# My car is from 1998



## John DeMaio (Dec 17, 2014)

I own a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis with under 70k miles on it. It was driven by a grandma and is in immaculate condition both for its exterior and interior.
Will I be able to drive this car for Uber? (uberx/uber black)

If not.. what about lyft and sidecar?

**UPDATE: Uber doesn't allow any vehicle that is registered as older than 2004, no exceptions!


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

I would be extremely surprised if they allowed you to use a 1998 vehicle.

It is 16yrs old.

Would you pay to be taken somewhere in a 16yr old vehicle?

Also a vehicle of that age and low mileage is likely to prove unreliable when pushed into high miles daily service.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

I'd pay to ride in it if it was immaculate, or even just very clean. I love older cars - until recently I drove an immaculate 1997 Infiniti G20. 

I sold it at 150k miles. All it ever needed in terms of repairs was a distributor (used, off eBay for $40, 15 minutes to fit) and a fuel pump (again, $40 used off eBay, 30 minutes to fit). That's it; apart from the usual oil changes, filters, brake pads, a battery etc. An amazingly reliable car 

I also liked it because its reliability and longevity made it very environmentally friendly - it provided 17 years of service to multiple owners. If all cars gave 17 years of service then fewer new cars would be built and sold. Each new car takes the energy equivalent of hundreds of barrels of oil to manufacture, plus raw materials obviously.

Conservation of resources and extending the lives of assets already manufactured is what we should care about. Not this silly, wasteful culture we have of throwing things away and, "your car must be 2007 or newer" etc when an older car will do the same job perfectly as well. All because of snobbery for snobbery's sake and no other reason. As if the Earth had limitless resources, and we're not using them up many times faster than we're finding them.

So yeah, I'd definitely ride in '98 Grand Marquis, and congratulate the owner on its condition.


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

I'm glad for you.

I would rather be picked up in a 2 or 3 yr old Prius.

Rather than something the thick end of 20yrs old.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

UberLuxbod said:


> I'm glad for you.
> 
> I would rather be picked up in a 2 or 3 yr old Prius.
> 
> Rather than something the thick end of 20yrs old.


That's fine; I know I'm in the minority with these opinions on this kind of thing. Most people do prefer newer over older.


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## DriversOfTheWorldUnite (Nov 11, 2014)

I'm not a car expert: is there any reason to care about how old a car is if it is in immaculate condition & has relatively low miles on it? Other than snobbery of course.


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## John DeMaio (Dec 17, 2014)

elelegido said:


> I'd pay to ride in it if it was immaculate, or even just very clean. I love older cars - until recently I drove an immaculate 1997 Infiniti G20.
> 
> I sold it at 150k miles. All it ever needed in terms of repairs was a distributor (used, off eBay for $40, 15 minutes to fit) and a fuel pump (again, $40 used off eBay, 30 minutes to fit). That's it; apart from the usual oil changes, filters, brake pads, a battery etc. An amazingly reliable car
> 
> ...


Hey thanks I never thought of my old car like that ! It can definitely be considered immaculate.


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## Khalvo (Dec 14, 2014)

DriversOfTheWorldUnite said:


> I'm not a car expert: is there any reason to care about how old a car is if it is in immaculate condition & has relatively low miles on it? Other than snobbery of course.


Or even the wifes car, which is immaculate inside and out but still 12 years old with more than 200k miles. We'll keep it until it stops working, as there's no point changing.


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## Optimus Uber (Oct 7, 2014)

Maybe lyft or side car. I dont think uber will take it.


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## grUBBER (Sep 11, 2014)

There is some uber-like dry cleaning app that accepts all kind of cars and they have free cookies for customers.


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

DriversOfTheWorldUnite said:


> I'm not a car expert: is there any reason to care about how old a car is if it is in immaculate condition & has relatively low miles on it? Other than snobbery of course.


Yes and no... No because a 1990 Lexus LS400 for example would give a very quiet, smooth and comfortable ride to pax. For drivers, newer cars would give better mpg but at the expense of huge depreciation.

But that 1990 car, in 1990, was a high priced new car subject to massive depreciation. What was once a consumerist greed object is now a more econo/enviro choice. There's the paradox - cars can't be the latter without first having been the former. If people hadn't bought them new back then, they wouldn't be available for other people to buy now for peanuts instead of buying a new vehicle.

Manufacturers' drive to make profits spurs innovation and technical advance. So if everyone shunned new, expensive shiny things which are only marginally better than the previous version of the same thing, we'd all be driving around in Model Ts.

"Sustainability" as a concept is touted as the answer to this paradox, but I think it is not.


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## dcsamurai (Nov 29, 2014)

I'm going to keep my Grand Marquis as long as I can, probably to 300,000 miles if I can keep it presentable. My 2008 really isn't too different than yours, but Uber is a funny outfit.


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

You have also assumed i prefer newer vehicles over older.

Which is not strictly true.

But


DriversOfTheWorldUnite said:


> I'm not a car expert: is there any reason to care about how old a car is if it is in immaculate condition & has relatively low miles on it? Other than snobbery of course.


Yes because old cars have old car problems.

Rubber parts deteriorate.

From bushes to door seals. To coolant hoses.

Flexible brake pipes become hard and brittle.

Brake pipes corrode.

The radiator ages and becomes less efficient.

You get small coolant leaks.

Shocks age.

Spring break and rust.

The worst kind of vehicle to put to work is an old low mileage one.

It may be a perfectly good vehicle and continuing to do 2/300 miles a week it may well be fine.

But start to put working miles on it amd it will start to cause problems.

That is just how it is with cars.

They are designed to be used.

Of a vehicle has been driven 2miles to the Shops and back every day for 10yrs then it is highly likely to never have got fully hot, maybe even the thermostat has never opened.

First 200 mile day and if you are lucky you will have a couple of blown hoses and a stuck thermostat to sort. If not lucky you will have a blown head gasket to worry about.

You are likely to get less problems with an old car that has been used everyday and has starship miles on it. Though that would require the car to have been maintained extremely well.


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## UberLuxbod (Sep 2, 2014)

Lets not forget we are talking about a 1998 Grand Marquis not an LS400 here.

And no matter how immaculate itnis the car is still old.

To be honest if I had a similar vehicle I would not even consider using it for work.

I would keep it polished up and warm in a garage for occasional use.


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## Woober (Oct 12, 2014)

Uber will deactivate your car once it reaches 10 years old. There is a 3 month grace period. Dats da rules!


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## Samename (Oct 31, 2014)

Yea I don't think lyft or uber will accept a car from the 90s in any market. It's pretty clearly stated in their policies for application.


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## grUBBER (Sep 11, 2014)

Optimus Uber said:


> Maybe lyft or side car. I dont think uber will take it.


You haven't heard of a new uber product uberCLASSIC?


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## DriversOfTheWorldUnite (Nov 11, 2014)

grUBBER said:


> You haven't heard of a new uber product uberCLASSIC?


It's Model T only


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## Jay2dresq (Oct 1, 2014)

Personally I love older vehicles. I still own my first car, a 1981 Buick Regal Limited. I also own an 86 Chevy C10 Silverado, and a 98 GMC Sierra. The 98 GMC has nearly 200,000 miles on it, and it runs and drives perfectly. It also looks great too. The paint has held up very well over the years.


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

I have a 2002 Lexus LS430 that will be 12 years old in a couple of weeks, with 70k miles on the odometer. The bulk of the miles are from road trips, no daily commuting and short trips have been rare. Clean inside and out, as tight and solid as when it was new. But not good enough for Uber! (Not that I would subject it to the abuse I read about on these threads)  My toy is a'91 Miata.  Old guys with old cars rule!


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## elelegido (Sep 24, 2014)

Older Chauffeur said:


> I have a 2002 Lexus LS430 that will be 12 years old in a couple of weeks, with 70k miles on the odometer. The bulk of the miles are from road trips, no daily commuting and short trips have been rare. Clean inside and out, as tight and solid as when it was new. But not good enough for Uber! (Not that I would subject it to the abuse I read about on these threads)  My toy is a'91 Miata.  Old guys with old cars rule!


Good for you. I'd like to have an old Miata; they look like a lot of fun.

Yes, taxi/Uber/Lyft is very tough on a car. I wouldn't use my personal car for it.


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## dboogie2288 (Nov 19, 2014)

The UberCLASSIC isnt a half bad idea.

I would totally pay out the ass to get picked up in a choice classic car...as such;


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

I drove a 1979 Lincoln Continental similar to this, sans the fancy wheels and lowered chassis. It was "Executive Grey" and was for the company CEO in my first executive security/corporate chauffeur job in 1971. That was before some of you were born, I'd wager.


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## Uber-Doober (Dec 16, 2014)

grUBBER said:


> You haven't heard of a new uber product uberCLASSIC?


Oh, yeah... something like maybe a '63 Silver Cloud? Ha!


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## Older Chauffeur (Oct 16, 2014)

Operating costs on a Cloud might be a bit high.....


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## Lou W (Oct 26, 2014)

Like someone else said, 10 years old is the end of the line for uber.


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## painfreepc (Jul 17, 2014)

elelegido said:


> Yes and no... No because a 1990 Lexus LS400 for example would give a very quiet, smooth and comfortable ride to pax. For drivers, newer cars would give better mpg but at the expense of huge depreciation.
> 
> But that 1990 car, in 1990, was a high priced new car subject to massive depreciation. What was once a consumerist greed object is now a more econo/enviro choice. There's the paradox - cars can't be the latter without first having been the former. If people hadn't bought them new back then, they wouldn't be available for other people to buy now for peanuts instead of buying a new vehicle.
> 
> ...


All those words and you said nothing,

Answer is, uber will not accept.


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## JaxBeachDriver (Nov 27, 2014)

UberLuxbod said:


> I would be extremely surprised if they allowed you to use a 1998 vehicle.
> 
> It is 16yrs old.
> 
> ...





UberLuxbod said:


> I'm glad for you.
> 
> I would rather be picked up in a 2 or 3 yr old Prius.
> 
> Rather than something the thick end of 20yrs old.





elelegido said:


> That's fine; I know I'm in the minority with these opinions on this kind of thing. Most people do prefer newer over older.


Who gives a shit what people prefer? You're paying less than a taxi to be driven around in much nicer cars (speaking for my region, anyway. I saw a ford Windstar taxi the other night. Who knew they even still made those?). If you want something to appeal to your tastes/style preferences, pay a little extra and hire a black car/chauffeur.

Additionally, the kind of car you're being picked up in shows up on the passenger app. If you hate it, you can cancel with no penalty within 5 minutes.


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## Orlando_Driver (Jul 14, 2014)

I'm waiting for Ubervette !!


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## Spotscat (May 8, 2017)

UberClassic -- You're going to a wedding and reception afterwards, some sort of upscale social function, or maybe you want to impress your significant other. You log on and order a ride on UberClassic, and your driver shows up in this...


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

We use to have a cherry 86 260e Mercedes probably one of the smoothest cars I've ever ridden in and I'd rather be picked up in that then 90% of the uberx cars I've been in

Age isn't important but imagine the POS cars that would hit the road doing uber if the age of the car wasn't a requirement .



Spotscat said:


> View attachment 118626
> 
> 
> UberClassic -- You're going to a wedding and reception afterwards, some sort of upscale social function, or maybe you want to impress your significant other. You log on and order a ride on UberClassic, and your driver shows up in this...


Buddy of mine just had an old Rolls Royce I think 1965 as his exit ride for his wedding it was an awesome looking car


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