# At a crossroad on vehicle to get



## Ubercology (Oct 17, 2016)

I was hooked and subsequently spoiled by the Uber free rental that started early October 2016 and stopped 1/9/2017 in ATL and have continued a whole 5 weeks looking for options to move forward driving for Uber.

1. Uber Rental @ $215/week sucks.
2. Uber Xchange lease @ $158/week looks attractive but they are re-leasing used cars coming out of sour leases.
3. New car lease seems to be out because $0.10/mile overage will kill me.
4. Carvana and Carmax with car care at roughly $100/week (payment divided) looks attractive but the payment does not take into consideration the faster loss of value on the car with more miles. @ my part time 1K a week milage 50K miles a year can pretty much zero the car our before the payment run out.
5. New car purchase @$125/week (payment divided) is close to a new car and could get me more at say 1 year and 50K miles.

Uber Rental or Lease and new car lease seem to be out in my book. Unless I have over looked something there. I am debating used or new car purchase.

Has anyone done a workup on this with numbers or just have advice on whats the best route here.

Much appreciated.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

Ubercology said:


> my part time 1K a week milage 50K miles a year can pretty much zero the car our before the payment run out.


1000 miles a week is definitely not part time driving. I drive maybe 8 to 10 hours a week and put on about 200 miles for Uber.

Anyways, leases and rentals are always going to be the worst deals. You will pay 10k-12.5K a year and still not own the car at the end of it.

A traditional lease also wouldn't work since you drive so many miles.

Your best bet IMO is to buy a decent used car at least 5 years old so the depreciation has been taken on by someone else. Even if you put a lot of miles on the car, the car would have some resale value compared to what you paid for it.

With a new car you will not only eat the peak depreciation, people are less inclined to buy cars 1 or 2 years old with so many miles on them. It's a dead giveaway you beat it to death driving Uber.


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## bk102 (Nov 30, 2016)

Buy a used 2010 to 2012 for 6-8k. Will be plenty of life left and your depreciation won't hurt as bad


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## Ubercology (Oct 17, 2016)

bk102 said:


> Buy a used 2010 to 2012 for 6-8k. Will be plenty of life left and your depreciation won't hurt as bad


What about cost of fixing it and down time when we buy a that low a price. 6-8K is mostly a Craigslist, neighbor, friend or fam deal.


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## bk102 (Nov 30, 2016)

Gotta factor some in but a car with under 100k should hold up if you take care of it


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

Ubercology said:


> What about cost of fixing it and down time when we buy a that low a price. 6-8K is mostly a Craigslist, neighbor, friend or fam deal.


If you get a reliable brand a car that cheap won't cost too much in repairs. I have a corolla with 170k miles and haven't had to make any repairs.


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

You shouldn't be driving 1k miles just parttiming Fuber

Get an older XL and/or Select if you're intent on spending that much cash (and still spend less on them btw)

Otherwise, reconsider and get a police car or old Jetta or something



Ubercology said:


> I was hooked and subsequently spoiled by the Uber free rental that started early October 2016 and stopped 1/9/2017 in ATL and have continued a whole 5 weeks looking for options to move forward driving for Uber.
> 
> 1. Uber Rental @ $215/week sucks.
> 2. Uber Xchange lease @ $158/week looks attractive but they are re-leasing used cars coming out of sour leases.
> ...


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## DaveYanakov (Feb 17, 2017)

It pays to shop around for a reputable used dealer as well. Here in State College there are three semi-retired gentlemen off the beaten track who keep 6-8 cars in rotation for 6-15k. They pick up gently used cars at auction, refurbish what needs done and turn them around quickly. I got my '08 Camry from them for $8300 with 70k miles. I'm at 97k now and it's never had a problem outside of basic maintenance. Get a well made model, have a mechanic you trust look it over before you sign the papers and you should be golden


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

DaveYanakov said:


> I got my '08 Camry from them for $8300 with 70k miles.


That's horrible tho


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## DaveYanakov (Feb 17, 2017)

Adieu said:


> That's horrible tho


Not for the condition it was in. If it had been a beater on your average used lot, I'd agree with you


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## Adieu (Feb 21, 2016)

DaveYanakov said:


> Not for the condition it was in. If it had been a beater on your average used lot, I'd agree with you


You'd be surprised how many things that LOOK unsalvageable are actually cheap quick and simple fixes.

Especially regarding car interiors


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## DaveYanakov (Feb 17, 2017)

I paid my mechanic for a full inspection. I wouldn't buy a used car without that step as you're correct about interiors being easy polish. And yes, that would be too much for an 8-9 year old sedan but at the time it was a great deal


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## steveK2016 (Jul 31, 2016)

I had bought a 2013 Sonata for 12k that had 55k miles on it. Was a great car, its considered one of the best cars for Uber and they usually get 200k warranty if you buy at a hyundai dealership.

I agree with shangsta 1000 a week is not part time. I drive maybe 16 hours a week and put just a hair over 300 miles. If i drove 1000 miles id be well in the 40+ hours. Unless you're making laps on the highway while waiting for pings....


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## yojimboguy (Mar 2, 2016)

Part time is 16 hours a day. The other 8 are for the hookers and blow.


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## Ubercology (Oct 17, 2016)

steveK2016 said:


> If i drove 1000 miles id be well in the 40+ hours.


Very true. I am at 32 to 42 hours doing that 1K miles and week. So I agree I have a second job rather than a part time job.

I got hooked on the hours trying to complete the 75 rides needed for the ATL Fuber Rental at $0/week during Q4 2016. Fuber "boot camp". However that boot camp experience has paid off in the fact that it has proved to me that if I fund a car in any form or fashion and pay for gas and have ideas for say home improvements like a fence or take an alaskan cruise, I cannot reach those goals with less that 40 hours of 90% outside surge and boost because I am part time.

Today with the rental Albatross ($211-$249/week) I average minimum wage ($7.25/hour) with car and gas paid doing 40 hours a week. I am looking bumping that $3-$5 changing my vehicle option.


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## Matt's your driver (Nov 24, 2016)

Shangsta said:


> 1000 miles a week is definitely not part time driving. I drive maybe 8 to 10 hours a week and put on about 200 miles for Uber.
> 
> Anyways, leases and rentals are always going to be the worst deals. You will pay 10k-12.5K a year and still not own the car at the end of it.
> 
> ...


You are correct. Great post!
I got an '08 Jetta S. 2.5 for 3k.
I drive 8 to 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I could lease a toyota for 500+ a month; cheapest price.
Lol


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## Jimmy Bernat (Apr 12, 2016)

Matt's your driver said:


> You are correct. Great post!
> I got an '08 Jetta S. 2.5 for 3k.
> I drive 8 to 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.
> I could lease a toyota for 500+ a month; cheapest price.
> Lol


You're doing it the smart way for sure


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