Wear and tear costs as Uber vehicle?

[jwanderson88]

I drive for Uber three days a week. They don't pay very well. My nephew says the "wear and tear" on the truck cancels out whatever I make. The equation is different for an EV. How much "wear and tear" is there exactly? The main item that wears out is the tires. Is Uber a good use for my truck? Do I even have to worry about wear and tear?

Sponsored

 

[eskudo12791]

Something to consider before all of that, are you financed, if so Uber may void your gap coverage.

 

[Kelvn]

Interior wear and tear. uber riders over time will wear out your seats, potentially scratch door panels/interior panels, etc. Never been in a pristine uber and I"m guessing thats why.

Its a truck so depends on how you like your cars, but it would bug me personally.

 

[CrazyOne]

you are using up your warranty and will have to pay for any failures. With parts cost on Rivian, the service timelines and the fact that battery warranty expires at 120k, it's entirely possible that you may not make any money. Idk what you make, but you got to figure it out.

 

[computertom]

I think ingress and egress will make this very difficult. Even in kneel mode, these things are high for many people.

Seems like a truly bad fit.

 

[COdogman]

Uber has created a situation where the drivers take on nearly all the risk and they get nearly all the reward.

Even if the only wear and tear item in a year was your tires I feel like you are still getting screwed. And if that's true now it surely won't be just that forever. It's the seats and the brakes and suspension and all while you add more miles on, which accelerates the depreciation even more. Not to mention if some idiot damages your Rivian while working for Uber.

I understand why people are tempted to do it - Uber does a good job of making it sound like you are almost a small business owner. I wouldn't do it.

 

[True Grit]

Wouldn’t you have been better off just buying a much less expensive car?

 

[lefkonj]

I would say a 80k or higher vehicle is not ideal for uber. A R3 definitely but the R1 is just too big, too expensive to put through the rigors of being an Uber vehicle.

 

[KBabione]

The math on this should be pretty simple to determine if being an Uber driver is a net loss for you. I'm assuming that Uber pays you per mile (I don't know, but it does make the comparison easier). Your total cost per mile is:

Energy Cost/Mile + Tires/Mile + Depreciation/Mile + Insurance/Mile = Operating Cost Per Mile

Yes - I know there are other factors...Annual registration, personal property tax (if Utah robs you that way), etc. Most of the other maintenance you'll experience (wipers, washer fluid, etc) is not mileage based. Nor does this take into account changing the oil in the motors at 110K. You'll have those other costs by simply owning the Rivian whether or not you're a RideShare driver.

Energy Cost/Mile
If you charge exclusively at home you need your $/KWH and then you need to know from the truck how many miles you go per KWH of energy. If you charge at a "Pay per KWH" charger, then use that cost. In my case I'm paying roughly $0.16/KWH and average around 2 Miles/KWH, so my energy cost is $0.08/mile.

Tires
I have 20" tires so I'll say that I'm going to get 40,000 miles on a set that will cost me $2,000 to replace (including tire rotations). It keeps the math simple - $0.05/mile.

Depreciation
If you paid cash it's fairly simple to make some assumptions here. If not you'll need to factor in what you're paying in interest on the car loan. Again, to keep things simple, I paid $80,000 for the car and I'll estimate that it will be worth $20,000 when I trade it in after putting 80,000 miles on it - $0.75/mile

Insurance
If you pay a monthly premium to your insurance company to allow you to use it as an Uber then you simply take that amount divided by the approximate number of miles you drive it as an Uber each month. I'm assuming that you'd have insurance to cover your non-Uber use of it so only the Uber premium counts here. Let's say you pay an extra $100/month and put 3,000 Uber miles on per month - $0.03/mile

Add it all up and in my example it's: .08 + .05 + .75 + .03 = $0.91/mile. Adjust the numbers as they fit you and compare that to what you're making as an Uber driver and you have a number. This does not include the other wear and tear as mentioned above, including, but not limited to:

• Scratches, tears, and spills inside your vehicle
• Residual body odor ( Jerry Seinfeld )
• Dings on the door when they open it without noticing the lamp post next to the vehicle
• etc.

Like everyone else, I cannot imagine that using a Rivian as an Uber is cost effective, but you do you.

 

[Davethadog]

I cannot fathom how it makes any amount of financial sense to buy a very expensive EV while also needing to drive Uber. New or used, you’re into a vehicle that is still not done depreciating and you’ll never recoup those costs while you compete against some other Joe in a haggard 08 Prius he bought for what your tires will cost.

I’m not knocking the hustle but someone has to say this is a stupid idea unless you just enjoy the conversation…

 

[ndmiller]

Do you really get to take advantage of the Manufactures warranty on an automobile used for commercial driving business?

Are NYC new vehicles put into service as cabs warrantied?

Agree with above, get a midsized Asian branded hybrid (accord/camry/prius/elantra/etc) so you don't lock up 80K+ in overhead. Although you can deduct it being an uber driver so what the hell.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

I do some limited Uber with my vehicle, but it's very part-time and only when they're offering greater than $2/mile - I've accepted 9% of the offers they've sent me, but if it's busy you can catch a good run(in Denver at least - although this could be impossible in some markets). I don't Uber after dark, mainly because of the increased chance of someone getting sick in the car with the bar crowds.

The nice thing about the Rivian is it qualifies for all the different products (XL and Comfort Electric). You'd think that you're going to be packed on most of the XL rides, but it's more often just folks who want more room or are headed to the airport. It's best to register for Lyft too. They also sometimes offer promos - especially if you take some time off.

Definitely make sure your insurance company will sell you a ride share endorsement (it's pretty inexpensive if offered). It's not worth playing games with the insurance otherwise.

 

[waitingonanr1s]

The math on this should be pretty simple to determine if being an Uber driver is a net loss for you. I'm assuming that Uber pays you per mile (I don't know, but it does make the comparison easier). Your total cost per mile is:

Energy Cost/Mile + Tires/Mile + Depreciation/Mile + Insurance/Mile = Operating Cost Per Mile

Yes - I know there are other factors...Annual registration, personal property tax (if Utah robs you that way), etc. Most of the other maintenance you'll experience (wipers, washer fluid, etc) is not mileage based. Nor does this take into account changing the oil in the motors at 110K. You'll have those other costs by simply owning the Rivian whether or not you're a RideShare driver.

Energy Cost/Mile
If you charge exclusively at home you need your $/KWH and then you need to know from the truck how many miles you go per KWH of energy. If you charge at a "Pay per KWH" charger, then use that cost. In my case I'm paying roughly $0.16/KWH and average around 2 Miles/KWH, so my energy cost is $0.08/mile.

Tires
I have 20" tires so I'll say that I'm going to get 40,000 miles on a set that will cost me $2,000 to replace (including tire rotations). It keeps the math simple - $0.05/mile.

Depreciation
If you paid cash it's fairly simple to make some assumptions here. If not you'll need to factor in what you're paying in interest on the car loan. Again, to keep things simple, I paid $80,000 for the car and I'll estimate that it will be worth $20,000 when I trade it in after putting 80,000 miles on it - $0.75/mile

Insurance
If you pay a monthly premium to your insurance company to allow you to use it as an Uber then you simply take that amount divided by the approximate number of miles you drive it as an Uber each month. I'm assuming that you'd have insurance to cover your non-Uber use of it so only the Uber premium counts here. Let's say you pay an extra $100/month and put 3,000 Uber miles on per month - $0.03/mile

Add it all up and in my example it's: .08 + .05 + .75 + .03 = $0.91/mile. Adjust the numbers as they fit you and compare that to what you're making as an Uber driver and you have a number. This does not include the other wear and tear as mentioned above, including, but not limited to:

• Scratches, tears, and spills inside your vehicle
• Residual body odor ( Jerry Seinfeld )
• Dings on the door when they open it without noticing the lamp post next to the vehicle
• etc.

Like everyone else, I cannot imagine that using a Rivian as an Uber is cost effective, but you do you.

I think this is pretty accurate. That's the reason $2/mi is my minimum when I Uber. If I did Uber for 100,000 mi - I would've earned a new R1S. Of course that's going to take a long time at the rate I do Uber/Lyft/Amazon (1,887 mi last year).

 

[TollKeeper]

I know someone that makes a killing on Uber/Lyft. He has a 2017 Tesla Model X Currently. He buys a replacement car every 2 years, and its always a 2017 Model X. Free SuperCharging is his only reason, and the gull wing doors always makes his customers smile (which usually translates to higher tips). He makes really good coin. But it only makes sense if the per mile break down, and vehicle rotation, are in place. Hes telling me that this time round, he paid cash for a decent mileage Model X, around $40k, and he will have paid for itself in 4 months, and that includes all his ancillaries. Rest of the time is just bonus.

If he hits a low spot, he can hang out at a supercharger, and charge it up (for free), and he normally never runs out of battery thru his day. Has a supercharger near his house, so always has a topped up battery.

 

[sambo]

you are using up your warranty and will have to pay for any failures. With parts cost on Rivian, the service timelines and the fact that battery warranty expires at 120k, it's entirely possible that you may not make any money. Idk what you make, but you got to figure it out.

I think battery is 175K

Sponsored