# why i dont like the $ per hr rule when figuring how im doing.



## johnywinslow (Oct 30, 2014)

I see a lot of talk about the $ an hr. uber says you make this much, drivers actually make this much, how much did I make per hr? it hurts my head. I =m on a 500$ a week goal, 250$ a week minimum( I made 268 by thurs night) do I or don't I make my weekly goal is how I calculate if its worth it, and how fast, it would get too frustrating trying to figure out one night to the next, its weird, tons of 5-7$ trips, a just a couple 45$ trips, what pays better? how much per hr? I spend waiting time at home, as I live on the edge of the busy part of town, it just works out for me. last night I drove 20 min to get a no show, I was pissed off and then got a 35.00 fare as I was going home, it worked out in the end. this is such a unique and way to make money the old measures don't really work!


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## Tx rides (Sep 15, 2014)

johnywinslow said:


> I see a lot of talk about the $ an hr. uber says you make this much, drivers actually make this much, how much did I make per hr? it hurts my head. I =m on a 500$ a week goal, 250$ a week minimum( I made 268 by thurs night) do I or don't I make my weekly goal is how I calculate if its worth it, and how fast, it would get too frustrating trying to figure out one night to the next, its weird, tons of 5-7$ trips, a just a couple 45$ trips, what pays better? how much per hr? I spend waiting time at home, as I live on the edge of the busy part of town, it just works out for me. last night I drove 20 min to get a no show, I was pissed off and then got a 35.00 fare as I was going home, it worked out in the end. this is such a unique and way to make money the old measures don't really work!


Well, the assessment of time spent earning has not changed. It may be more spread out, it may be a little more flexible, but you really should be able to estimate how much time you spend trying to earn a dollar. If most of the time spent is a giveaway, in other words, you were already headed that way, absolutely no impact on your availability, then sure&#8230; Ignore that, think of that like a bonus. But if you are estimating your earnings, you really should be able to estimate the time spent earning. Especially if you need this income. If it is "fun money", and you would not be out trying to earn supplemental income otherwise, then technically, who cares, right?


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## UberDude2 (Nov 19, 2014)

I agree with both of you if that's possible. This is "funny money" for me so I don't think I scrutinize my hours like someone who is doing this for a living. Sometimes I make a ridiculous amount in a short time and sometimes I hardly make much at all in a few hours. I think it tends to average out though.


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## Oc_DriverX (Apr 29, 2014)

You probably should also keep an eye on how much your are netting per mile.


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## wtdrivesnj (Dec 5, 2014)

Lets put it this way its "Uber math"

In NJ we have a lot of tolls and if you travel across to nyc they automatically turn off your phone and you have to come back to nj empty. In NJ you often have to go back to a busy area empty. And frankly most times I turn off my phone in an area I dont want to work in (Hoboken= police give a lot of tickets)

Uber only counts the hours you are "online"

Uber math= Total hours divided by gross total

Gross total includes uber20%, tolls, $1 insurance and fare.


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## Uber SUCKS for drivers! (Jan 1, 2015)

johnywinslow said:


> I see a lot of talk about the $ an hr. uber says you make this much, drivers actually make this much, how much did I make per hr? it hurts my head. I =m on a 500$ a week goal, 250$ a week minimum( I made 268 by thurs night) do I or don't I make my weekly goal is how I calculate if its worth it, and how fast, it would get too frustrating trying to figure out one night to the next, its weird, tons of 5-7$ trips, a just a couple 45$ trips, what pays better? how much per hr? I spend waiting time at home, as I live on the edge of the busy part of town, it just works out for me. last night I drove 20 min to get a no show, I was pissed off and then got a 35.00 fare as I was going home, it worked out in the end. this is such a unique and way to make money the old measures don't really work!


Be careful using the term "make", ur not really "making" anything, u are just "borrowing" $ out of ur car.
There is no real net profit in Uber, u r just "selling ur car one piece at a time" and calling it an "hourly wage earned", but its not, its just like selling ur furniture! :-(


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

^^^ yeah, u cant even make money off surges or high gurantees like the $45 one in Dallas, smh


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Uber SUCKS for drivers! said:


> Be careful using the term "make", ur not really "making" anything, u are just "borrowing" $ out of ur car.
> There is no real net profit in Uber, u r just "selling ur car one piece at a time" and calling it an "hourly wage earned", but its not, its just like selling ur furniture! :-(


It depends on when and how you work. Tonight I worked 11:45 pm (left my "regular" job and turned on the uber app in the parking lot) to 2:36 am (last pax dropoff). Drove 51 miles and took home $127 + $15 in tips. And ended up 3 miles from my house (which is 20 miles from the "regular" job.)

I could have gone back into town but I only planned on working til 3 or 4 anyway so at that point why bother?

If you can work part time and game guarantees OR surges then you may make money. $142 for 3 hours before expenses based on 51 miles is not losing money any way you look at it. Plus I had to drive 20 miles home anyway had I not ubered it. Since I actually only drove 3 miles to get home (granted this was lucky!) my Uber miles cost in my mind is 51 minus 17. Of course I'll deduct the entire 51!


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> It depends on when and how you work. Tonight I worked 11:45 pm (left my "regular" job and turned on the uber app in the parking lot) to 2:36 am (last pax dropoff). Drove 51 miles and took home $127 + $15 in tips. And ended up 3 miles from my house (which is 20 miles from the "regular" job.)
> 
> I could have gone back into town but I only planned on working til 3 or 4 anyway so at that point why bother?
> 
> If you can work part time and game guarantees OR surges then you may make money. $142 for 3 hours before expenses based on 51 miles is not losing money any way you look at it. Plus I had to drive 20 miles home anyway had I not ubered it. Since I actually only drove 3 miles to get home (granted this was lucky!) my Uber miles cost in my mind is 51 minus 17. Of course I'll deduct the entire 51!


there's money to be made for sure
you just have to be smart about it
people who claim theres absoultely no way to profit, no matter what per mile rate you have, despite lots of surges, is just trolling


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## Luberon (Nov 24, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> there's money to be made for sure
> you just have to be smart about it
> people who claim theres absoultely no way to profit, no matter what per mile rate you have, despite lots of surges, is just trolling


Can you make decent money with Uber? YES, but....
It is exceedingly difficult to make a profit and a large majority of drivers drive at a loss or make below minimum wage. FACT
You are likely driving at a loss if one or more of these is true. The more boxes you tick, the worse for you. If you:

1. have a brand new or newer (2013+) car
2. drive full time instead of part time (meaning you have to drive non-peak hours as well)
3. have a less fuel efficient car. Prius has close to 50 mpg, the farther your mpg from this figure the more difficult it is to make profit.
4. are in a market with recent rate cuts (.75cents without surge is slave labor).
5. drive way too many dead miles for every paid mile. This could be because of your area or inexperience. More than one dead mile per paid mile is not good.

More than 95% of all X drivers tick two or more of those boxes. For them profit is an illusion.
I make a profit on Uber (Average 9-14$ per hour after ALL expenses). My only problem is I earn more and drive fewer miles with Lyft (12 - 18$).

I bet you most drivers are driving at a loss


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Luberon said:


> Can you make decent money with Uber? YES, but....
> It is exceedingly difficult to make a profit and a large majority of drivers drive at a loss or make below minimum wage. FACT
> You are likely driving at a loss if one or more of these is true. The more boxes you tick, the worse for you. If you:
> 
> ...


but i did say, "you have to be smart about it"
if you're smart, you'll automatically avoid #2,definitely #4,and figure out how to minimize #5

how exactly does #1 factor in though?
i mean most people, I think, dont buy a car just to uber
say a person bought a car in 2013, then in 2015 they decide to Uber
before Ubering, they are already at a huge loss for the 1st 2 years right? waht if they never Ubered. The majorit of americans dont Uber. They actually buy cars to take a loss on it anyway(because they dont use that car in any way to make money)


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## Luberon (Nov 24, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> but i did say, "you have to be smart about it"
> if you're smart, you'll automatically avoid #2,definitely #4,and figure out how to minimize #5
> 
> how exactly does #1 factor in though?
> ...


depreciation is highest for brand new cars followed by recent model (2 years or less) used cars. New cars lose 30% of their value within the first 2-3 years.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Luberon said:


> depreciation is highest for brand new cars followed by recent model (2 years or less) used cars. New cars lose 30% of their value within the first 2-3 years.
> View attachment 5251


so much hype on depreciation
it seems a lot of people believe depreciation only happens if you Uber. dont rideshare and you're golden.............


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## Luberon (Nov 24, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> so much hype on depreciation
> it seems a lot of people believe depreciation only happens if you Uber. dont rideshare and you're golden.............


I never said that "depreciation only happens if you Uber".

Putting 20K Uber miles on a 2011 Camry with 45K mi already is not the same as 20K miles on a 2015 Camry rolling out of the factory. 
Depreciation $$ _per mile driven_ gets lower as the vehicle ages and gathers more miles.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Luberon said:


> I never said that "depreciation only happens if you Uber".
> 
> Putting 20K Uber miles on a 2011 Camry with 45K mi already is not the same as 20K miles on a 2015 Camry rolling out of the factory.
> Depreciation $$ _per mile driven_ gets lower as the vehicle ages and gathers more miles.


um, I know how depreciation works
funny you factor in aging. The know it all @Simon says time (aging) has no bearing on depreciation and value of cars. ONLY the miles do. smh


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

Luberon said:


> depreciation is highest for brand new cars followed by recent model (2 years or less) used cars. New cars lose 30% of their value within the first 2-3 years.
> View attachment 5251


This is true. This is because new cars have warranties. If a car has a 50,000 mile warranty, the first 50,000 miles depreciate faster than post 50,000 miles. Also, that 50,000 mile warranty can also expire due to time. So even if you aren't driving the car at all, the value of the warranty is expiring.

So for someone with a car with 10,000 miles, a 50,000 mile warranty, and only 1 year left on that warranty, it's actually not a bad thing for them to put 40,000 miles Ubering on the car for the next year. But for someone to do that with a 1 year old car with 10,000 miles and four years/40,000 miles remaining on the warranty, it's financially painful as you'll then have a two year old car with no more warranty on it. You just consumed the entire value of the warranty to Uber. That's a HUGE cost.


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## Simon (Jan 4, 2015)

http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/how-fast-does-my-new-car-lose-value-infographic.html

So I will take this as the answer.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Simon said:


> http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/how-fast-does-my-new-car-lose-value-infographic.html
> 
> So I will take this as the answer.


No where in there did it say time has nothing to do with depreciation

So whats your point?

And depreciation only matters if you assume everyone wants to sell their car


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## Luberon (Nov 24, 2014)

Simon said:


> http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/how-fast-does-my-new-car-lose-value-infographic.html
> 
> So I will take this as the answer.


Powerful graphic for maths challenged drivers


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## Luberon (Nov 24, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> No where in there did it say time has nothing to do with depreciation
> 
> And depreciation only matters if you assume everyone wants to sell their car


If you dont sell your depreciated car it will one day end up in the junk yard. Before that if you want to continue driving your 5-15 year old beater you have to spend a lot of time and money on maintenance. things like brake disks, timing chains, ******, suspension, etc that typically pop up at higher mileage. 
If you sell, you are getting a (low balled) cash offer, if you hold on to your car, you will pay to keep it on the road... either way putting miles on your car is costly.


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

Bart McCoy said:


> No where in there did it say time has nothing to do with depreciation
> 
> So whats your point?
> 
> And depreciation only matters if you assume everyone wants to sell their car


Cars close to being sent to the junk yard depreciate too. The last 1000 miles of a car's useable life are worth 1000 miles. What someone would pay for the last 1000 miles is the question. Buyers typically think they can get even more miles out of it, and fail trying while on the road.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

Luberon said:


> If you dont sell your depreciated car it will one day end up in the junk yard. Before that if you want to continue driving your 5-15 year old beater you have to spend a lot of time and money on maintenance. things like brake disks, timing chains, ******, suspension, etc that typically pop up at higher mileage.
> If you sell, you are getting a (low balled) cash offer, if you hold on to your car, you will pay to keep it on the road... either way putting miles on your car is costly.


Again, if you dont sell our car, theres really no need to mention the word depreciation
Also, just because you decide not to sell and just keep your cars, does NOT mean you are going to continue to put hundreds of miles on it either
I mean, people do have the option of buy a new car now in 2015, and just letting it sit until 2050 with 0 miles on it as a classic now right? Point being, if you Uber or not, you're going to face depreciation if you're tyring to sell the car at some point



UberHammer said:


> Cars close to being sent to the junk yard depreciate too. The last 1000 miles of a car's useable life are worth 1000 miles. What someone would pay for the last 1000 miles is the question. Buyers typically think they can get even more miles out of it, and fail trying while on the road.


this is probably true
but my point is Simon talking about time has NOTHING to do with depreciation or its value, ONLY miles driven


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