently it SEEMS to be paying for itself but when you out drive the warranty with 6-9 months that benefit as you put it will be gone and quite quickly. Also within just a couple years the car will still be rather expensive monthly while the value will be tanked. Short term with rose covered glasses everything looks beautiful.


I'm not "claiming" to make anything - I'm conveying facts as they pertain to my experience. I track miles from when I leave my house, miles with pax, and miles between pax. I generally only count for revenue/hour purposes from the mile I pick up my first pax until I drop off my last pax. I don't count my miles when I drive one mile before I get a ping or if my last drop is 20 miles away. My logic there is that if I'm a server or if work for the DOT or if I have an office job - none of those jobs pays you to go to/from work so it's not a fair comparison to make. I usually have a ping within 1/2 mile and usually try to drive until a drop is within a couple miles of my house so it doesn't really have much of an impact.

I have a 140,000 mile warranty - that's hardly going to be used in 6-9 months - if it is- then GREAT! If I drive that many miles than I've made far more money than I would have expected. You also must not read well, because I talked about saving the $.58/mile for future maintenance.

I'm 100% sure of my analysis, and there are no rose-colored glasses. If I needed to pay my rent and eat with this gig then yes my perspective would be different - but I am confident that even with a brand new car I can clear $4k/mo. Not nearly enough to fully support ourselves, but I worked 25 years to put me in this position, and my wife has a good job, so I'm not going to put your desperation glasses on.



The_Solo said:


> The math I'm stuck on is you claim to make $2 a mile. Between deadmiles and regular miles I feel your estimation/belief you will make that is extremely high. Ignoring your incorrect math I then look at sure currently it SEEMS to be paying for itself but when you out drive the warranty with 6-9 months that benefit as you put it will be gone and quite quickly. Also within just a couple years the car will still be rather expensive monthly while the value will be tanked. Short term with rose covered glasses everything looks beautiful.


For instance, today I went and drove for 2hr40m with no surge and had earnings of $53.87. I drove about 30 miles at 50mpg. It was a very low $/hr but I drove only 30 miles at a cost of less than $2.50.

We can talk all day why I'm willing to do this for $20/hr but that has nothing to do with the cost of the car, because what I make is after the car is already paid for - and I also used the car for a few 1,500 mile personal trips. In three years the car will be paid for and I'll still be making money on it - except I won't because I'll realize it's better to sell it to you and buy another new one.


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## The_Solo (Feb 23, 2019)

It’s your use of the term “about” 30 miles. That means you aren’t exactly sure what you drove or not being specific. But at this point I don’t think there are any markets in which you make $2 a mile anymore when including deadmiles in the middle. Your math is off because you are assuming things your aren’t sure of. As you stated originally you are new. Your unsure of a lot. 

Now sure you have money and you don’t care about your losses. That’s fine. But as you just stated your willing to work for $20 an hour (before expenses) and expect 4K a month. Well that’s 50 hours a week of driving. You have attempted to use a lot of math in all your posts but your trying to skew the numbers all over the place. 

Also you don’t save $.58 per mile you just don’t pay taxes on that money. It’s a big difference.


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## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

The_Solo said:


> It's your use of the term "about" 30 miles. That means you aren't exactly sure what you drove or not being specific. But at this point I don't think there are any markets in which you make $2 a mile anymore when including deadmiles in the middle. Your math is off because you are assuming things your aren't sure of. As you stated originally you are new. Your unsure of a lot.
> 
> Now sure you have money and you don't care about your losses. That's fine. But as you just stated your willing to work for $20 an hour (before expenses) and expect 4K a month. Well that's 50 hours a week of driving. You have attempted to use a lot of math in all your posts but your trying to skew the numbers all over the place.
> 
> Also you don't save $.58 per mile you just don't pay taxes on that money. It's a big difference.


I know exactly how many miles I drive driveway to driveway, first pick up to last drop off, miles with pax, and total miles. I know all this and keep it in a spreadsheet. "About" was because I didn't have the numbers right in front of me. My math is not "off" at all - it's precisely accurate.

I also realize that the $.58 isn't "saved" but experienced drivers always claim new drivers don't understand the true cost of driving - so I'm using the $.58/mile to ensure I am conservative - and my point was that there's no way I will every spend $.58/mile for the payment, miles, gas, maintenance. Not a chance. I know that for sure. That's $58,000 for every 100,000 driven. So, I'm being conservative by using that as the cost of driving.

All I'm unsure of is how to maximize my revenue/expenses through when and where to drive and when it's best to sit and wait. I am not unsure of my numbers - they are spot on correct. I need a larger sample to determine a strategy.



VictorD said:


> You didn't silence anyone, genius. How can you "silence" people who were never paying any attention to you to begin with?
> 
> So, what did you write? I didn't read the post.


Ha. What an unfortunate personality. I'm just joking around but you're stuck with your personality forever.


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

what market are you in to make $2/mile Im moving

You seem to be creating a set of numbers to justify the purchase of a new car...and all you want to do is make the car payments

I get it that you dont want to drive a Prius, I dont either but I argue that the best car to drive for rideshare is the car you already own I think you would do better by driving the mini (assuming its paid for) and saving your money to buy the car of your dreams; cash.


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## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

oldfart said:


> what market are you in to make $2/mile Im moving
> 
> You seem to be creating a set of numbers to justify the purchase of a new car...and all you want to do is make the car payments
> 
> I get it that you dont want to drive a Prius, I dont either but I argue that the best car to drive for rideshare is the car you already own I think you would do better by driving the mini (assuming its paid for) and saving your money to buy the car of your dreams; cash.


I'm in Seattle. I am not "creating a set of numbers" - they're actual numbers. Not sure what to tell ya.

The Mini needed $900 for tires to be able to do airport trips, was needing brakes, and was doing a weird idle thing. I was not about to drop $3k into that car. I generally would agree with you, and I'll drive the Insight well beyond when I can rationalize another new car - and that's when I'll stock it away to save for the next one. Two days of driving the Insight now and it is SO much more enjoyable to drive - quieter, rides so much smoother - it's night and day how much more I enjoy it. That in itself is justification for me - I can actually listen to my radio over the road and engine noise.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Some extended warranties have a disclaimer somewhere in the fine print about commercial use. Have you read the contract carefully?


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## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

Older Chauffeur said:


> Some extended warranties have a disclaimer somewhere in the fine print about commercial use. Have you read the contract carefully?


Well I'm not exactly going to share that I'm driving rideshare when I need to take it in.


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

Fuges said:


> I'm in Seattle. I am not "creating a set of numbers" - they're actual numbers. Not sure what to tell ya.
> 
> The Mini needed $900 for tires to be able to do airport trips, was needing brakes, and was doing a weird idle thing. I was not about to drop $3k into that car. I generally would agree with you, and I'll drive the Insight well beyond when I can rationalize another new car - and that's when I'll stock it away to save for the next one. Two days of driving the Insight now and it is SO much more enjoyable to drive - quieter, rides so much smoother - it's night and day how much more I enjoy it. That in itself is justification for me - I can actually listen to my radio over the road and engine noise. :smiles:


I would have probably spent the money on the Mini but when it comes to replacement I will do what you did. Not buy new, but buy something I'm comfortable in and qualifies for at least 2 ride types better than X. I'm looking at surburbans, and similar cars


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## RideshareUSA (Feb 7, 2019)

Fuges said:


> I'm not "claiming" to make anything - I'm conveying facts as they pertain to my experience. I track miles from when I leave my house, miles with pax, and miles between pax. I generally only count for revenue/hour purposes from the mile I pick up my first pax until I drop off my last pax. I don't count my miles when I drive one mile before I get a ping or if my last drop is 20 miles away. My logic there is that if I'm a server or if work for the DOT or if I have an office job - none of those jobs pays you to go to/from work so it's not a fair comparison to make. I usually have a ping within 1/2 mile and usually try to drive until a drop is within a couple miles of my house so it doesn't really have much of an impact.
> 
> I have a 140,000 mile warranty - that's hardly going to be used in 6-9 months - if it is- then GREAT! If I drive that many miles than I've made far more money than I would have expected. You also must not read well, because I talked about saving the $.58/mile for future maintenance.
> 
> ...


Your 140,000 mile warranty will quickly be reduced to 0 if the dealer and/or manufacturer ever finds out you are using it for rideshare. Be careful!


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## IthurstwhenIP (Jan 12, 2018)

Good logic, nice ride, enjoy. None of us are getting rich quick, but we can enjoy the ride.


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## VictorD (Apr 30, 2017)

RideshareUSA said:


> Your 140,000 mile warranty will quickly be reduced to 0 if the dealer and/or manufacturer ever finds out you are using it for rideshare. Be careful!


That's not necessarily true. *Most* manufacturer warranties do not include that exemption. *HOWEVER, most *extended warranties _do._


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## RideshareUSA (Feb 7, 2019)

VictorD said:


> That's not necessarily true. *Most* manufacturer warranties do not include that exemption. *HOWEVER, most *extended warranties _do._


K. Just confirm on your end for peace of mind.


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## Curiosa71 (Apr 8, 2019)

Why do experienced drivers think they know better than the newbies? Many of us do tons of research and often we are wrong, and we will realize that so stop bursting our bubble. I have learned in my three months of ridesharing that strategy is vital. You can't just go out driving accepting every request in any direction or distance. I agree with Fuges, a brand new hybrid car makes a difference and yes with tax deductions it will be paid for quickly. But it is hard for some of us that are not tax people to fully understand what that means because is a deductible, non refundable. We like credits, refundable. lol Your math may not be accurate or make sense but your assertions that a hybrid brand new car is a great choice for ridesharing.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Fuges said:


> So, doing the mileage reimbursement math from the government at $.58/mile, assuming ~2,000 miles/mo, that's a $1,160/mo allowance for the car - payment, gas, and maintenance.


You're confusing the SMR deduction as a "reimbursement".


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Fuges said:


> I find the conversations about a new/used/decrepit to be interesting, and I think I can be empathetic enough to get the different perspectives. There truly isn't a global "right" answer, as it depends on your objective why you drive, your personal financial situation, full/part time, and the market you live in.
> 
> Of course driving 40+ hours a week is going to put a beating on your car. But if you're driving 40 hours a week, you're also making more $ and deducting more in mileage (which in theory should cover all costs of a car - payment, gas, maintenance, etc). For sure the mileage deduction would easily cover the cost of ownership, gas, and maintenance of a brand spankin' new car. But, the flip-side is that the cost of ownership is one of the few variables a driver can control to maximize their earnings - in addition being smart and how many hours you drive.
> 
> ...


The government doesn't REIMBURSE you. You're confusing tax deductions with tax credits.


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## Bbonez (Aug 10, 2018)

Is Seattle always surging or something? $1.11 per mile is the base rate how are you doing $2 per including dead miles?



Fuges said:


> The Mini needed $900 for tires to be able to do airport trips, was needing brakes, and was doing a weird idle thing. I was not about to drop $3k into that car.


You dont need to buy the most expensive tires on the market, $300 tires would have been fine. Your idle problem could have been as simple as new plugs less than $20, and brakes are cheap.


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## dctcmn (Sep 21, 2017)

Fuges said:


> What am I missing?


1. You're missing solid revenue and mileage numbers. You say you've only been driving a few weeks and that's not long enough to establish an average for gross rev, costs and mileage. Your data set is too small to be reliable enough to make an informed decision on a large purchase.

2. As others have already said, you're also missing an understanding of how the standard mileage deduction works. You don't get reimbursed $.58/mile. You get to deduct $.58/mile from your revenue. So the actual cash value of the deduction is based on your tax bracket. You say your wife does well and you're in Seattle-- so let's guess that you're in the 24% tax bracket. That means that the actual cash value of the standard mileage deduction is $.14/mile. If you're in the 32% tax bracket, then the actual cash value is $.18/mile.


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## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

dctcmn said:


> 1. You're missing solid revenue and mileage numbers. You say you've only been driving a few weeks and that's not long enough to establish an average for gross rev, costs and mileage. Your data set is too small to be reliable enough to make an informed decision on a large purchase.
> 
> 2. As others have already said, you're also missing an understanding of how the standard mileage deduction works. You don't get reimbursed $.58/mile. You get to deduct $.58/mile from your revenue. So the actual cash value of the deduction is based on your tax bracket. You say your wife does well and you're in Seattle-- so let's guess that you're in the 24% tax bracket. That means that the actual cash value of the standard mileage deduction is $.14/mile. If you're in the 32% tax bracket, then the actual cash value is $.18/mile.


I admitted to a small sample size. Of course being a new driver I'm not going to have the numbers and patterns of a seasoned driver, but they're all I have to go on and the numbers I have a very accurate. In the week since this post my numbers are stronger.

And I don't misunderstand the mileage deduction. I never said it was reimbursed. I fully understand it's a deduction. My point was that more established drivers are always saying the newbies underestimate the cost of driving a car, so I'm using the standard deduction as the metric for the cost of the car - far higher than the actual cost of the payment, mileage, and maintenance - and even with that I can justify the vehicle.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Fuges said:


> And I don't misunderstand the mileage deduction. I never said it was reimbursed. I fully understand it's a deduction. My point was that more established drivers are always saying the newbies underestimate the cost of driving a car, so I'm using the standard deduction as the metric for the cost of the car - far higher than the actual cost of the payment, mileage, and maintenance - and even with that I can justify the vehicle.


Yes, you did. And you still misunderstand mileage deduction.



Fuges said:


> So, doing the mileage reimbursement math from the government at $.58/mile, assuming ~2,000 miles/mo, that's a $1,160/mo allowance for the car - payment, gas, and maintenance. After 3 years that's $41,760. Please don't tell me not to use that allowance because if I didn't you'd tell me I wasn't making enough of an accommodation. So, we'll just go what the government is giving us to drive the car. At the end of 3 years the car is paid for, gas is paid for, maintenance is paid for, and I got to use it for personal use and save a ton of money in gas over using the old Mini.


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## OldBay (Apr 1, 2019)

Fuges said:


> So, doing the mileage reimbursement math from the government at $.58/mile, assuming ~2,000 miles/mo, that's a $1,160/mo allowance for the car - payment, gas, and maintenance. After 3 years that's $41,760. Please don't tell me not to use that allowance because if I didn't you'd tell me I wasn't making enough of an accommodation. So, we'll just go what the government is giving us to drive the car. At the end of 3 years the car is paid for, gas is paid for, maintenance is paid for, and I got to use it for personal use and save a ton of money in gas over using the old Mini.


I think you are under a MAJOR misconception. The government doesn't reimburse you anything, the .58/mi is a tax deduction that reduces your taxes by a small amount. For instance, if you make 30k a year in rideshare, and you are good at it and drive only 30k miles, you will be able to deduct 30K x .58 = roughly 17K from your taxes. So instead of paying taxes on 30K, you only pay taxes on 13K. That might save you a few hundred, manybe a few thousand depending on which tax bracket you are in.

I like how you were able to trash your wifes car for your rideshare experiment. 



Fuges said:


> I admitted to a small sample size. Of course being a new driver I'm not going to have the numbers and patterns of a seasoned driver, but they're all I have to go on and the numbers I have a very accurate. In the week since this post my numbers are stronger.
> 
> And I don't misunderstand the mileage deduction. I never said it was reimbursed. I fully understand it's a deduction. My point was that more established drivers are always saying the newbies underestimate the cost of driving a car, so I'm using the standard deduction as the metric for the cost of the car - far higher than the actual cost of the payment, mileage, and maintenance - and even with that I can justify the vehicle.


You literally said milage reimbursement and said it would pay for your new car.


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

VictorD said:


> You didn't silence anyone, genius. How can you "silence" people who were never paying any attention to you to begin with?
> 
> So, what did you write? I didn't read the post.


Its a newbie trying to justify why buying a brand new car is actually worthwhile.



Fuges said:


> Well I'm not exactly going to share that I'm driving rideshare when I need to take it in.


So deception is part or you Business Plan?


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## Fuges (Apr 10, 2019)

UberLuxbod said:


> Its a newbie trying to justify why buying a brand new car is actually worthwhile.
> 
> 
> So deception is part or you Business Plan?


*eyeroll*

Putz,

Next...

I give up. You guys are just never going to accept that someone might know more than you, or have logic that maybe doesn't align with yours or your position, but it doesn't mean it's flawed. It also seems you're threatened by someone that may actually outperform you. You're just kind of mean people, and that's fine - most of you are worse than the pax you complain about.

But carry on, I know what I'm making and how mileage deductions work, and this gig will easily pay for the car. You don't read well and understand the comparisons I was making re: gas mileage and airport pickups. But whatever, carry on with your unhappy selves. No skin off me.


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## OldBay (Apr 1, 2019)

Fuges said:


> *eyeroll*
> 
> Putz,
> 
> ...


We are basing our opinions based on what you said LITERALLY in your post, that the government reimburses you for miles driven. Your logic is based on that fact in your first post, you just changed your position to pretend that you knew it was a deduction.

Also, making $2/mi is fantasy, completely unheard of. $1/mi is GOOD, most make less than that, so your calculations are completely off.

Either your are trolling, or you are still in the excitement phase and think you've found an angle that the millions of uber drivers before you haven't seen. Grandiose, delusional, or just plain stupid.


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## dctcmn (Sep 21, 2017)

Fuges said:


> And I don't misunderstand the mileage deduction. I never said it was reimbursed. I fully understand it's a deduction. My point was that more established drivers are always saying the newbies underestimate the cost of driving a car, so I'm using the standard deduction as the metric for the cost of the car - far higher than the actual cost of the payment, mileage, and maintenance - and even with that I can justify the vehicle.


Let's go back to your original post and I'll show you where you're mistaken.



Fuges said:


> So, doing the mileage reimbursement math from the government at $.58/mile, assuming ~2,000 miles/mo, that's a $1,160/mo allowance for the car - payment, gas, and maintenance. After 3 years that's $41,760. Please don't tell me not to use that allowance because if I didn't you'd tell me I wasn't making enough of an accommodation. So, we'll just go what the government is giving us to drive the car. At the end of 3 years the car is paid for, gas is paid for, maintenance is paid for, and I got to use it for personal use and save a ton of money in gas over using the old Mini.


If you're in the 24% tax bracket, then $.58/mile equates to $.1392/mile in actual cash saved in taxes (what you seem to be calling "reimbursement"). At 2000 miles per month, that's $278.40, not $1,160. After 3 years, that's $10,022, not $41,760.

$.58/mile is a meaningless number until you multiply it by your tax bracket. Obviously, there's marginal rates and whatnot, but that will only reduce that $10,022 number, not increase it. Since your wife is the main breadwinner, it's probably cleanest to categorize all of your earnings in the highest tax bracket.

Please know that I'm not trying to be snarky or argumentative, but the standard mileage deduction is too important for drivers to not understand. Even if you do understand it, you're presenting it in a way that could be very misleading to drivers who don't quite understand it.

*To add-*

In essence, the federal government is not saying that $.58/mile is a reasonable cost of operation. We know it's too high, they know it's too high. They're really saying that it should take a % commensurate with the taxable income of your business ($.14/mile to $.21/mile for most businesses).

That's pretty tight. My total cost of operation after taxes last year was $.121 cents per mile, and I drive a 9 year old car with 240,000 miles on it and had no repair expenses last year (only wear and tear and preventative maintenance (all of which I did myself)). In 2017, my total cost of operation after taxes was $.236/mile. I doubt I'll ever get a repeat of $.121/mile.


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## IamtheShoe2u (Dec 2, 2018)

Fuges said:


> I know exactly how many miles I drive driveway to driveway, first pick up to last drop off, miles with pax, and total miles. I know all this and keep it in a spreadsheet. "About" was because I didn't have the numbers right in front of me. My math is not "off" at all - it's precisely accurate.
> 
> I also realize that the $.58 isn't "saved" but experienced drivers always claim new drivers don't understand the true cost of driving - so I'm using the $.58/mile to ensure I am conservative - and my point was that there's no way I will every spend $.58/mile for the payment, miles, gas, maintenance. Not a chance. I know that for sure. That's $58,000 for every 100,000 driven. So, I'm being conservative by using that as the cost of driving.
> 
> ...


Some people have a hard on for people like us that can actually mine information from the data garnered in spreadsheets...


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## Bbonez (Aug 10, 2018)

Fuges said:


> so I'm using the standard deduction as the metric for the cost of the car - far higher than the actual cost of the payment, mileage, and maintenance - and even with that I can justify the vehicle.


You never responded to my first question to you, does it surge all the time in Seattle? Base rate is $1.11 not including dead miles, but you make $2 including dead miles. How?

Also, the standard deduction may or may not be higher than the actual cost. There is a break even point. Let's say you buy a brand new car and total it after 100 miles. The true cost of ownership was far greater than $58. If the insurance totaled the car out you would be lucky to get 75%. So on a 20k car that's a 5k loss or $50 per mile. Same math would apply if you were forced to sell the car for unforeseen reasons.


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## Dammit Mazzacane (Dec 31, 2015)

A car you own outright with no car payment generally will bring in more money than any car explicitly for rideshare saddled with a car payment, regardless of gas mileage unless possibly it's a monster on fuel mileage.

See also
https://uberpeople.net/threads/purchase-price-vs-mpg-calculator.322758/


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## Boca Ratman (Jun 6, 2018)

VictorD said:


> You didn't silence anyone, genius. How can you "silence" people who were never paying any attention to you to begin with?
> 
> So, what did you write? I didn't read the post.


lol



Fuges said:


> So, doing the mileage reimbursement math from the government at $.58/mile,


it's not a reimbursement.


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## swathdiver (Apr 18, 2019)

Drive the Silvy, much more comfortable for you and the pax!


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

Fuges said:


> *eyeroll*
> 
> Putz,
> 
> ...


Lol

Oh, dear.

Did the snowflake not get the answer it wanted?



IamtheShoe2u said:


> Some people have a hard on for people like us that can actually mine information from the data garnered in spreadsheets...





IamtheShoe2u said:


> Some people have a hard on for people like us that can actually mine information from the data garnered in spreadsheets...


Ever thought that some people don't actually need to use a spreadsheet to work something out?

Actually, no you probably don't.

Carry on with your spreadsheet.


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## IamtheShoe2u (Dec 2, 2018)

UberLuxbod said:


> Lol
> 
> Oh, dear.
> 
> ...


 So in all of your grandeur have you yet come to the realization that you're only making about $14 or $15 an hour if you're driving X/Pooland or Lyft/Shared after all your expenses and that's before tax?


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## BobMarley (Feb 12, 2019)

I'm also new to this, the car I had before was not Uber appropriate (old Jeep with horrible mileage and I was always fixing something), I had thought of getting a new car and maybe doing Uber to help pay for it, and I crunched the numbers, a new car made absolutely positively no financial sense whatsoever. And know that I do have an accounting background, but I'm not an expert or a CPA. A very good deal on a used vehicle basically fell into my lap a few weeks ago, so I bought it and have used it for Uber a bit so far, part time.

But anyways back to the OP, can I ask what make and model you bought, what terms you have for your loan (or did you pay cash?), what you paid for your extended warranty, and what precisely does it cover?

Edit to add: but if you really are making $2 per mile including dead miles and commuting then well, enjoy your new car at that rate you'll be fine, unless your sitting in horrible traffic and can only do 10 mph maybe? Just know the Uber gods giffith and they taketh away. My second day out I got nothing but horrible short fares, and almost called it quits. Third day, a Saturday morning I got almost all highway driving. I made $65 revenue with an estimated expenditure of $21 in about 3.5 hours. Not bad for Albuquerque.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Fuges said:


> *eyeroll*
> 
> Putz,
> 
> ...


Please enlighten us how the mileage deductions will payoff your car in 3


BobMarley said:


> But anyways back to the OP, can I ask what make and model you bought, what terms you have for your loan (or did you pay cash?), what you paid for your extended warranty, and what precisely does it cover?


OP said he bought a 2019 Honda Insight EX which has a $24k MSRP. Also said that the car will be paid for at the end of 3 years.


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## TampaGuy (Feb 18, 2019)

What is op smoking????


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## BobMarley (Feb 12, 2019)

Hagong said:


> Please enlighten us how the mileage deductions will payoff your car in 3
> 
> OP said he bought a 2019 Honda Insight EX which has a $24k MSRP. Also said that the car will be paid for at the end of 3 years.


Honda's do keep their value well. So not a bad choice. I was going to backdate his model on kbb.com to find estimated depreciation, but the Insight didn't exist 3 years ago. He also seems to be relying on that warranty, but they can be tricky on what they cover, and its pretty much never routine maintenance.


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## Hagong (Jan 17, 2017)

Fuges said:


> I love it when I silence the crowd


I love it when the crowd silence the OP


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## dctcmn (Sep 21, 2017)

Hagong said:


> I love it when the crowd silence the OP


Well, Lyft isn't accepting his Insight. But we're the ones who are putzes and we can't accept that he knows more than us.


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

IamtheShoe2u said:


> So in all of your grandeur have you yet come to the realization that you're only making about $14 or $15 an hour if you're driving X/Pooland or Lyft/Shared after all your expenses and that's before tax?


Lol

Did the forum name not give it away?

I don't drive a nearly new S Class to do UberX and UberPool.

Last time I did UberLux the hourly rate averaged out between £35 and £45 an hour.

Mileage rate of £3.55 a mile and £0.55 for every minute when POB.

I am sure you can easily Google the current £ to $ exchange rate.

And no, your estimate of $14/15 an hour is not very accurate.


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## Bubsie (Oct 19, 2017)

OP, it sounds like you've only been driving for a few weeks? Are you unaware that you are put in a honeymoon status when you first start, getting ride preference over more experienced drivers that have more time in the system?

You can't extrapolate what you may make initially with Uber/Lyft with what you will make in the longer term.


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## touberornottouber (Aug 12, 2016)

Curiosa71 said:


> Why do experienced drivers think they know better than the newbies?


Because once we were just like you.



Bubsie said:


> OP, it sounds like you've only been driving for a few weeks? Are you unaware that you are put in a honeymoon status when you first start, getting ride preference over more experienced drivers that have more time in the system?
> 
> You can't extrapolate what you may make initially with Uber/Lyft with what you will make in the longer term.


Actually you sort of can. On average my pay per hour doing rideshare has dropped about $2 every year. I've been doing this almost three years now.

For the benefit of the newbies: it dropped mainly by sneaky tricks by the company to cut driver pay as well as extreme driver oversaturation.

You'll never make more money per hour next year doing this than you are now. It won't happen. Count on your pay going down. Laugh at me if you want but you'll see.


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## forrest m (Feb 21, 2019)

I read the entire original post. It seems like a lot of words just to say op is happy with his car choice while using the car for ride-share. It seems to me that OP is either trying to justify purchasing the car, or is bragging about getting the car and using it for ride-share. The reason I get the impression of bragging is mostly because I saw no other reason in the post for OP to be pointing a finger at people who may be in a worse financial situation than he is.


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## Yulli Yung (Jul 4, 2017)

Fuges said:


> I find the conversations about a new/used/decrepit to be interesting, and I think I can be empathetic enough to get the different perspectives. There truly isn't a global "right" answer, as it depends on your objective why you drive, your personal financial situation, full/part time, and the market you live in.
> 
> Of course driving 40+ hours a week is going to put a beating on your car. But if you're driving 40 hours a week, you're also making more $ and deducting more in mileage (which in theory should cover all costs of a car - payment, gas, maintenance, etc). For sure the mileage deduction would easily cover the cost of ownership, gas, and maintenance of a brand spankin' new car. But, the flip-side is that the cost of ownership is one of the few variables a driver can control to maximize their earnings - in addition being smart and how many hours you drive.
> 
> ...


Brevity is king!!


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