# Is XL worth the extra maint costs?



## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

It's about time for me to get a new vehicle. I'm looking at used and considering a Toyota Sienna minivan so I could give XL rides. The same year and mileage range for a 4 door Honda or Toyota coupe would run me about $2k less and I'd save on fuel and maintenance long term. I'm planning just to Uber on weekends. This would be my primary vehicle for errands, commuting, etc.

In your experience is it worth it to do XL? How often do you actually get XL requests?


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## limepro (Mar 7, 2015)

Biggest expense change is gas, I put far less miles doing XL per $1 made so longer between all other maintenance. Requests don't come as quick but my average ride is $20 vs $8 on x.

Miami is full of XL vehicles so picking the correct times and places to work are key.


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## NOLA-Uber (Nov 13, 2015)

Last week I did 12 XL rides out of a total of 44 rides here in New Orleans. An Uber X ride fare from downtown to the airport is $34.95. The same ride with Uber XL is almost $60. My payout for X is $26.40 and for XL it's about $43 for each airport run. Having the XL capability has also increased my total number of ride requests. I'd recommend going with XL.


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## limepro (Mar 7, 2015)

NOLA-Uber said:


> Last week I did 12 XL rides out of a total of 44 rides here in New Orleans. An Uber X ride fare from downtown to the airport is $34.95. The same ride with Uber XL is almost $60. My payout for X is $26.40 and for XL it's about $43 for each airport run. Having the XL capability has also increased my total number of ride requests. I'd recommend going with XL.


What if you hadn't taken those x rides and you instead waited for XL rides? Even if you got half as many rides you would have made the same in half the miles.


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

In my case I don't think it would be worth it. I'm planning on ubering from about 4am-9am on Saturday and Sunday mornings only. It's hard for me to imagine that there would be much demand from groups of 5+ people during those early morning hours. I'd probably be better off using the money from my car sale to purchase a newer ~2007 compact vehicle, perhaps even with less miles than my current vehicle. I'd save on gas, maintenance and insurance by having a smaller car.

Plus if Uber turns into a flop in the next year (good chance) then I will be left with a more economical personal vehicle.


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## limepro (Mar 7, 2015)

crowsandcats said:


> In my case I don't think it would be worth it. I'm planning on ubering from about 4am-9am on Saturday and Sunday mornings only. It's hard for me to imagine that there would be much demand from groups of 5+ people during those early morning hours. I'd probably be better off using the money from my car sale to purchase a newer ~2007 compact vehicle, perhaps even with less miles than my current vehicle. I'd save on gas, maintenance and insurance by having a smaller car.
> 
> Plus if Uber turns into a flop in the next year (good chance) then I will be left with a more economical personal vehicle.


I don't get where higher maintenance comes in, you are putting about half the miles for the same money. The suspension is much more suited for heavy driving and loading up the vehicle, 4 people in a compact car is much more stressful than in a larger car built to haul 7 people + cargo. Tires may cost a bit more but they normally rated for more miles since they are heavier duty due to added weight. And once again you put twice the miles on an x vehicle vs an XL vehicle.


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## crowsandcats (Sep 17, 2015)

limepro said:


> I don't get where higher maintenance comes in, you are putting about half the miles for the same money. The suspension is much more suited for heavy driving and loading up the vehicle, 4 people in a compact car is much more stressful than in a larger car built to haul 7 people + cargo. Tires may cost a bit more but they normally rated for more miles since they are heavier duty due to added weight. And once again you put twice the miles on an x vehicle vs an XL vehicle.


That's IF you get XL requests. I'm skeptical that I would get enough XL requests during the ten hours per week 4am-9am Sat&Sun to get a return on a $2k-4k investment. Chances are maybe a maximum of 10% of the rides in my area during these hours would be XL, so essentially, I would just be giving X rides in an XL vehicle.

Also, less people demanding an XL trip means you will likely drive further to arrive to pick up passengers. I can definitely understand how XL could be better in a big city like Miami, especially if you drive peak hours.

I'm surprised that you're nearly right with the ownership costs according to this article in your neck of the woods. You can compare a 2005 Dodge Caravan with a 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier. According to the research, at 20,000 miles driven per year the cost of owning the Caravan is $10,003, whereas the 20,000 miles driven per year cost for the Cavalier is $8,397.
http://www.nctr.usf.edu/clearinghouse/costtodrivesuv.htm

I really don't understand why the insurance is cheaper for the minivan Caravan than it is for the subcompact Cavalier.


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## limepro (Mar 7, 2015)

crowsandcats said:


> That's IF you get XL requests. I'm skeptical that I would get enough XL requests during the ten hours per week 4am-9am Sat&Sun to get a return on a $2k-4k investment. Chances are maybe a maximum of 10% of the rides in my area during these hours would be XL, so essentially, I would just be giving X rides in an XL vehicle.
> 
> Also, less people demanding an XL trip means you will likely drive further to arrive to pick up passengers. I can definitely understand how XL could be better in a big city like Miami, especially if you drive peak hours.
> 
> ...


Theft rates are lower, accident rates are lower, married w/kids lowers insurance rates, women's rates are lower which both have a higher likelihood of a minivan being driven by.


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