# Is XL or X better in the world of Covid ?



## U ARRIVED (Feb 17, 2021)

I was approved for U/L back in March and due to the virus have not driven yet. I have been reading and doing searches of the forum since then to get idea if XL is better due to the 3 passenger X rule and where I am located the rate is almost double. My vehicle is aged out and needs replaced either way and I will only pay cash, so I looking at spending $8000 or under for a X sedan and $10,000 or under for XL. It will be my personal car also so really do not want to go real cheap and about the only thing I would be doing different for ride share is the third row if I do XL, so if the immediate deactivation happens or I decide ride share is not for me it is not a big loss. I live in a area that is a high traffic vacation and tourist area and about 20 miles from the airport which makes me lean a little towards XL but I also balance that against X which is easier to get around, more volume, and lower gas cost. Any advice other than run. Thanks


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## TomTheAnt (Jan 1, 2019)

Run! Oh... Never mind...

I'd definitely go for XL. If I had an XL capable vehicle, I'm pretty sure I could make it work so that the potential mpg difference between the vehicles wouldn't matter at all. I already was able to make my poor mpg X vehicle work very well for me. Pre-Covid, of course... If/when I return back to anting this year, I need to learn the post-Covid tricks to make my truck work on X again.


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## RideShare_Hustler (Jun 18, 2020)

Riders and drivers where I’m from do not care about that rule.

Get XL if you can in order to get more requests. But only after you know for sure it will be profitable in your area.


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## Beninmankato (Apr 26, 2017)

Which vehicle is better suited to you? I like my van but I use it for so many different things. If you don't have much use for an XL vehicle other than rideshare I would probably stick to a gas efficient car.


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## U ARRIVED (Feb 17, 2021)

Thank you for the replies, and to respond. I have owned more Suvs than cars over the years so they are the more common purchase for me. They are also nice to have in case you want to pull something so I would have other uses for it and probably would buy one either way just not third row. I think I am in a very busy area where XL would get used alot but no facts to support that. As I stated it is a vacation area and it seems like when people are on vacation you will see the family and groups traveling to beach, restaurants etc. together. Of course much more busy pre covid but I definitely see life coming back. I understand it is partly personal preference and will continue looking at XL, I just wanted to run it past experienced drivers to make sure I was not making a big mistake. Thanks again.


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## IthurstwhenIP (Jan 12, 2018)

@u aarived

Curious.

You have not driven but have been on this site since March getting excited to do rideshare. What did you possibly read here that made you think thats a good idea?


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

In my area xl has been great Friday and Saturday nights. The rest of the time not so much. I appreciate having the versatility though and given that I got a 5k dodge grand caravan the increased operating cost is limited to just low gas mileage so I am able to make it work for me and not destroy my car.


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## U ARRIVED (Feb 17, 2021)

IthurstwhenIP said:


> @u aarived
> 
> Curious.
> 
> You have not driven but have been on this site since March getting excited to do rideshare. What did you possibly read here that made you think thats a good idea?


Believe me that I am reading the negative also and not to exited about some of that but as I stated originally that I am upgrading my vehicle either way so if it does not work out I have not lost anything. To try to answer your question, I have been self employed most of my life and filed my taxes under S corp so I like the tax benefits that you can expense a lot of your income. I like that you choose your own schedule. I have worked on jobs were a time clock is involved and to me the day moves at a stand still. I like that Xber does your marketing and billing, in my other businesses I had to do both and I was weak at marketing and while I was good at billing it was incredibly time consuming. I have strong customer service skills which helped me retain customers in my past businesses but gaining new customers was the tough part and Xber does that for you.I had a business that was very successful for many years but it required a lot of borrowed money to operate and you would have 3 very high income years and then there would be a downturn in the economy and I would spend my savings on keeping the businees operating until the next upturn. So when the bad out weighed than good then I exited, the same I would do with Xber. I also purchased a service business which cost me thousands of dollars and after trying 4 years to grow it, I was only growing about 10% a year and it needed to grow at about 30% a year to became a highly profitible business, so I was working long days with all the marketing and customer billing responsibilities and I promise making less than a average Xber driver. The only positive was the mileage deduction at tax time. So I completly understand that it is not all good and disappointed by the problems I read with the way Xber treats their drivers, and I may not like it at all, and if the bad outweighs the good I will exit. Thanks for reply



Disgusted Driver said:


> In my area xl has been great Friday and Saturday nights. The rest of the time not so much. I appreciate having the versatility though and given that I got a 5k dodge grand caravan the increased operating cost is limited to just low gas mileage so I am able to make it work for me and not destroy my car.


Okay good to know. I do know as far as tourist, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are busy here just not sure how many order XL. Thanks


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

U ARRIVED said:


> I was approved for U/L back in March and due to the virus have not driven yet. I have been reading and doing searches of the forum since then to get idea if XL is better due to the 3 passenger X rule and where I am located the rate is almost double. My vehicle is aged out and needs replaced either way and I will only pay cash, so I looking at spending $8000 or under for a X sedan and $10,000 or under for XL. It will be my personal car also so really do not want to go real cheap and about the only thing I would be doing different for ride share is the third row if I do XL, so if the immediate deactivation happens or I decide ride share is not for me it is not a big loss. I live in a area that is a high traffic vacation and tourist area and about 20 miles from the airport which makes me lean a little towards XL but I also balance that against X which is easier to get around, more volume, and lower gas cost. Any advice other than run. Thanks


Your not in Orlando are you?

If you are just don't bother...


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## ObsidianSedan (Jul 13, 2019)

Don't let anyone else decide whether rideshare works for you. I just resumed on Saturday after a months-long hiatus and enjoyed the 7+ hours of online time in the afternoon and evening. It put a couple hundred bucks in my pocket, but the real value was spending time with a completely diverse bunch of people that I'd never otherwise encounter. For some reason that's valuable to me.

As for X versus XL, I'd now only do X with a high-mpg hybrid, or XL with whatever works that is both affordable and reliable. When driving for X, I don't want to spend more than a nickel per mile on fuel if I can help it.


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## UberBastid (Oct 1, 2016)

Stevie The magic Unicorn said:


> Your not in Orlando are you?
> 
> If you are just don't bother...


Nope, he's in "various".
That makes results very unpredictable.


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## U ARRIVED (Feb 17, 2021)

ObsidianSedan said:


> Don't let anyone else decide whether rideshare works for you. I just resumed on Saturday after a months-long hiatus and enjoyed the 7+ hours of online time in the afternoon and evening. It put a couple hundred bucks in my pocket, but the real value was spending time with a completely diverse bunch of people that I'd never otherwise encounter. For some reason that's valuable to me.
> 
> As for X versus XL, I'd now only do X with a high-mpg hybrid, or XL with whatever works that is both affordable and reliable. When driving for X, I don't want to spend more than a nickel per mile on fuel if I can help it.


Thanks, I respectfully listen to all replies but I never let anyone make my decisions. I also like to meet new people and people from different walks of life, but also realize you get some hard to deal with personalities in any business or employment you are in. In my past businesses and employment that I have been in I usually had to deal with the problem customer or employee for months because the project had to be completed, were as with Xber you can pull the car over and tell them to get out. Admittedly it will be a nerve racking learning curve to talk with a passenger and watch GPS at the same time at first.. I am not going into this with rose covered glasses thinking that in a couple years that I can buy a Lamborghini, but instead I am going into it with very little investment and if it does not go well or I do not like it I can stop at at any point and have lost nothing. Most of my experience as a rider is that I have heard very little negativity from the drivers, but also none were claiming to get rich. I maybe have had a couple drivers that were mad at the world but you get that in all aspects of life. I do not like the way that I read on this site how Xber treats its drivers and tricks you into taking low paying rides and also not a fan of having decisions made by algorithms which I have already have some bad experiences with, so if gets to the point I think it is unfair or unprofitable I stop driving. Thanks again.



UberBastid said:


> Nope, he's in "various".
> That makes results very unpredictable.


When I signed up for Xber I lived in a different state then I do now so the varies is a little correct, but I totally agree with future results being very unpredictable.


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## oldfart (Dec 22, 2017)

I am also in a vacation /second home market and I drive an X, I didnt drive for 6 months (Mar-Oct) because of Covid but Im back at it now. Ive driven SUVs since 1995 and Ill continue to drive SUVs until my kids take away the keys;.rideshare or not.

So I didnt buy an SUV to do rideshare. I owned an SUV when I started doing rideshare. Since Since October Ive gotten more XL rides than I did the two years prior to Covid. because, now, groups of 4 need an XL and in this vacation market there are a fair number of "fours"

I have no idea whether the increased fare makes up for the poor gas mileage I get. Its gotta help, but it dosent matter. Im not gonna buy a car for uber, If I buy another car, Im buying it for me.

My advice, for what its worth, is, buy what you want and use it for Uber. It you like it and can see yourself making a business out of this, then buy specifically for your private car service. I formed an LLC, got the local vehicle for hire permits, and commercial insurance. and gave my business card to every uber passenger I took to or from the airport, I was real close to buying a Chevy Suburban but marketing is my weak spot too, I was afraid I wouldnt make enough to pay for it So I put some money into my Ford Explorer and its still going strong at 280,000 miles.


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## U ARRIVED (Feb 17, 2021)

oldfart said:


> I am also in a vacation /second home market and I drive an X, I didnt drive for 6 months (Mar-Oct) because of Covid but Im back at it now. Ive driven SUVs since 1995 and Ill continue to drive SUVs until my kids take away the keys;.rideshare or not.
> 
> So I didnt buy an SUV to do rideshare. I owned an SUV when I started doing rideshare. Since Since October Ive gotten more XL rides than I did the two years prior to Covid. because, now, groups of 4 need an XL and in this vacation market there are a fair number of "fours"
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply and it is helpful. and I do know some people that call their driver direct. I have also noticed that a lot of vacationers travel in groups. For starting out if I go XL while I think the suburbans are super nice, I would not go that big because it is a little big for me to learn the ride share business in and also out of my price range, but for someone that has the experience and knows that the business is there than that would be a incredible ride. I am looking more at the mid size XL like the Explorer you have or an Acadia or Acura MDX. While I how owned a few Ford products and a few more GM products my experience has been that with the Ford product somewhere between 100,000 to 150,000 miles there is a major engine repair and with a Gm product in that same mileage area there is a major transmission repair. Never owned Acura. The most reliable car I ever owned was the Jeep Grand Cherokee back when Chrysler owned Jeep and they had the straight 6 cylinder. I was told that it was the same motor used in the military Jeeps and that it was bullet proof. The first one I bought new and drove it for 360,000 miles, so I found a second identical one with 90,000 miles and drove it to 325,000 and no major engine or transmission repairs with either. I drove both of them to the auction to sell. The straight 6 is not available in the jeep anymore and the Grand Cherokees do not have the third row so does not work for me now. I buy used so I can afford to buy what I like and get the options I want and I refuse to have a car payment. I just sold my Explorer Sport Trac truck which was the right tool for my last business but not this one. When I purchased it used it had every available option, was very comfortable and drove great, but at 220,000 miles it was going down hill quick and I did have a major repair at 180,000 miles which I expected. So now I have to buy something pretty quick and still leaning towards and trying for XL but it is a little harder to find one with the options that I want and that I like in my budget so I may end out starting X and if it works out move up later. Thanks again


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