The amount of money you can make as an Uber driver depends on many elements including the city you are driving in and the hours you spend on it. Also, when you own a car, there are many expenses that you need to pay. But still, we see many drivers who use their own vehicles and many others who use a rental car for Uber.
There is no exact answer to the question if it’s better to use a rental car for Uber. The answer is really what is better for your specific situation, however, maybe this example can give you some ideas about your next move towards driving for Uber.
Uber Car Rental Vs Owning A Car
Here is an example so we see how renting or purchasing a New Hyundai Elantra 2020 is going to work for ridesharing purposes.
New Hyundai Elantra 2020 26k Vehicle Purchase or Rent? Two Years Model
Car Payment (dependant on credit) Rental $720 vs Owned $400
Car Maintenance (tires, oil, basics) Rental $0 vs Owned $100 mo.
Car Insurance ($50 variance) Rental $0 vs owned $150 mo.
Vehicle Cost (car payment + maintenance + insurance) Rental $720 vs Owned $650
Yearly Vehicle Cost (car payment + maintenance + insurance) Rental $8640 vs Owned $7800
Gross Driving Earnings 1k Week $48k a year – 40 hours a week or 850 miles a week, whichever comes first. 40800 miles a year.
Minus Vehicle Cost Rental $39360 vs Owned $40200
Gas Cost – Hyundai Elantra 14 gal tank 37 MPG Combined 518 miles per tank of gas Approx. $28 per full tank cost ($2 Gal.)
Miles Driven 170 miles driven per day x 5 days a week = 40,800 miles per year
Approx. Gas Price per year = $2212
Adjusted Earnings Minus Gas Cost – Rental $37148 vs Owned $37988
You will earn slightly more by owning your vehicle based on normal costs… However, there are more considerations.
Important Side Note >>> In 2020 the IRS is giving back + .57.5 cents per mile driven on taxes this applies to both rentals and owned vehicles and we discuss it in the About Rideshare Taxes article.
If you had an owned vehicle for 5 years, you would have a vehicle with 204k miles on it which has devalued to nothing. You will most likely not be able to trade this vehicle in for any new car. Use a Hyundai Elantra 26k new purchase value as an example. How long should you keep your car in order to save money? In 2 years, you will have 80k miles driven on the vehicle.
You probably do not want to go over 100k miles on a vehicle as you will start losing lots of money on trading your car in at a car dealer if you wanted to trade it in for a new vehicle. If you just want to use it until it is used up as a service vehicle and then keep it as a vehicle you will never be able to sell, that is another choice.
Your average depreciation could be somewhere around 21% when driving 40k miles a year as in the example here. Your new 26k Hyundai Elantra would lose somewhere around $10k in value in two years. You would be able to trade the car in for a new one for sure. How much the market value is after two years and what a car dealer will give you is up to you to negotiate.
The market value on it might be 16k considering you lost 10k from depreciation, but a dealer will not give you that much as they need to make money. Therefore they would offer let’s say 12k. Well, now you depreciated 14k, not 10k.
Is it a good idea to rent a vehicle then? It could be as your monthly cost will be slightly higher, but you have very low liability as car rental options include insurance and maintenance. What this means is zero downtime to drive if your rental has an issue. If they have a rental in stock for you of course, but the chance is good you won’t need to wait. In some cases, yes. Let’s say your monthly car payment for a new Elantra is $300 mo. Well, that is way below what it would cost to rent the same vehicle per month.
$300 per month lower in some cases. However, let’s remember you will swallow at least around 10k in depreciation in two years as an owner. Also, pay $150 or more on car insurance per month. and probably pay at least 1k a year in vehicle maintenance on the low side due to things like a set of tires needing replacement, oil changes, etc. So, let’s say in two years your maintenance costs are $2500 (not an unreasonable thought) and 10k in car depreciation for a total of $12,500.
That will cost you an extra $520 a month over two years… so now your total monthly is really $820 a month versus a car rental example of $600 a month.
Is it worth it to own your vehicle? Well, you will be able to trade it in for a new one and your monthly payment may actually go down on the new one since the total vehicle cost is being offset by the trade-in cost. The second vehicle you purchase would incur depreciation as well. Depreciation is less for lower-priced vehicles so the purchase model may make sense. Then there is the question of having a vehicle to use once you retire the vehicle, but if you are renting a vehicle you still get to use it as you normally would for anything you do.
Some vehicle rental options for Uber have limited milage usage per week and/or per day so this might cramp your style too.
Rental Car For Uber Partners
Currently, Uber is working with many rental companies such as Getaround, Enterprise, Hertz, Hyrecar, and Zipcar. Renting a car from each of these companies has its own benefits. Here we are going to talk about all of them.
Getaround Uber
You can rent a vehicle from Getaround for a $4/hour starting price to drive for Uber. Right now, Hourly rentals are only available in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington, DC.
How Does Getaround Work
It is pretty simple to join Getaround. You don’t have to pay a cent for membership for its totally free. All you need to do is to upload your driver’s license and wait for it to be verified. Then you can select your ride, go to its location, unlock it through Getaround app, and start driving. Please remember you are responsible for refueling the vehicle and bringing it back clean to the same location it was parked.
Getaround Insurance
By renting a car from Getaround as a ridesharing driver, both you and the vehicle will be under Getaround insurance coverage. This insurance includes comprehensive, collision, and liability coverage administered by Broadspire.
Getaround Mileage Limit
Nearly all of the vehicles offered by Getaround have a base mileage limit depending on the type of car which is 100 daily miles for standard and 200 for specialty cars. Any additional requests for more mileage will come with additional charges.
Check Out Getaround Rental Options >>> Here
Uber Enterprise Rental
Enterprise is an Ex-partner with Uber. They ended their partnership with Uber in 2017. So we don’t recommend you to rent a vehicle from them.
Uber Car Rental Hertz
Hertz is currently partnering with Uber and renting cars to drivers. The cost of renting a car from hertz might be different in each city. However, to illustrate an example, you can actually rent a car for a week in Denver for $214. Also, you need to pay a $200 deposit upfront which is refundable right after you return the car.
Check Out Hertz Rental Options >>> Here
AVIS Uber
Uber drivers can rent a car for $214 a week from AVIS which is another car rental company partnering with Uber and it is currently available to drivers in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis – St. Paul, Nashville, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, DC.
Check Out AVIS Rental Options >>> Here
Hyrecar Uber
Considered one of the best rental companies for ridesharing, HyreCar is renting vehicles especially to Uber drivers with no contracts, no signup fees, and no delay. It has multiple options for filtering the vehicles such as price, model, and even location, making it very easy to find the vehicle an Uber driver is looking for.
Please note that the minimum amount of time for renting a car from HyreCar is 2 days. Also, if you are using a debit card, you need to pay an upfront $200 refundable deposit. Otherwise, if you want to avoid that deposit, you’ll have to use a credit card instead.
In order to avoid any additional late fees, make sure to check “confirm dropoff” on the app or website when you are returning the car. Its also recommended to confirm it with the owner too.
Also, if you are an Uber driver and already own a car, you can rent it out using HyreCar in case you want to take a break from driving for a few days and still make some money.
Hyrecar Insurance
If you’ve wondered, “Do I need rideshare insurance? “. The answer is, yes. You need special coverage that some major insurance companies don’t offer. That’s why HyreCar insurance coverage is included with every rental. That way you’re covered in case of an accident while you’re driving on the job.
Hyrecar Cost
At HyerCar, The prices for cars are decided by owners so there is not any list of prices we can provide.
Check Out Hyrecar Rental Options >>> Here
Uber Zipcar Rental Car For Uber
Another car rental company is partnering with Uber in California, Las Vegas, Georgia, and also the United Kingdom.
What Is Zipcar
Zipcar is a car rental company partnering with Uber eats available for delivery services. It also offers special benefits for Uber Eats drivers who are renting a car form Zipcar for the first time.
Zipcar Insurance
If you comply with Zipcar membership contract, you are covered by Zipcar physical damage insurance while you are driving a vehicle rented from this company. However, the driver is responsible for any damage to the vehicle up to a $1000 fee. Any further damage is covered by Zipcar insurance. The damage fee can be reduced or eliminated with the purchase of an optional damage protection plan.
Zipcar insurance also includes secondary third party liability coverage and, where required, Personal Injury Protection (PIP) or “no-fault” coverage. All third party liability and PIP coverage meet the minimum requirements of the state or jurisdiction in which an accident occurs, and coverage is only available after a member has exhausted any other applicable coverage.
Zipcar Mileage Limit
Zipcar provides 180 free miles for each 24-hour period on every vehicle plus 20 free miles for each additional hour of your reservation until you reach 180 miles.
Zipcar Prices
Zipcar has this option so drivers can choose their driving plans based on the type of car they want, trip duration, and the number of miles they want to travel. So make sure to visit the Zipcar website to calculate your plan cost.
All additional mileage will be billed at $0.45/mile when your reservation ends (up to $0.55/mile for premium vehicles and cargo vans).
Check Out Zipcar Rental Options >>> Here
Turo Uber
Turo is another company for renting cars, mostly with higher quality. This company allows car owners to rent their cars to drivers who are looking for rent under specific demands set by the owner.
How Does Turo Work
If you are an owner, you can simply upload your vehicle information on Turo’s website and earn passive income from renting it without driving. However, as an uber driver, At the time of this writing you can not use any of Turo’s vehicles unless you want to use it for a personal purpose.
Turo Insurance
According to Turo’s website, Turo provides three levels of insurance coverage to hosts (people who own cars and allow others to rent them through the Turo platform): Basic, Standard, and Premium. They also all include coverage for physical damage to the car, up to $125,000. However, selecting the “Basic” level means that you have to pay a deductible: 80% of the first $3,000 to cover repairs. The Standard and Premium options waive the deductible, and Turo will cover the entire cost to repair your vehicle if it is damaged.
Check Out Turo Rental Options >>> Here
You Should Check Out: Rideshare-Rentals
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