# Think you're making money? Think again.



## BaitNSwitch (May 12, 2015)

The past 8 weeks my pay statement is as follows:

1.) $362.93
2.) $493.77
3.) $83.52
4.) - Vacation did not drive
5.) $188.76
6.) $291.00
7.) $318.96
8.) $299.63

Grand Total: $2038.57
(minus gas)

Nice job BaitNSwitch! you have'nt been BaitNSwitch'ed...

but wait, what's THIS?

Front strut replacement (both sides because it can't be done in ones) - $500 with labor and parts
Inner/outer tie rod replacement - $120 labor, $68 parts. = $188
Oil Change - (Full synthetic) - 46.00
Thermostat replacement (common problem in cars that get driven too much): $28 part.
Heater hose assembly (due to corrosion) - $200 labor

All over the course of 3 months. Cool! Grand total = $962.

2038.57 (not counting gas which takes out atleast 200) - 962 = $1076.

1076 over the course of two months? With this much work. (i don't even know about gas)

Here's the skinny guys, the internal combustion engine has over 500 moving parts. Crankshaft, gaskets, cylinders, pistons, valves, sparkplugs. There's a reason the depreciation is at 0.59 per mile. You literally HAVE to set this money aside for repairs. It's not a matter of if, but matter of when your car will need to be serviced. Some maybe luckier than others (as I was the first year I did this ridesharing bullshit) But it will catch up to your car. Engine heat and movement will corrode parts over time. It's called entropy, the disorder of the universe increases indefinitely over time.

Oh and that's just the engine, suspension: struts, bearings, ball joints, sway bars, axles, brakes, ABS, shocks, tires,...etc. 

There's a reason taxis owners/leasers lease out their nice cars for 400 a week. Car maintenance is a FCUKTON of money. The only way for you to be profitable at current rates is to be able to service your own car and buy your own parts. Most of us do not have the tools or facilities to do it ourselves. How is Uber/Lyft able to offer lower rates than taxis to their customers? Simple, by extracting the equity out of your car and pass the savings onto the customer. Rule #1 in life is, nothing in life is free my friends.

TLDR: Don't take depreciation as a joke or something you will deal with later. It will come back to bite you in the ass. All calculations when you're trying to run a business must be taken into account or you will be doing a lot of labor for very little money. Which is what we end up doing with our personal cars. Hell, after your repairs you will be earning more at a minimum wage job and also be without a car to travel around with. This thing is not a joke.

With that said: Strike on fellas, they will never care till we make them care.


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## PhoenicianBlind (Aug 31, 2015)

In the immortal words of Metallica,

Sad but True


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## Simon (Jan 4, 2015)

BaitNSwitch said:


> The past 8 weeks my pay statement is as follows:
> 
> 1.) $362.93
> 2.) $493.77
> ...


This! Read all newbies and dummy drivers doing this full time.


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)

Actually in Chicago the taxi lease can run up to $700 a week for a hybrid model.


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## Simon (Jan 4, 2015)

This should be pinned in the introduce yourself section.


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## Chicago-uber (Jun 18, 2014)

I don't do uberx anymore, but I need to take my personal car for service tomorrow. Oil change, 2 new tires, brakes I'm sure are getting low and god knows what else the mechanic will find. 

Probably all my uberx profit will be wiped out tomorrow


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## TheDudeAbides (May 4, 2014)

I used to drive with uber, then i became a medical supplies courier, i put 400 miles a night on my minivan (95 mercury villager used an 07 buick and 05 grand marquis for uber) I just did: front and rear breaks cv halfshafts, timing belt water pump, tires, tie rods in and outer, alignment she still runs good only paid 2000 for it and everything works . If i could use this vehicle for uber i would make money due to the low purchase price, no one wants to ride in a 20 year old minivan though, and all in all those repairs totaled 1200 dollars, so 3200 hundred total invested in the van. I make 975 a week as a courier and pay my own gas (runs about 45 a night) 5 days a week weekends off so about 750 a week after gas. I plan on repeating this when the van wears out, find another cheap van repair it run it into the ground, granted those miles are all highway with about 9 stops a night (yes it's a night job 8 pm to 430 in the am.) I am an ic like with uber.


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## jrboy (Sep 14, 2015)

uber has the audacity to say in ads "you get to drive your own cars". yippie! i get to run my car to the ground for a dollar a mile before expenses.


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## BaitNSwitch (May 12, 2015)

I just don't understand Uber shills/supporters. They either are depreciating their newer cars faster till the big repair comes, or playing with fate with high mileage cars till the big repair comes. There is no winning driving at $1 per mile, even for part time drivers, unless it isn't your own car, or your mother is taking care of the repair bills.

Yet people wonder...why are they so negative over there at UberPeople? Why strike? just stop driving doood. Wait and see little ones, wait till you have to go to the mechanic for the first time, at that point you will either quit or face the stone cold reality that you're making under $5 per hour.


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## Aw Jeez (Jul 13, 2015)

A lot of new Uber drivers focus solely on their earnings per hour while driving for Uber. What they fail to consider is that the car costs X- dollars per mile... per EVERY mile. Factor in ALL the costs over a year's worth of driving and you'll see that your car costs around $0.25 to $0.35 or so per mile.

Now, total up ALL of the miles you put on the car while Ubering...yes, including the ones you're not getting paid for. Multiply this number by your particular cost/mile and you'll see how much it cost you to work for Uber. Compare this to what you earned from Uber and you'll see just how much "profit" you made.

It's not about an hourly wage when you're using your own car for business.


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## William1964 (Jul 28, 2015)

That was an extraordinary expense. If its something you expect to happen every two months then you're not making any money.

I've made $10,000 since July 21st, and spent 22 85 gas oil changes 30000 miles check up. Not taking in account of depreciation. If you'd like to include depreciation just include the full value of the car and I'm looking at a $9,000 loss


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## William1964 (Jul 28, 2015)

on the bright side of life where i usually hang out, I drove 4 hours 12:30 to 4:30 AM and made $98.99. I did spend 35 and gas but only drove 85 miles. Now if everyday could be like that this place would rock once more.

I also had my first airport run in 4 weeks I actually had three, a family of three going to Colombia with a stopover in Miami O'Hare Airport terminal 3, some dude going to Boston for Southwest Midway. Some dude working at Ohare the very last door

I'd also like to mention that I didn't bring it up when it happened I had 31 trips under $6 last week. That was in a row. It looks like it finally broke in my favor $100 10 runs.

Go Cubs!


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## SECOTIME (Sep 18, 2015)

BaitNSwitch said:


> The past 8 weeks my pay statement is as follows:
> 
> 1.) $362.93
> 2.) $493.77
> ...


What kind of car are you driving OP?

How many miles did you have on the car before you started?


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## BaitNSwitch (May 12, 2015)

98k when started. Approaching 128k now. 

I have a few mechanic friends that have one general rule of thumb: Any car over 110k will start having problems. The issues you have may be minor (say minor electrical, minor suspension, engine), but add all of those expenses together and subtract from your pay, then divide by the number of hours you drive, your earnings of seemingly $16 an hour get slashed by half. 

When driving your new car, you can just put it at home and go to your regular job, grocery store etc. At max you will be putting 20 - 30 miles per day. Adding Uber/Lyft into the equation jumps that atleast 60 to 100 a day EVEN if you're a smart driver (surge only, guarantees, etc.)

60 * 30 = 1800 extra miles per month * 12 = 21,600 extra miles per year, which would have been one extra year your car would go trouble free had you not driven. If we say the average life of a brand new (or close to brand new) car is say...5 years without any repairs, you slash your car's life by 1 year for every year that you drive with Uber/Lyft. 

So the car that would have lasted you 5 years will last you (trouble free) 2.5 years.


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## SECOTIME (Sep 18, 2015)

What kind of car do you have?

I would never own a car for personal use with over 100K miles unless I had a lifetime powertrain.

I have a 2013 Chrysler 300 as my main vehicle and my old paid off 2006 Chrysler 300 with 167K miles for Uber. It has a lifetime warranty on engine. I have to do tie rods and get new tires soon. Car running as strong as ever. I'm considering buying something else for use for Uber too and swap out. If I can get one for under $5000.

After the warranty goes it's all out of pocket. If you only have one car and you use it for Uber yea you're losing a ton of money.


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## The_One (Sep 9, 2015)

SECOTIME said:


> What kind of car do you have?
> 
> I would never own a car for personal use with over 100K miles unless I had a lifetime powertrain.
> 
> ...


You are lucky, in NYC you can't use your 2006 300, it needs to be 2012 and up, the car can not be more than 5 years old from the current calender year. And it will cost you 6-7 grand a year just to put it on the road, insurance, registration costs "TLC license plates ", inspection costs, diamond sticker costs, FHV license costs, car payments is a separate cost.


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## SECOTIME (Sep 18, 2015)

Ah, yea that would suck to live in NYC. Run!

I've never been there but it seems like the place is a huge nightmare, especially for anything involving an automobile.

Im in Florida now.. been here for about 5 years and despise the whole place. I'm moving to Colorado on February 22nd.

I'm from Hampton Roads VA, Chesapeake/Suffolk Area (Near Va Beach)


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

BaitNSwitch said:


> The past 8 weeks my pay statement is as follows:
> 
> 1.) $362.93
> 2.) $493.77
> ...


You start off not actually knowing how much you've spent in gas but then go on to say all calculations must be taken into account when running a business. This does not make a convincing argument. Actual vehicle expenses vary wildly from vehicle to vehicle, state to state, and city by city. The IRS deduction is a broad paintbrush. My actual expenses including gas are closer to $0.35/mile and that is counting the purchase price of my vehicle prorated over the miles I've driven since starting rideshare. That expense will decrease the more miles I drive.

Your payment statements hopefully indicate part time work. I drive 30-40 hours/week and make 3 times what you are reporting here. That means your miles, wear and tear, etc. are also being shared for personal use and at a much higher rate than mine. So deducting the cost of repairs to your vehicle from your revenues is misleading. It doesn't sound like you bought your car just to rideshare, so those expenses are due to personal and business usage. The bright side is you get to deduct 100% of those expenses from your income, lowering your tax liability.

For me, the depreciation isn't an issue. I bought a 2008 minivan this year for several hundred below book value ($6800) and with 40,000 miles less than it should have for the year. I hadn't planned on using it for income when I bought it, but shortly afterwards that is the road I started on. At this point, if it suffers a massive failure (not likely to happen soon, in great shape) I could junk it for $1500 and buy another in the same price range and would still turn a better profit than I had at my last job.


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## The_One (Sep 9, 2015)

driverco said:


> Sorry but I'm making 3- 4 times that a week so I know I'm making $ will pay off a 5 year lease in 3 months, throw 2000 in on repairs and then stack till the funs over


Of course you are, living in your car, and adding a shit load of miles to top it off.


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## JaredJ (Aug 7, 2015)

Been driving 2 years. Los Angeles is my backyard. L2Uber noobs. If you don't know how to drive smart then you shouldn't drive full time. Part timers... Stick to peak days and hours only. I drive Lyft also.


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## opie (Oct 12, 2015)

Using the IRS method of cost recapture, in my very short driving "career", I've got $805 in income and the following expenses:
1) IRS Method Vehicle Operation Cost: $1030
2) Dallas TFH Permit Application: $53

and upcoming
3) Dallas TFH Vehicle Inspection: ~$50
4) DFW Airport Permit: $20

I believe that the metrics will get much better once I can p/u and d/o at DFW and in Dallas. Stuck in Tarrant, for now.


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

The_One said:


> Of course you are, living in your car, and adding a shit load of miles to top it off.


I'm online 50 hours/week, in my car for 30-40. Certainly beats spending 40+hours/week inside an office, warehouse, restaurant, factory, hotel....need I go on? I read or watch Netflix between trips and when I'm online at home I'm in my living room goofing off or doing chores. I choose where to drive (at least in the beginning of the day) and for how long. Plenty of pros to balance the cons.


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## JaredJ (Aug 7, 2015)

opie said:


> Using the IRS method of cost recapture, in my very short driving "career", I've got $805 in income and the following expenses:
> 1) IRS Method Vehicle Operation Cost: $1030
> 2) Dallas TFH Permit Application: $53
> 
> ...


Atleast y'all don't have to pay state income tax. Great state of California has to feed its bullshit referendums with our tax money. Remember you can write off the % of biz use depreciation on your vehicle for 3 years. Scales down every year, but its better than a sharp stick in the eye.


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## JaredJ (Aug 7, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> I'm online 50 hours/week, in my car for 30-40. Certainly beats spending 40+hours/week inside an office, warehouse, restaurant, factory, hotel....need I go on? I read or watch Netflix between trips and when I'm online at home I'm in my living room goofing off or doing chores. I choose where to drive (at least in the beginning of the day) and for how long. Plenty of pros to balance the cons.


Agree with your sentiment whole hearted ly. I worked in banking for almost 7 years. Hated my life after a while. 60-70 hours staring at spreadsheets doesn't hold a candle to 50 hours of driving. So much more enjoyable.


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## opie (Oct 12, 2015)

You cannot depreciate if you use the alternative method ($0.575/mile).


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## JaredJ (Aug 7, 2015)

opie said:


> You cannot depreciate if you use the alternative method ($0.575/mile).


True. Highly recommend a good CPA if you're driving Uber/Lyft full time. Should also be noted that if you use standard mileage rate instead of actual expenses or vice versa you cannot switch to the other as long as you continue to claim the vehicle year over year.


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## BaitNSwitch (May 12, 2015)

JaredJ said:


> True. Highly recommend a good CPA if you're driving Uber/Lyft full time. Should also be noted that if you use standard mileage rate instead of actual expenses or vice versa you cannot switch to the other as long as you continue to claim the vehicle year over year.


The best advice is to save gas receipts and repairs, as well as log your mileage. At the end of the year, whatever is higher is what you should go with. This is ideal for people doing guarantees or working surge only.


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## jrboy (Sep 14, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> I'm online 50 hours/week, in my car for 30-40. Certainly beats spending 40+hours/week inside an office, warehouse, restaurant, factory, hotel....need I go on? I read or watch Netflix between trips and when I'm online at home I'm in my living room goofing off or doing chores. I choose where to drive (at least in the beginning of the day) and for how long. Plenty of pros to balance the cons.


yeah but you drive lyft. the strike is for uber


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

jrboy said:


> yeah but you drive lyft. the strike is for uber


I drove Uber several months before switching to driving mainly Lyft (I do keep Uber account active by driving 1 day per month just in case I need it) and my income was less, true. But nowhere near as bad as minimum wage. Uber I was averaging $17/hour net and Lyft I'm around $24.


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## Realityshark (Sep 22, 2014)

BaitNSwitch said:


> The past 8 weeks my pay statement is as follows:
> 
> 1.) $362.93
> 2.) $493.77
> ...


Thank you for posting an honest assessment of what it really means to drive for Uber. It's nice to know that there are a few of us who actually take full accounting of the toll that Uber really takes. I get very weary of reading idiotic posts from people claiming to be "smart businessmen" while playing ********* without a clue. Your detailed, personal expenses reflect what I figured out a long time ago. Consequently, I drive very little. The days when you could make decent money driving for Uber are long gone. Uber is surviving by finding new drivers that are so desperate that they don't take real expenses, like those you provided, into account.


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## William1964 (Jul 28, 2015)

I'm so fortunate to own a house that's paid for it is shared by three people and I only need 500 a month for utilities, the property tax and insurance. The total deal car payment credit card bills loan payment $1,188 a month.

Compared to so many other people who have to come up with $1,500 for rent or mortgage plus another 250 300 for utilities. The total deal with car payment credit card payments always and give them a loan. 3188 a month.

After a long month of work at 60 to 70 hours a week we all go home look at our bank account. When I look at mine the balance is higher every month.

Just hoping one person reads this and figures out a way to ensure his bank account or her bank account increases in value at the end of each month. While gaining equity in his or her house.


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## BaitNSwitch (May 12, 2015)

Realityshark said:


> Thank you for posting an honest assessment of what it really means to drive for Uber. It's nice to know that there are a few of us who actually take full accounting of the toll that Uber really takes. I get very weary of reading idiotic posts from people claiming to be "smart businessmen" while playing ********* without a clue. Your detailed, personal expenses reflect what I figured out a long time ago. Consequently, I drive very little. The days when you could make decent money driving for Uber are long gone. Uber is surviving by finding new drivers that are so desperate that they don't take real expenses, like those you provided, into account.


You must observe a business'es practices and activities to determine what they're prioritizing the most. It is clear as daylight. Uber and Lyft give huge sign up bonuses and undertake aggressive driver recruitment because of the constant stream of their in and out workforce. They wouldn't need to throw money at new drivers if the old drivers were sticking around long term.

Like I said, one major repair and the honeymoon phase comes to a screeching halt. Then we find Uberpeople.net. Cheers to yall.


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## jrboy (Sep 14, 2015)

BostonBarry said:


> I drove Uber several months before switching to driving mainly Lyft (I do keep Uber account active by driving 1 day per month just in case I need it) and my income was less, true. But nowhere near as bad as minimum wage. Uber I was averaging $17/hour net and Lyft I'm around $24.


yeah you guys in boston are doing great. you'd probably feel different about uber if you drove at less than min wage. in reality you guys have no need to strike. hopefully we can get rates equal to yours in boston. $1.24 per mile, we get $1. $2 base fare, we get zero. yes zero base fare. $10 cancellation fee, damn!!!!! we get $5. our minimum trips are ridiculous, $2.40. i think this thread was meant for the majority of drivers that are making crumbs. but thanks for your input.


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## The_One (Sep 9, 2015)

jrboy said:


> yeah you guys in boston are doing great. you'd probably feel different about uber if you drove at less than min wage. in reality you guys have no need to strike. hopefully we can get rates equal to yours in boston. $1.24 per mile, we get $1. $2 base fare, we get zero. yes zero base fare. $10 cancellation fee, damn!!!!! we get $5. our minimum trips are ridiculous, $2.40. i think this thread was meant for the majority of drivers that are making crumbs. but thanks for your input.


Living and operating costs are different in every marketmarket, before posting nonsense do your homework.


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## jrboy (Sep 14, 2015)

The_One said:


> Living and operating costs are different in every marketmarket, before posting nonsense do your homework.


duh. lol thats what i was trying to tell him. learn to read in context. i'm actually for the strike. uber off!


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## Krisverde (Oct 13, 2015)

You started driving uber in a car with almost 100k...of course your car will need repairs at that kind of mileage. Plus manufactures have a maintenance interval that people are supposed to follow....but never do. The average owner pretty much runs their car into the ground for 100k with half ass maintenance.

Also you still fail to mention what kind of car you drive.

Either way I can fix anything on my car that goes wrong.

Also what good is the lifetime warranty on chrysler products when the company is probably going to fail in the next 5 years.


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## jstrickland (Oct 14, 2015)

A lot of what you said leads me to believe you're having trouble with mathematics. This could be part of your problem. You stated your earnings for 2 months but repair costs for 3 months. ?? This is definitely not for someone that can't do their own labor when it comes to repairs. I've been a mechanic for over 20 years. 15 of those years I delivered pizza full and part time. I once bought a car for $300. I drove it for 110k miles and put another $3000 in to it for repairs and maintenance. All the while this was my personal vehicle too and was taken on a few 2000 mile round trip vacations. Anyway, in the end I sold the car for $900. So not including fuel cost it cost me about 2 cents per mile. Not everyone can do this and I can't even do it every time. I hope you're get what you need with this strike but even union run companies have people waiting in line to take your job. The problem uber faces is this, they can keep one good "partner" for a lifetime or several new partners over the same time. If they choose the latter, they will be labeled the town ***** and sooner or later other businesses will replace them. But not without them filling their pockets first


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## BostonBarry (Aug 31, 2015)

jrboy said:


> yeah you guys in boston are doing great. you'd probably feel different about uber if you drove at less than min wage. in reality you guys have no need to strike. hopefully we can get rates equal to yours in boston. $1.24 per mile, we get $1. $2 base fare, we get zero. yes zero base fare. $10 cancellation fee, damn!!!!! we get $5. our minimum trips are ridiculous, $2.40. i think this thread was meant for the majority of drivers that are making crumbs. but thanks for your input.


I've repeatedly acknowledged that markets vary in other threads on the board. However, users keep titling threads in a manner which indicates everyone driving rideshare is delusional or idiotic no matter where their market is. I post to contradict that sentiment. Like I said, I couldn't care less about Uber. They aren't my primary or even secondary income stream. I've been "on strike" since August.


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