# Buying new Chevy Suburban for Uber Black/SUV?



## ebrain (Oct 3, 2016)

This question is specific to my situation and might not apply to others.

I earn a reasonable living from sources other than Uber (without going to work). Instead of sitting home doing nothing I tried UberXL for a little bit and now planning to do Uber Black/SUV part time since I love being on the road.

Working on vehicle selection these days and saw Chevrolet running 0% APR promotion on 2016 Suburban (seems like only on LT trim; assuming LT is fine for Uber?) so thinking about buying new and wondering would it be possible for me to pay it off within a year or two by working, say, 20 hours per week? I do plan to use ALL my Uber earnings for paying it off as quickly as possible so the question really is probably how soon would I be able to pay it off assuming $60K in loan and 20 hours per week in Dallas market?

The reason I did not go for used Suburban is that Uber wants 2012 model year or sooner so I want to have at least couple years available to me to pay the vehicle off leaving me with 2014 models or later so I am thinking why not go with 0% APR promotion on 2016.

PS: I do have slight concern aroudn Uber changing their rules and me getting stuck with a high mileage vehicle which is not paid off.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments?


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## SEAL Team 5 (Dec 19, 2015)

ebrain said:


> This question is specific to my situation and might not apply to others.
> 
> I earn a reasonable living from sources other than Uber (without going to work). Instead of sitting home doing nothing I tried UberXL for a little bit and now planning to do Uber Black/SUV part time since I love being on the road.
> 
> ...


I don't know the Dallas market well enough to encourage you. However in Phoenix we must provide our own commercial insurance and it's pricey. Back in '12 when it was only the Black platform Uber was awesome. Now with the pax knowing that they can get a nice small size SUV for 1/3 the price of Black/SUV they tend to go that direction. But like I said it depends on your market.


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## NCUberGuy (Aug 27, 2016)

Don't go in to debt for Uber.


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## dirtylee (Sep 2, 2015)

Go to love field staging area or einstein bagel shop @ dfw service road & talk to the hordes of tahoe/suburban drivers there.


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## MSUGrad9902 (Jun 8, 2016)

It seems you are underestimating your costs associated with driving uber suv. Or possibly overestimating the revenue you will generate in 2 yrs at 20 hrs per week. Or possibly a bit of both.


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

ebrain said:


> so thinking about buying new and wondering would it be possible for me to pay it off within a year or two by working, say, 20 hours per week? I do plan to use ALL my Uber earnings for paying it off as quickly as possible so the question really is probably how soon would I be able to pay it off assuming $60K in loan and 20 hours per week in Dallas market?


I find it highly unlikely you could pay off any loan with Uber only working 20 hours a week.

Lets best case scenario this and say you make 30 dollars an hour. Thats 600 a week, 33,600 a year or 67200 over two years.

But then reality hits - oil changes, maintenance and driving something that big you are not going to get good gas mileage.

Thats assuming you make 30 an hour and realistically I dont know if it will always be that good.


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## Delivery Mr.Guy (Aug 9, 2016)

The great warrior is always planning ahead.
What if uber go to war with lyft than they lower prices.
May be government stop uber operation.
What if the gasoline is going up a lots.
So the best way is to think of uber is for temporary and extra cash only. Or juzt drive for fun and meet new people only. Because the pie is getting thinner.


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## yojimboguy (Mar 2, 2016)

My advice is this. Buy the car you want to buy for YOU. If you want a Suburban for your own reasons, then go right ahead. But don't buy a car _just_ for Uber. The business is too volatile and too much out of your control.


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## cubert (Feb 13, 2016)

May be rent for a month and see how it works ?


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## yojimboguy (Mar 2, 2016)

In my opinion a month may not be enough. I drive in a college town and was shocked by how much business I lost when students left town on summer break. My income was cut nearly in half for 3 months. This may not be the case in larger cities with a more stable population.


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## MSUGrad9902 (Jun 8, 2016)

I've been running some numbers. My assumptions are a 60k car note, payoff period in 2 years. You need to add 1k per month in commercial insurance (for uber SUV), plus you're going to have some operating costs - gas and preventative maintenance since you shouldn't have major repairs. Preventative maintenance probably go for like 250 per month, gas more like 175 per week (this may be a tad conservative). So you're at 2,500 per month for the car, plus 1,950 per month for the rest. That's 4,450 per month to break even and pay off the car in 2 years. That's over $55 per hour working only 20 hours per week. Not sure that's feasible. You could probably have the car paid off in 2 years if you did it full time.


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## yojimboguy (Mar 2, 2016)

Preventive maintenance? What is that for a brand new car under warranty? I expect to buy a new set of tires every year, which wouldn't be anywhere near the more than the $1200+ you suggest.


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## Robertk (Jun 8, 2015)

Probably won't work for a $60k car, but you could certainly make it work on Uber X

20 hrs x $17/hr * 50 weeks/yr * 2 = $34,000

after expenses you could easily pay off a $20-25k car driving part time on X


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## Shangsta (Aug 15, 2016)

yojimboguy said:


> Preventive maintenance? What is that for a brand new car under warranty? I expect to buy a new set of tires every year, which wouldn't be anywhere near the more than the $1200+ you suggest.


If you Uber 20 hours a week you may need new tires more than once a year. Oil changes and potentially new brakes depending on how many miles he racks up.

Driving Black hes also going to have to invest in washes, detailing, maintaining the interior. He could decrease expenses by doing some of it on his own but working a fulltime job and ubering 20 more I doubt it


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## SurgeMasterMN (Sep 10, 2016)

Have been thinking about doing the same thing. It would be interesting to either rent one or find a used vehicle for $25-$30k. If it works out after a 6 month test then sell you current SUV and commit to a newer vehicle. I think it will be demographic specific as to the results you get.


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## MrBear (Mar 14, 2015)

ebrain said:


> This question is specific to my situation and might not apply to others.
> 
> I earn a reasonable living from sources other than Uber (without going to work). Instead of sitting home doing nothing I tried UberXL for a little bit and now planning to do Uber Black/SUV part time since I love being on the road.
> 
> ...


Don't even think of going into debt for uber, you won't make it, too many people in Dallas have tried and regretting it. Work a year then decide.


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## MSUGrad9902 (Jun 8, 2016)

A good set of tires for a suburban are not cheap dude. You're looking at 1200 minimum for name brand tires. Plus all the lube jobs that are recommended - I'm not sure warranties cover those. You'll probably need an oil change once a month at least, plus transmission flushes, don't forget shocks and brakes.


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## ATX 22 (Jun 17, 2015)

yojimboguy said:


> Preventive maintenance? What is that for a brand new car under warranty? I expect to buy a new set of tires every year, which wouldn't be anywhere near the more than the $1200+ you suggest.


Please tell me this was a tongue-in-cheek remark.
Tires for a Suburban are at least $1200.
Preventive maintenance is required for any vehicle, and more so if you're transporting for hire, warranty or not. 
Everything wears out faster on a for hire vehicle.


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## UberBlackDriverLA (Aug 21, 2014)

yojimboguy said:


> Preventive maintenance? What is that for a brand new car under warranty? I expect to buy a new set of tires every year, which wouldn't be anywhere near the more than the $1200+ you suggest.


Trust me, the preventitive maintenance on these vehicles is EXPENSIVE. Plan on $700 when you replace spark plugs and cables. Then you have transmission flushes, brake and A/C flushes, fuel system cleaning, oil changes every other month at 20 hours per week, tires, brakes etc. The transmission will go at about 120,000 so add $4500 for that. And the warranty is only 24k miles so you will have random things break all the time. Good luck.


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## Honey Badger (Oct 1, 2016)

Why would anyone want to ruin a new vehicle


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