# Real Reason I Don't Quit



## Argantes (Dec 12, 2015)

Even though the pay sucks and amounts to only 10-12 bucks an hour on average for driving 30 hours a week, reason I don't quit is having to go through interviews for jobs (that is if they call you) after driving for 2+ years and talking to every person I could, I couldn't believe how many people had bachelors degree's and were working at restaurants and shops making the same to 1-2 dollars more an hour than me, seems like you need a masters degree these days to get a job that pays 5k a month at least. So why go through the hassle of applying for a job that even people with bachelors degree's can't get in this economy (los angeles area) and dealing with employers asking stupid questions that don't mean a thing unless you rehearsed and wearing uncomfortable dress suits, not to mention wasting your time driving to the location and sitting waiting. As soon as they implement something where they hire you based on your resume and don't need to physically see you until the first day of work then I'll continue driving drunk brats around, grass is always greener right? Oh and I'm lazy and my breath stinks. Thank you for reading.


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

I don't think you'll find too many science degrees working in shops and restaurants. Liberal Arts? Sure.

Nobody will hire you just based on your resume. I've been interviewing people for 2 openings since Nov - pretty much everyone who applied could do the job - but I'm not going to hire someone who can just do the job. I'm going to hire someone who I want to work with and who I feel actually wants to work HERE and not just a job and who will grow in the position. A resume can't show that - although it can show if you failed to grow at other jobs.

So yeah - it'll always be face to face and I'm going to see how you get along with me and the other guys who will interview you. Your technical skills and degree are secondary. They're the bare minimum to get the job but the requirement for every single job opening ever is to not be a jackass.


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## EcoboostMKS (Nov 6, 2015)

To sum up that big paragraph why you don't quit uber and find a better job: you're lazy


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## Tequila Jake (Jan 28, 2016)

I was thinking about posting a similar thread. I've been driving about 3 weeks and after running numbers every which way, it's very clear this is an unsustainable business model for drivers at current rates. I figure per mile rates would have to increase 80% just to break even here in Phoenix.

However, it is very good for generating cash flow and that is important for many of us. I took this on as a "part-time" venture because of the cash flow. In my case, I'm anticipating being out of work for up to 6 weeks this summer (for medical reasons) and so I'm building up a reserve in anticipation of that eventuality.

Also, I enjoy the work and would be very happy to make this my only business. So I've added Lyft for the potential of more rides and I'm doing the orientation for DoorDash next week and looking at adding other transportation options that can potentially make this a profitable business that can generate a suitable income as well.

Why do others continue this business?


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## Argantes (Dec 12, 2015)

Eco- You get me 

Slon- I hear what your saying but your saying exactly what I'm saying, you dig? Let me explain, you said everyone who applied can do the job but it's ultimately up to you who you hire which is what's wrong with the hiring process, so out of all those qualified people how did you know that person you hired at the end does truly "want to work here" or "grow in a position?" compared to the others you declined the job to? All a personal interview does is get you to hire somebody you like and who the "other guys" like on a personal level which is the same as joining a fraternity, would the frat brothers want a semi-fat, short guy who has the credentials or the tall, good looking guy who has the same credentials even though they have the same great personality? And who the heck goes to a job interview and acts like a jackass unless they are intentionally sabotaging their interview just to get their parents of their backs?


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## tomabq (Jan 14, 2015)

Argantes said:


> Even though the pay sucks and amounts to only 10-12 bucks an hour on average for driving 30 hours a week, reason I don't quit is having to go through interviews for jobs (that is if they call you) after driving for 2+ years and talking to every person I could, I couldn't believe how many people had bachelors degree's and were working at restaurants and shops making the same to 1-2 dollars more an hour than me, seems like you need a masters degree these days to get a job that pays 5k a month at least. So why go through the hassle of applying for a job that even people with bachelors degree's can't get in this economy (los angeles area) and dealing with employers asking stupid questions that don't mean a thing unless you rehearsed and wearing uncomfortable dress suits, not to mention wasting your time driving to the location and sitting waiting. As soon as they implement something where they hire you based on your resume and don't need to physically see you until the first day of work then I'll continue driving drunk brats around, grass is always greener right? Oh and I'm lazy and my breath stinks. Thank you for reading.


Hey if you have a bachelors degree you can always be a csr for$15 hr. Better than tearing up your car.


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## 20yearsdriving (Dec 14, 2014)

I personally only been in payroll 3 years out of 23

My money long term is in the rebel


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Argantes said:


> Eco- You get me
> 
> Slon- I hear what your saying but your saying exactly what I'm saying, you dig? Let me explain, you said everyone who applied can do the job but it's ultimately up to you who you hire which is what's wrong with the hiring process, so out of all those qualified people how did you know that person you hired at the end does truly "want to work here" or "grow in a position?" compared to the others you declined the job to? All a personal interview does is get you to hire somebody you like and who the "other guys" like on a personal level which is the same as joining a fraternity, would the frat brothers want a semi-fat, short guy who has the credentials or the tall, good looking guy who has the same credentials even though they have the same great personality? And who the heck goes to a job interview and acts like a jackass unless they are intentionally sabotaging their interview just to get their parents of their backs?


Welcome to the real world?

Why yes - the point of a personal interview is exactly to hire someone I like. What else could it possibly be!

I'm in IT. You think I give a shit if you're short and fat? Not one of us would ever be on the cover of Men's Health.

Fact is that work in general is about teamwork. Even if you get your own project that you alone carry 100% you are still working for a manager and you and this manager are thus a team because ultimately your manager is responsible for the deliverable as much as you - if you fail they will fail as well. You need to understand that good team dynamics go beyond "being able to do the job".

Frankly given the attitude in your posts, the sense of entitlement alone that you seem to have would bleed through whatever facade you'd throw up and I'd pass on you in a heartbeat regardless of your skill set. You seem to think that you deserve a job just because you think you have the skills and can do it. Were you to get it, you'd probably think you deserve better pay, less hours, and a promotion on top of it all. It's not up to you to decide that you deserve the job and if people have consistently picked other candidates over you - there is a reason for it and it's not some grand conspiracy against you or due to your looks unless you're a model.

Oh and plenty of people do in fact act like jackasses on interviews - I don't think they mean to or even realize it. For our position you get interviewed by at least 4 people with at least a decade of experience - and when we have passed on people it has always been unanimously. Think about that - people gave off such a bad vibe that out of 4 people nobody felt they wanted to work with them.

It's not that hard to tell if someone will be a good team player and a strong and passionate performer and a great deal of it is in how well they prepared for the interview. Do they at least know what the company does and do they remember the details of the job description? Can they ask reasonable questions about it? Do they sound like they actually give a shit about their current job?

I do something stupidly simple that has caught people again and again and it blows me away that people who on paper look dedicated and talented fall for it - during a phone screening I ask quite a few technical questions and you are bound to get something wrong; when you do I explain exactly what the right answer is in great depth and detail and record that you got it wrong - when I ask the same thing face to face and you get it completely wrong - what conclusion do you think I draw from that?

I wish you the best in your 'career' as an Uber Partner; many people on this forum who drive full time deserve a better source of income - but not all.


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## Argantes (Dec 12, 2015)

Slon said:


> Welcome to the real world?
> 
> Why yes - the point of a personal interview is exactly to hire someone I like. What else could it possibly be!
> 
> ...


World of IT? Dang son, what are you doing in the Uber Forums and not on the IT Forums? Are you a driver as well? Your particular skill set not pay enough or do you just have all the time in the world to visit and post on random forums? Must be a cushy job you got.

Teamwork? That's great and all but who the heck is talking about teamwork, I'm talking about hiring somebody based on your liking of him/her, you will not know how good of a team player you have until you actually work with the person but that's after you "hired" him because you thought to yourself "hey, this guy is cool."

Sense of entitlement? Where you getting these assumptions? My post is about why I don't quit and I list the reasons why, I didn't go around and say "ya, I' m the "best" IT guy on here but I'm too lazy and important to apply for the position." I stated that interviews were a waste of time because you people just hire who you like not who's most qualified, there you see I made an assumption out of you as well.

I'm sorry that you don't think being an Uber/Taxi driver is a career compared to your precious IT work, but it's still a job and we don't have to hold down our heads because we drive people around all day while you sit on your butt all day interviewing frat boys and hire the ones who drink the same amount as you and have an eye for the secretary. While it may not be the most glamorous job but it saves lives, what did your job do today? Helped some poor guy retrieve his porn collection after he formatted by mistake?

Don't work too hard buddy, but remember we Uber drivers will be here to take you home safely after your long tiring day of interviewing people and helping opie find his lost files.


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Argantes said:


> World of IT? Dang son, what are you doing in the Uber Forums and not on the IT Forums? Are you a driver as well? Your particular skill set not pay enough or do you just have all the time in the world to visit and post on random forums? Must be a cushy job you got.
> 
> Teamwork? That's great and all but who the heck is talking about teamwork, I'm talking about hiring somebody based on your liking of him/her, you will not know how good of a team player you have until you actually work with the person but that's after you "hired" him because you thought to yourself "hey, this guy is cool."
> 
> ...


This is gold.

You're one special snow flake.

Maybe one day you'll grow up.


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## dnlbaboof (Nov 13, 2015)

health issues are the main reason I stuck with uber, but now I found another delivery job for 14 bucks an hour, by uber


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## 20yearsdriving (Dec 14, 2014)

Argantes said:


> World of IT? Dang son, what are you doing in the Uber Forums and not on the IT Forums? Are you a driver as well? Your particular skill set not pay enough or do you just have all the time in the world to visit and post on random forums? Must be a cushy job you got.
> 
> Teamwork? That's great and all but who the heck is talking about teamwork, I'm talking about hiring somebody based on your liking of him/her, you will not know how good of a team player you have until you actually work with the person but that's after you "hired" him because you thought to yourself "hey, this guy is cool."
> 
> ...


IT was great 2 decades ago 
Before they imported all those IT couples from india


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## IckyDoody (Sep 18, 2015)

Argantes said:


> Oh and I'm lazy and my breath stinks. Thank you for reading.


this pretty much sums up why, at 40ish years old, having had plenty of good ole american opportunity, i find myself driving uber full time.


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## IckyDoody (Sep 18, 2015)

Tequila Jake said:


> I was thinking about posting a similar thread. I've been driving about 3 weeks and after running numbers every which way, it's very clear this is an unsustainable business model for drivers at current rates. I figure per mile rates would have to increase 80% just to break even here in Phoenix.
> 
> However, it is very good for generating cash flow and that is important for many of us. I took this on as a "part-time" venture because of the cash flow. In my case, I'm anticipating being out of work for up to 6 weeks this summer (for medical reasons) and so I'm building up a reserve in anticipation of that eventuality.
> 
> ...


If you have a late model car, you would be much better off selling your car and buying an old sh*t box if your concern is generating cash flow. Zero time invested with the same net profit outcome (zero).


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## mizzrock (Jan 3, 2015)

IckyDoody said:


> this pretty much sums up why, at 40ish years old, having had plenty of good ole american opportunity, i find myself driving uber full time.


This is the exact same reason for me. Uber allows me time to waste on my hobbies.


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## UberDriverNoMo (Feb 6, 2016)

Tequila Jake said:


> I was thinking about posting a similar thread. I've been driving about 3 weeks and after running numbers every which way, it's very clear this is an unsustainable business model for drivers at current rates. I figure per mile rates would have to increase 80% just to break even here in Phoenix.
> 
> However, it is very good for generating cash flow and that is important for many of us. I took this on as a "part-time" venture because of the cash flow. In my case, I'm anticipating being out of work for up to 6 weeks this summer (for medical reasons) and so I'm building up a reserve in anticipation of that eventuality.
> 
> ...


If you really do the math, you are only generating coin for Uber. Just using the AAA cost per mile of $.56, every mile you drive is on you, and as you will increase the cost per mile when operating over the baseline AAA uses, you will spend more. Just because money is flowing, doesn't mean any of it is yours. For every mile you drive and don't keep up with the costs per mile of operation, you dig a hole. If you want cash flow, go work at McDs and the only cost per mile you have is getting to/from the drive through window.


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## dirtylee (Sep 2, 2015)

Yeah, being self employed does have its benefits. Uber only opened your eyes slightly to the game. Learn a skill others will pay for & your life will improve.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

UberDriverNoMo said:


> If you really do the math, you are only generating coin for Uber. Just using the AAA cost per mile of $.56, every mile you drive is on you, and as you will increase the cost per mile when operating over the baseline AAA uses, you will spend more. Just because money is flowing, doesn't mean any of it is yours. For every mile you drive and don't keep up with the costs per mile of operation, you dig a hole. If you want cash flow, go work at McDs and the only cost per mile you have is getting to/from the drive through window.


why do people insist on using the bogus $$/mile generated by the IRS/other organizations. It's not reality unless you're driving a really inefficient/expensive car

Assuming (like me) you didn't buy a car specifically for uber (i bought this specific car for uber, but would have bought it anyway, it was a good deal!), and costs like registration/insurance would be paid anyway... those costs amortize (DECREASE per mile per mile hah) per mile driven anyway

my actual running costs (fuel, maintenance) that scale per distance driven come to about 11.75c/mile (and that's fuel at 3.5/gal, and higher labour rates for maintenance etc.).. a cheap to run car in the USA shouldn't cost more than 5-7.5c/mile really. 10c if you want to factor in REALLY heavy depreciation. Depreciation is much of a muchness, but i'd say at worst for me it adds another MAYBE 1.5c/mile. I'm already calculating my car as fully depreciating over 5 yrs, i'll sell it after 3-4, so the added miles don't add any depreciation in value as far as i'm concerned.

11.75c/mile. not 56, not whatever other arbitrary value. Calculate it real world ffs.

and why I'm ubering? It pays better than dominos for an easier less stressful job. Plus it took my 12 months to get my current full time job and over 1000 applications (an apprenticeship), i get paid peanuts at my day job and need a top up that i can drive as many or as few hours as i like


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## MikesUber (Oct 23, 2015)

tomabq said:


> Hey if you have a bachelors degree you can always be a csr for$15 hr. Better than tearing up your car.


Like me lol although I make more than $15/hr and got the MBA to keep climbing!


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

flinchy said:


> why do people insist on using the bogus $$/mile generated by the IRS/other organizations. It's not reality unless you're driving a really inefficient/expensive car
> 
> Assuming (like me) you didn't buy a car specifically for uber (i bought this specific car for uber, but would have bought it anyway, it was a good deal!), and costs like registration/insurance would be paid anyway... those costs amortize (DECREASE per mile per mile hah) per mile driven anyway
> 
> ...


LOL. Travis takes advantage of your denial.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

Greguzzi said:


> LOL. Travis takes advantage of your denial.


Takes advantage of having adequate mathematical skills*


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

flinchy said:


> Takes advantage of having adequate mathematical skills*


Sure thing, Travis.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

Greguzzi said:


> Sure thing, Travis.


I'm glad you understand, Greg.


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

flinchy said:


> my actual running costs (fuel, maintenance) that scale per distance driven come to about 11.75c/mile (and that's fuel at 3.5/gal, and higher labour rates for maintenance etc.).. a cheap to run car in the USA shouldn't cost more than 5-7.5c/mile really. 10c if you want to factor in REALLY heavy depreciation. Depreciation is much of a muchness, but i'd say at worst for me it adds another MAYBE 1.5c/mile. I'm already calculating my car as fully depreciating over 5 yrs, i'll sell it after 3-4, so the added miles don't add any depreciation in value as far as i'm concerned.


I want to see your numbers. There is no way you can run a car for 7.5c per mile.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

Slon said:


> I want to see your numbers. There is no way you can run a car for 7.5c per mile.


Everything's upside-down in the Land of Convicts-even math. He can shirley drive for $0.05 per mile if he squints at the figures hard enough. Travis assures him of this.


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Greguzzi said:


> Everything's upside-down in the Land of Convicts-even math. He can shirley drive for $0.05 per mile if he squints at the figures hard enough. Travis assures him of this.


I figure it's another case of someone just looking at their mpg and thinking it's the only cost of driving. It's not. Not even close.

http://newsroom.aaa.com/2015/04/annual-cost-operate-vehicle-falls-8698-finds-aaa/


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Argantes said:


> Eco- You get me
> 
> Slon- I hear what your saying but your saying exactly what I'm saying, you dig? Let me explain, you said everyone who applied can do the job but it's ultimately up to you who you hire which is what's wrong with the hiring process, so out of all those qualified people how did you know that person you hired at the end does truly "want to work here" or "grow in a position?" compared to the others you declined the job to? All a personal interview does is get you to hire somebody you like and who the "other guys" like on a personal level which is the same as joining a fraternity, would the frat brothers want a semi-fat, short guy who has the credentials or the tall, good looking guy who has the same credentials even though they have the same great personality? And who the heck goes to a job interview and acts like a jackass unless they are intentionally sabotaging their interview just to get their parents of their backs?


This is actually very true. Research has shown that unless it's a very structured interview, it's all about the perceived likeability of the person. Unfortunately first impressions are not always correct, and this causes many "bad" hires.

Ted Bundy apparently was very likeable to those who met him.

Oh, and the interviewers all think THEY are somehow different, better judges. Again, research does not support that. We tend to think attractive people are smarter and nicer--we just tell ourselves there's another reason. We don't even realise we're biased.

Unconscious racial and gender discrimination is also an issue. Of course that's an issue just looking at the name on the resume.

Two other points: yes, the poster is still lazy. And BTW I have a biology degree.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

tomabq said:


> Hey if you have a bachelors degree you can always be a csr for$15 hr. Better than tearing up your car.


Only if you're in the Philippines now.


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> This is actually very true. Research has shown that unless it's a very structured interview, it's all about the perceived likeability of the person. Unfortunately first impressions are not always correct, and this causes many "bad" hires.
> 
> Ted Bundy apparently was very likeable to those who met him.
> 
> ...


Please post the research.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Slon said:


> Please post the research.


Google:
attractive people interview bias

name resume interview bias

gender resume interview bias

You'll find tons of studies. This is well documented fact.


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## Thatendedbadly (Feb 8, 2016)

Argantes said:


> Even though the pay sucks and amounts to only 10-12 bucks an hour on average for driving 30 hours a week, reason I don't quit is having to go through interviews for jobs (that is if they call you) after driving for 2+ years and talking to every person I could, I couldn't believe how many people had bachelors degree's and were working at restaurants and shops making the same to 1-2 dollars more an hour than me, seems like you need a masters degree these days to get a job that pays 5k a month at least. So why go through the hassle of applying for a job that even people with bachelors degree's can't get in this economy (los angeles area) and dealing with employers asking stupid questions that don't mean a thing unless you rehearsed and wearing uncomfortable dress suits, not to mention wasting your time driving to the location and sitting waiting. As soon as they implement something where they hire you based on your resume and don't need to physically see you until the first day of work then I'll continue driving drunk brats around, grass is always greener right? Oh and I'm lazy and my breath stinks. Thank you for reading.


Fortunately I'm hoping that this is a very short term gig, in this area it would be nigh impossible to earn what I consider an acceptable income. And when I go back to full time employment I may keep my account active by doing the bare minimum number of fares but at the rate I'm going now it may be another two weeks before I hit my first 100 fares and I'm above 50 now. I keep a running tab of my fares on the driver app, would like to hit a number everyday but if my hourly net is a certain number I've decided that for my own morale and pocketbook it's best to simply go offline. They have enough drivers online willing to chase those.30/30 fares or ludicrous guarantees, pretty sure they won't miss me.


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> Google:
> attractive people interview bias
> 
> name resume interview bias
> ...


Whoa name and gender are totally not what we are talking about here as these all happen BEFORE the interview - and as far as "attractive" - come on that applies to EVERYTHING.


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## uberguuber (Feb 23, 2015)

I am lazy too. in fact I didn't even read your entire post.


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

20yearsdriving said:


> IT was great 2 decades ago
> Before they imported all those IT couples from india


And what happened next is even worse: I have never seen an Indian IT manager hire any non-Indian. American nationals included. And it is not about skills. They simply bring their people and get away with it. IT is ****ed up because of their nepotism.


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## 20yearsdriving (Dec 14, 2014)

UberXTampa said:


> And what happened next is even worse: I have never seen an Indian IT manager hire any non-Indian. American nationals included. And it is not about skills. They simply bring their people and get away with it. IT is ****ed up because of their nepotism.


It's happening at large 
Edison has a scout program in India 
They will give you a job 
and help with the work visa


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

I 


20yearsdriving said:


> It's happening at large
> Edison has a scout program in India
> They will give you a job
> and help with the work visa


I blame the Brits for teaching them English


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

Slon said:


> I want to see your numbers. There is no way you can run a car for 7.5c per mile.





http://imgur.com/a1Go6kx


That's my approx running cost per kilometer there

Add maybe 1 cent for brakes every 200 k or s

Minus 1.5-2c/km for DIY servicing (likely what I'll do)

So about 14.4c AUD/mile (1.6 miles per kilometer

I have the car already so don't factor in registration etc, which doesn't vary per kilometer driven anyway.

That's almost exactly .1 USD

I'm going to convert everything to USA prices in a couple of minutes, local fuel and tyre prices etc.

Edit: assuming slightly cheaper servicing with lower labour rates etc... I know you guys get ****ed with vw servicing etc a lot over there, but so do we lol

Edit: I messed up 'service c', should be $800 or so for a shop to do... but still you get the idea lol. Less than a cent extra per kilometer.

9 ish cents per mile with everything swapped to USA prices is what I'm getting.

without actually calculating for DIY, I'd guesstimate 8 ish. 


Greguzzi said:


> Everything's upside-down in the Land of Convicts-even math. He can shirley drive for $0.05 per mile if he squints at the figures hard enough. Travis assures him of this.


No you see, plus is minus and vice versa here, get confused with the conversion all the time!


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## TeamCruze (Feb 2, 2016)

Plus don't forget to deduct 10% gst from each trip that you have to give to the Government at tax time.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

Denial. Our Internal Revenue Service is not in the business of allowing unjustified tax deductions, and they say that it costs $0.56 per m lie to operate a car, if you account for all the costs. Everybody thinks they know better, until their car breaks down and they have saved no money to pay for it.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

TeamCruze said:


> Plus don't forget to deduct 10% gst from each trip that you have to give to the Government at tax time.


1/11th of gross ( 9.09%), minus gst input credits, plus (net minus expenses) at your marginal tax rate in aus.



Greguzzi said:


> Denial. Our Internal Revenue Service is not in the business of allowing unjustified tax deductions, and they say that it costs $0.56 per m lie to operate a car, if you account for all the costs. Everybody thinks they know better, until their car breaks down and they have saved no money to pay for it.


My math doesn't lie lol..

The .56 figure accounts for depreciation for a brand new average car (whatever price that is), insurance, registration etc etc. (For me it's.. $27 a week I'm allocating to replace my car with an equivalent in ~4 yrs regardless of uber)

And when you're examining profitability of driving for uber *using a car you would have already*, you don't allocate those costs against it.

Since I need my car for day job anyway, in my personal budget spreadsheet that goes against day job income, even though a % is deductible because uber use is high.

Your thoughts appear to be similar to a lot of people on here though (assuming you're not being sarcastic).

Edit: bought my Oct 2009 car with 292000 km on it for $6k +on road costs.. it was about 35k brand new... there's really not much value left to lose even if I put 200 k more on it haha)


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## TeamCruze (Feb 2, 2016)

What about the new uber price cut that kicks in on Friday have you redone the math to acount for the new price structure?


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

TeamCruze said:


> What about the new uber price cut that kicks in on Friday have you redone the math to acount for the new price structure?


The above math has nothing to do with how much you CAN earn per hour, just how much it costs to earn said... earning

Though nothing I can see for rate reductions in melbourne.. you guys getting screwed up there in qld?


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## TeamCruze (Feb 2, 2016)

No I think it's across whole of Australia.. Perth Brisbane have confirmed reductions.. Check your email..


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

TeamCruze said:


> No I think it's across whole of Australia.. Perth Brisbane have confirmed reductions.. Check your email..


Nothing in mine

Crazy though, it's already been cut and not raised a few times over the last couple of years no?

Don't really get why, riders don't get notified of the extra cheapness as far as I'm aware, so not like it's enticing..

Edit: just had friends telling me they're getting notified of some Samsung promotion anyway, people getting phones and headphones and stuff free.

Rider more important than driver it seems.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

flinchy said:


> 1/11th of gross ( 9.09%), minus gst input credits, plus (net minus expenses) at your marginal tax rate in aus.
> 
> My math doesn't lie lol..
> 
> ...


This is a per-mile rate applied to all miles for which the car is driven for business. Depreciation is a minor component of it but one that applies to any car.

If you do not apply a similar rate to every mile you drive for Uber and pack away most of it for the inevitable repairs and maintenance and insurance and . . . , you are just another Uberfool who is in denial of how little money he is actually making and will sooner or later be smacked down by reality.

Whatever, though. Travis counts on an endless supply of Uberfools, and he finds them, too.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

Greguzzi said:


> This is a per-mile rate applied to all miles for which the car is driven for business. Depreciation is a minor component of it but one that applies to any car.
> 
> If you do not apply a similar rate to every mile you drive for Uber and pack away most of it for the inevitable repairs and maintenance and insurance and . . . , you are just another Uberfool who is in denial of how little money he is actually making and will sooner or later be smacked down by reality.
> 
> Whatever, though. Travis counts on an endless supply of Uberfools, and he finds them, too.


Do the sums for your car, I'm eat my hat if it's anywhere near 56c/mile to run

Heck, if it costs 56c/mile, maybe it'll wake you up to get a new car (saw a new pri us is something like 18c/mile at worst?)

I'm packing away the figures I have above (plus about 10% on the repair amount) I know what the repairs cost

Stick your fingers in your ear and lala la all you want, it won't make my car cost even half of 56c/mile to run haha.. again, even 100% worst case scenario paying someone for all maintenance etc i'd say it's around 15c/mile for me with my expensive fuel, tyres, parts etc.

The actual numbers don't lie.

Though I guess it's not my problem if you work off 56c/mile and believe it makes ubering unprofitable for you.


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

flinchy said:


> http://imgur.com/a1Go6kx
> 
> 
> That's my approx running cost per kilometer there
> ...


Your maintenance costs are absurdly low. There is WAY more to a car than brakes, tires and timing belts. Stupid things like CV joints, engine mounts, suspension, O2 sensors etc will wear out heavily on a car driven for Uber. It all adds up - and all of it is WAY more than the tyres and oil you allocated.

Look at your actual annual spending - it'll be much more than what you are expecting.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

Slon said:


> Your maintenance costs are absurdly low. There is WAY more to a car than brakes, tires and timing belts. Stupid things like CV joints, engine mounts, suspension, O2 sensors etc will wear out heavily on a car driven for Uber. It all adds up - and all of it is WAY more than the tyres and oil you allocated.
> 
> Look at your actual annual spending - it'll be much more than what you are expecting.


Insurance doesn't vary per mile driven (saw that mentioned in email lol)

It's a weekly extra cost for me at $20 per week (drive enough and that's a small fraction of a cent lol)

And yes hence I said I'd add a cent or two per kilometer on top.. looking through the history though, this car seems to not chew those items luckily.. and even then it's a once per 150-200k thing and not too pricey if you know where to get parts etc.

and again, not even counting the fact I'll almost certainly diy the maintenance which (opportunity cost aside) is a good 60% discount there.

It's still a long long way from 56/mile no matter how you spin it.

Timing belt and dsg fluid are by far the most pricey service items as one offs (and tyres I guess).. and minor services add up fast


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

flinchy said:


> Insurance doesn't vary per mile driven (saw that mentioned in email lol)
> 
> It's a weekly extra cost for me at $20 per week (drive enough and that's a small fraction of a cent lol)
> 
> ...


Insurance DOES vary per mile driven. At least in the US. If you tell your insurance you drive 5k it's going to be a lower rate than if you drive 50k.

Even if you do the service yourself, your time isn't free. I've done a full engine rebuilt myself and after that shit was over I think I would have rather paid someone the $2k to do it.

With that said, doing it yourself is a tremendous savings but you aren't being honest with yourself when you assume it's free and it's certainly not the case for the vast majority of drivers who lack the time, tools, space or simply ability to do the work themselves.

I actually do not know the cost/mile for my Uber car yet as it's too new and I dare not guess. My 4Runner is at ~15c/mile in maintenance alone, but it's a 1997 with ~240k on it. This is not an estimate. This is my actual out of pocket cost for the past 3 years and that is the truck I rebuilt the engine on so if I counted all the time I sunk into the work or the tools I had bought specifically to do the job it'd be higher. My Audi S4 is less than 5c/mile in maintenance but has ~26k miles on it so I am only counting services not covered by warranty - so things like snow tires are in there.


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## Jack_Jones (Feb 16, 2016)

flinchy said:


> Edit: bought my Oct 2009 car with 292000 km on it for $6k +on road costs.. it was about 35k brand new... there's really not much value left to lose even if I put 200 k more on it haha)


6gran for 300k!??!?! wow you got ripped off, sorry


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

flinchy said:


> Do the sums for your car, I'm eat my hat if it's anywhere near 56c/mile to run
> 
> Heck, if it costs 56c/mile, maybe it'll wake you up to get a new car (saw a new pri us is something like 18c/mile at worst?)
> 
> ...


LOL. Denial must be a river in Austria.


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## I_Love_Uber_Not (Jan 28, 2016)

Argantes said:


> Even though the pay sucks and amounts to only 10-12 bucks an hour on average for driving 30 hours a week, reason I don't quit is having to go through interviews for jobs (that is if they call you) after driving for 2+ years and talking to every person I could, I couldn't believe how many people had bachelors degree's and were working at restaurants and shops making the same to 1-2 dollars more an hour than me, seems like you need a masters degree these days to get a job that pays 5k a month at least. So why go through the hassle of applying for a job that even people with bachelors degree's can't get in this economy (los angeles area) and dealing with employers asking stupid questions that don't mean a thing unless you rehearsed and wearing uncomfortable dress suits, not to mention wasting your time driving to the location and sitting waiting. As soon as they implement something where they hire you based on your resume and don't need to physically see you until the first day of work then I'll continue driving drunk brats around, grass is always greener right? Oh and I'm lazy and my breath stinks. Thank you for reading.


But those same people do not destroy their car doing Taxi work, and no you don't make $10-$12 with Uber or Lyft, you are the typical Uber driver, Uber and TK loves you.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

Slon said:


> Insurance DOES vary per mile driven. At least in the US. If you tell your insurance you drive 5k it's going to be a lower rate than if you drive 50k.
> 
> Even if you do the service yourself, your time isn't free. I've done a full engine rebuilt myself and after that shit was over I think I would have rather paid someone the $2k to do it.
> 
> ...


hmm you slightly misunderstand my insurance comment

Here in aus at least, insurers don't distinguish past 20,000 km, which is below average anyway

What I mean is.. I pay $20 per week extra for insurance to cover my ubering

The more km per week I do for uber, the further amortized that cost is against earnings/kilometers driven.. so if you do 1km it's $20/km.. 1000km drops it down to 2c/km

yes it's a meaningful cost and I realize I should include it in that spreadsheet. . But yeah that's what I meant by doesn't increase. For me and people who live in this country at least, is a relatively flat cost.

Re:servicing, yes that's what I meant by the 'opportunity cost' comment

Whether you could spend the few hours servicing it earning money by driving, and are better off paying to get it done (part of which (15-20%) you get back at tax time anyway), and are better off paying to get it done in the day when you're at a day job... depends how much your local mechanics like to rip you off 

And yes, I know a lot of people are unable to do it for one reason or another, hence I kept the full cost of a shop doing it in my spreadsheet

Plus, things like brake and oil changes, especially in the USA. . Can be insanely cheap, done while you wait style.. even if they're something even the most novice novice can do at home. Whether it's worth diy or paying is very much an individual thing.

For me specifically, I'm a mechanic (in training) and already have a lot of tools, all I'm lacking now is a jack and stands ($200), since i just sold them stupidly.. which is itself tax deductible.



Jack_Jones said:


> 6gran for 300k!??!?! wow you got ripped off, sorry


Australia, not usa

Kilometers, not miles

Cheapest in the country by like $3000-4000+, no word of a lie drives and shifts like new, best car I've ever owned (and my last car was low mileage bmw 130i).. I literally can't insure it for less than something like $11,500.. the insurers won't accept any value less than that.

full service history (not detailed, but the book is full). I fully expect this to hit at least 500k, its a diesel lol. which it probably will before I no longer own it. Interior and exterior mint, not a single scratch, dent, rip or tear (except obvious wear/weak places like steering wheel and shift boot)



Greguzzi said:


> LOL. Denial must be a river in Austria.


Nah, just math is a subject in school here.


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## Greguzzi (Jan 9, 2016)

LOL. Some people really do make "life-changing money"—in their own minds.


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## dutch369 (Jun 24, 2014)

Slon said:


> Insurance DOES vary per mile driven. At least in the US. If you tell your insurance you drive 5k it's going to be a lower rate than if you drive 50k.
> 
> Even if you do the service yourself, your time isn't free. I've done a full engine rebuilt myself and after that shit was over I think I would have rather paid someone the $2k to do it.
> 
> ...


Slon, simple question, why do you drive for Uber/lyft?


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

dutch369 said:


> Slon, simple question, why do you drive for Uber/lyft?


Well...so...ok....you got to understand I'm being fully honest here:

My dog set my kitchen on fire.

Yes insurance is covering a ton of the repairs but we are trying to do some much needed home improvement on top of that and while we had been saving up for a new roof, deck, sunroom and a bunch of other things, the fire kinda pushed out timeline forward by about 3-4 years. In total we're probably looking at ~130k of work of that 60k is insurance. We're about 20-30k short without dipping into our long term savings like 401ks so I will need to borrow it, will probably dump it on a personal loan then roll it into a HELOC after the construction is finished so that I can roll it in on a new appraisal.

Now don't think I expect Uber to cover the shortfall - but to me it's essentially disposable income. I fire the app up during surge hours, get a ping - great, that's at least a 6 pack of some good craft beer I can buy without having to feel like I'm squandering my 'real' income which I feel should be going towards the house.

In short, this is a supplemental disposable income gig for me while I sink all my real income into the house.


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## Fuzzyelvis (Dec 7, 2014)

Slon said:


> Whoa name and gender are totally not what we are talking about here as these all happen BEFORE the interview - and as far as "attractive" - come on that applies to EVERYTHING.


 Then why did you ask for more information?


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## Slon (Dec 25, 2015)

Fuzzyelvis said:


> Then why did you ask for more information?


I thought we were specifically talking about how face to face interviews are bullshit and people get picked by interviewers on essentially bullshit criteria - which I very much disagree with.

Yes good looks will get you an edge - everywhere, and being named Daquan or Deoshenique isn't going to help your resume get noticed in a good way and yes some people will shitcan women on principle - but the last two have nothing to do with face to face interviews. I changed my name when I became a citizen precisely to avoid my resume ending up in the dumpster.


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## Jack_Jones (Feb 16, 2016)

flinchy said:


> Australia, not usa
> 
> Kilometers, not miles


no worries mate, im from canada, so km we use here, cad/aud is even +/- (currently cadaud is 1.02) 
thats a bad deal man, at least here in canada that shouldnt run more than 2 MAX, id prob offer 1500 for that, but again, aus market may be different, but even then, its prob cheaper for u to ship a car from canada to aus for that price for future


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

Jack_Jones said:


> no worries mate, im from canada, so km we use here, cad/aud is even +/- (currently cadaud is 1.02)
> thats a bad deal man, at least here in canada that shouldnt run more than 2 MAX, id prob offer 1500 for that, but again, aus market may be different, but even then, its prob cheaper for u to ship a car from canada to aus for that price for future


yeah cars cost more here

Like i said, it's about a $35k car brand new.. so 35k to 6k in 6.3 years is CRAZY depreciation.. over 80% of it's value lost in that time when it's normally more like 50% loss in 5 years as a rough guide.

insurance still values it at 11-15k.

and haha, laws here don't allow that, plus shipping alone would be a couple thousand


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## Darrell Green Fan (Feb 9, 2016)

I still don't buy the cost figure the government is calculating which are explained in that article Slon posted. As a new poster apparently I'm not allowed to quote a post or post a link. LOL

I don't drive for Uber but do for my sales job. The government rate my company reimburses me is frankly another revenue stream for me. As others posted most drivers will own a car anyway so calculating things like registration, car loans, even personal insurance (forget about commercial insurance, that's another topic and from what I've read most of you don't have it anyway), are costs we all would have if we didn't drive. Of course there is depreciation and more maintenance, but the article's figure of $766/year for maintenance isn't even close to reality. I bought a '12 Civic nearly 2 years ago. It's been driven 40,000 miles and the only maintenance has been regular oil changes. If the Government is calculating I'm spending $766/year and I'm spending closer to $100, and again without work miles I still would have needed half of those oil changes, well that's money in my pocket. As the car ages sure more maintenance will be expected. And clearly it will wear out sooner. But this is a Civic, not a Chevy Cavalier. Every Japanese compact I have ever owned went over 200,000 miles and didn't really start costing money for maintenance until well over 150,000.

Again don't think I agree at the low figure posted earlier which represented little more than gas. There is obviously more costs and depreciation to consider. But those figures are not even close to the government rate. At least in my case.


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## IckyDoody (Sep 18, 2015)

Darrell Green Fan said:


> I still don't buy the cost figure the government is calculating which are explained in that article Slon posted. As a new poster apparently I'm not allowed to quote a post or post a link. LOL
> 
> I don't drive for Uber but do for my sales job. The government rate my company reimburses me is frankly another revenue stream for me. As others posted most drivers will own a car anyway so calculating things like registration, car loans, even personal insurance (forget about commercial insurance, that's another topic and from what I've read most of you don't have it anyway), are costs we all would have if we didn't drive. Of course there is depreciation and more maintenance, but the article's figure of $766/year for maintenance isn't even close to reality. I bought a '12 Civic nearly 2 years ago. It's been driven 40,000 miles and the only maintenance has been regular oil changes. If the Government is calculating I'm spending $766/year and I'm spending closer to $100, and again without work miles I still would have needed half of those oil changes, well that's money in my pocket. As the car ages sure more maintenance will be expected. And clearly it will wear out sooner. But this is a Civic, not a Chevy Cavalier. Every Japanese compact I have ever owned went over 200,000 miles and didn't really start costing money for maintenance until well over 150,000.
> 
> Again don't think I agree at the low figure posted earlier which represented little more than gas. There is obviously more costs and depreciation to consider. But those figures are not even close to the government rate. At least in my case.


Has that civic hit 100k miles yet? That's the point where a bunch of maintenance hits. Shocks, timing belt-water pump, plugs. The first two cost about 2k.

Fwiw, I drive 6000 miles a month. I estimate the maintenance for my 04 accord (130k miles) to be 5 cents a mile, so 300 bucks a month.


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## Darrell Green Fan (Feb 9, 2016)

IckyDoody said:


> Has that civic hit 100k miles yet? That's the point where a bunch of maintenance hits. Shocks, timing belt-water pump, plugs. The first two cost about 2k.
> 
> Fwiw, I drive 6000 miles a month. I estimate the maintenance for my 04 accord (130k miles) to be 5 cents a mile, so 300 bucks a month.


Yeah I get that a car at 100,000 miles starts to cost more, been there done that. But I have to question your figures, again every car I have owned has gone close to 200,000 or over so I've been down this road a lot. And I'm an old guy so we're talking a lot of cars.

A timing belt and shocks/struts do not cost $2,000, it's more like half of that even with the water poump which you should obviously do. Sorry I find it hard to understand how a Civic with 130,000 miles costs $3,600 a year to maintain. You need a new car man, you appear to own one of the few lemon Civics ever made if your numbers are accurate. But then again 6,000/month is huge miles.


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## IckyDoody (Sep 18, 2015)

Darrell Green Fan said:


> Yeah I get that a car at 100,000 miles starts to cost more, been there done that. But I have to question your figures, again every car I have owned has gone close to 200,000 or over so I've been down this road a lot. And I'm an old guy so we're talking a lot of cars.
> 
> A timing belt and shocks/struts do not cost $2,000, it's more like half of that even with the water poump which you should obviously do. Sorry I find it hard to understand how a Civic with 130,000 miles costs $3,600 a year to maintain. You need a new car man, you appear to own one of the few lemon Civics ever made if your numbers are accurate. But then again 6,000/month is huge miles.


Accord, not civic.

The pertinent number is the cost per mile, not the yearly cost. The yearly cost is simply a function of cost per mile and miles driven.

Once you figure that tires alone ($500 every 50k miles) cost 1 cent per mile it may start to become more clear that 5 cents a mile for maintenance is actually a conservative estimate.


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## Darrell Green Fan (Feb 9, 2016)

IckyDoody said:


> Accord, not civic.
> 
> The pertinent number is the cost per mile, not the yearly cost. The yearly cost is simply a function of cost per mile and miles driven.
> 
> Once you figure that tires alone ($500 every 50k miles) cost 1 cent per mile it may start to become more clear that 5 cents a mile for maintenance is actually a conservative estimate.


Good morning, thanks for the reply. OK so even at .05/mile and gas at 35 MPG we aren't even close to the government rate. Again I get the depreciation, and I don't drive near the miles you do so I won't need a new car every 4 years. And unlike a deduction I do in fact get reimbursed. My point is it's not costing me anywhere close to what my comapny is reimbursing me at .54 mile


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## Jamesh (Sep 5, 2015)

"There is a sucker born every minute", and you folks sure fall into that statement by P.T.Barnum. The .54 cents per mile includes gas, insurance (which most of you do not carry contrary to your insurance companies wishes), depreciation (regardless of the age of your ride), regular maintenance (oil filter and oil, trans fluid and filter, tune ups, cleaning supplies and cleaning time, etc.). If you are working just to scrap your car let me make you an offer. Stop working for Uber and give me your car. You will be better off. You will have the time to sit in front of your TV, get fat, and watch or play games on your puter. For sure you will be too lazy to look for a real job that actually pays you money.


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## Darrell Green Fan (Feb 9, 2016)

Jamesh said:


> "There is a sucker born every minute", and you folks sure fall into that statement by P.T.Barnum. The .54 cents per mile includes gas, insurance (which most of you do not carry contrary to your insurance companies wishes), depreciation (regardless of the age of your ride), regular maintenance (oil filter and oil, trans fluid and filter, tune ups, cleaning supplies and cleaning time, etc.). If you are working just to scrap your car let me make you an offer. Stop working for Uber and give me your car. You will be better off. You will have the time to sit in front of your TV, get fat, and watch or play games on your puter. For sure you will be too lazy to look for a real job that actually pays you money.


Just wondering why you waste your time on a ride share message board if this is how you feel. Is it to make posts like this in hopes of setting the idiots straight? Does it make you feel all smart and stuff?


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## I_Love_Uber_Not (Jan 28, 2016)

flinchy said:


> 1/11th of gross ( 9.09%), minus gst input credits, plus (net minus expenses) at your marginal tax rate in aus.
> 
> My math doesn't lie lol..
> 
> ...


The issue here is using the car for business with the added mileage will depreciate the car 10 fold, also if the car where to play you 10 years with normal casual use, using it as a Taxi running out 12 hours a day noon stop will only get you a good 5 years out of it with more maintenance costs. 
The question is have you earned enough after all is said and done for replacement costs, I doubt it very much, from what I have noticed on this forum which pretty much speaks for all the new Uber Taxi drivers out there, that they are pretty much using their cars value to pay themselves. Uber knows this, and the reason for the high turnover ratio of drivers, the few wise ones get out before it's too late, and they are replaced by new unassuming fresh meat who never ran a business in their life, and have no clue how to. And the Uber show goes on.


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## Darrell Green Fan (Feb 9, 2016)

I_Love_Uber_Not said:


> The issue here is using the car for business with the added mileage will depreciate the car 10 fold, also if the car where to play you 10 years with normal casual use, using it as a Taxi running out 12 hours a day noon stop will only get you a good 5 years out of it with more maintenance costs.
> The question is have you earned enough after all is said and done for replacement costs, I doubt it very much, from what I have noticed on this forum which pretty much speaks for all the new Uber Taxi drivers out there, that they are pretty much using their cars value to pay themselves. Uber knows this, and the reason for the high turnover ratio of drivers, the few wise ones get out before it's too late, and they are replaced by new unassuming fresh meat who never ran a business in their life, and have no clue how to. And the Uber show goes on.


I totally get the replacement cost argument amd have addressed it. But again in my circumstance I drive maybe 5,000-8,000 work miles a year on cars I take to 250,000 on average. So that .57/mile or whatever it is works out well for me You guys that are driving 60,000 a year need a new car every 4-5 years.


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## flinchy (Feb 13, 2016)

I_Love_Uber_Not said:


> The issue here is using the car for business with the added mileage will depreciate the car 10 fold, also if the car where to play you 10 years with normal casual use, using it as a Taxi running out 12 hours a day noon stop will only get you a good 5 years out of it with more maintenance costs.
> The question is have you earned enough after all is said and done for replacement costs, I doubt it very much, from what I have noticed on this forum which pretty much speaks for all the new Uber Taxi drivers out there, that they are pretty much using their cars value to pay themselves. Uber knows this, and the reason for the high turnover ratio of drivers, the few wise ones get out before it's too late, and they are replaced by new unassuming fresh meat who never ran a business in their life, and have no clue how to. And the Uber show goes on.


why are you replying to me without reading my posts?

I addressed all that... especially for me, my car has ALREADY depreciated to ~15% of it's original value in only 6.5 years..

there's basically nothing left TO depreciate for me haha.

and for me personally, since i need a car to get to day job anyway, i budget for replacing in 3-5 years against my day job anyway.


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