Wandl

So...out of social curiosity and a lot of free time (along with permission from the missus), I started driving for both Uber & Lyft with my 2010 LS460 about 3 weeks ago.

All in all, everyone likes the car. I've fit a bunch of frat boys, a bachelorette party, businessmen going to & fro airports, passed out drunks, prom dates and no horror stories to tell! LS460 handles well in the streets of downtown Dallas. Common comments include:
- This is cool
- Wow it is really comfortable
- Didn't know there was this much space on the inside
- I'm now considering to buying one
- It's so quiet

Only slight issues I've had thus far...many don't even know what a LS460 is (which is problematic since I'm waiting for them/picking them up, they won't know what car to go to) and less than ideal gas mileage in premium gas while idling a lot...

All in all, a great experience and really like the LS doing this. I only work on weekend prime-hours (7pm-3am), been averaging ~$20/hour before expenses such as gas, tolls or mileage depreciation. That is pure average, I've had a silent 2 hours before and I've had 5 rides in an hour before so I bring a book to keep me occupied.

BTW for a little shameless plug, for those of you considering to drive with Uber/Lyft for a little pocket change, let me refer you....gets you up to a $750 bonus when you sign up, depending on which city you are in. This post isn't trying to advocate ridesharing, purely a reflection on my personal experience in my Lexus...

dseag2

Very interesting observations on so many levels. You are a brave soul, letting strangers ride in your LS. Glad to hear there have been no "incidents".

Re: working for Uber, I don't think many customers would like to ride in the back of my car.

BTW, I'm also in Dallas. I may meet you the next time I need to go to the airport.

litesoarer

Uber Black?

Wandl

Can't - UberBlack requires my car to be actually black (it is grey), and requires commercial insurance, which I'm not prepared to do since I am doing this very sporadically. Lucky to get UberSelect but mostly I get Uber X rates..

litesoarer

Oh I see.

If one were doing it full time though the upgrade seems like it'd be worth it. Our ride from HNL into Waikiki on Uber Black was $65 last year.

S2000toIS350

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I use Uber a fair amount and actually feel it is so cheap as to be hurting the drivers.

We went from the Newark Airport to some NJ suburb and the whole ride was like $16 and took like 35 minutes. Considering gas and the other costs to the driver you mentioned, the consumer is winning, but I don't see the win for the driver.

Uber Share seems even crazier. You can get a ride in Chicago for like $3.50. No point in taking the bus for the consumer but the driver is bouncing around place to place. And then if one of the passenger doesn't come out of their apartment to take the ride, no fare.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

How did this impact your auto insurance? I recently renewed a policy and AAA had plenty of exclusions for use as a taxi/limo/for hire use. I don't know anybody that does Uber type driving to ask them.

Aron9000

I was thinking about doing uber last year, had a line on a Toyota Avalon I could have bought for CHEAP. Called my insurance agent 3 times asking about insurance for doing Uber. Each time they acted like I was asking them for something impossible and that they'd call me back later with some more info and a quote. This is from the same local insurance broker I had been using for the past 10+ years. Needless to say after this I shopped around for insurance and I am now with Geico, exact same coverage for $350 instead of $600 every six months.

Decided I didn't want to drive a taxi with drunk *******s in it after all.

Wandl

For my personal auto insurance, it was un-affected. Most carriers now have a "ride-share" policy (I think Farmers and Geico specifically have this) but Uber/Lyft also has coverage when a driver has his app searching for rides. Again, still early days, so who knows if my insurance company changes their mind....

RXSF

very interesting indeed. I have often thought that leasing a car for $99/month like a civic or something is actually possible, provided you pay for the extra mileage. But still, easy way to make a quick buck on the side.

yllwneck86

Uber has a leasing program called Xchange. You can choose between 31 models from 8 different manufactures. The price of the weekly lease is different pending on which car you choose to drive for Uber. The requirement is that you put $250 down, you can not put more or less into the deposit The lease covers oil changes and tire rotations through the dealership that has been authorized for you to pick the car from.


At the time when I choose to lease a 2015 Ford Fusion SE through Xchange, I had 2 options for ride share insurance between Metromile and Farmers.


The extra pocket change was great until after the rate cuts. I was barely keeping my head above water after my deductions. I gave my car back to the dealership and lost my $250 deposit.

tecman

I went to Palaka Florida last week with the Atlanta Power Boat Club. There isn't a taxi service available, only a driver service. I'm not sure how it works down there, but we got the owner which has a few employees. With a 20+ minutes drive through multiple lights the charge was seven dollars. The guy is on call 24/7 for this kind of money

The driver was great and quick to show up every time we called him for dinner and drinks. I gave him $20 for every trip except for the night we dragged him to the grocery store and liquor store LOL, 40 bucks for that and I bought some flowers for his wife

chikoo

I think part time Uber is great for people looking to meet up with different folks and chat, and not necessarily make a living.

Wandl

Agree. There are some studies (I think by the rideshare company) that shows top drivers in Dallas (my area) can max out around $60k (gross, before depreciation, expenses, taxes)...drivers in California can go up to $90k.

However based on my personal experiences....I agree, it would be difficult to use this as a sole source of income given the current rates. Last night I drove to a Journey concert...42 minute ride due to traffic, $10.82 was my cut (think the total fare around $15). Wasn't happy...

GiantsFan

iTrader: (9)

I did uber in my IS... People were mostly surprised that I was doing it in a heavily modified Lexus haha