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LETS TALK ABOUT BUSINESS
You can rent a car to drive for Lyft and Uber.
…Is it a smart idea? NO
Many potential Lyft drivers get stuck during the application
process because they don’t have access to a qualifying car.
Lyft rentals cost around $180 – $250/week.
Rentals are not cheap, but if you want to try driving for Lyft
without having to buy a car, this could be a good option for you
BUT YOU'LL NOT BE ABLE TO DRIVE FOR UBER.
Of all the ways to get a car for Lyft, this one has the lowest
level of commitment because you’re only paying for a short
rental period.
One of the downsides is that the availability of rental cars is low,
so it can be difficult to make a reservation. If Hertz doesn’t have
a car available for you, you’re put on a waiting list. Most drivers
are only able to get a car by repeatedly checking the app and hoping
a reservation slot opens.
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RENT FROM LYFT CAN'T DRIVE FOR UBER?
You can’t use your Lyft rental to drive for Uber.
One of the first ideas most drivers has is to rent a car
from Lyft and use it to drive for Uber. Unfortunately, Lyft
that the Express Drive program prohibits this. You can’t use
a Lyft rental to drive for Uber.
That is a major disadvantage of the program because Uber’s
rentals don’t always make the same prohibition. So if you want
to rent a car and drive for both companies it may be a better
idea to go AND BUY A CAR.
Does renting a car to drive for Lyft make financial sense?
$180/week or more is expensive, and at current
Lyft rates you’ll need to work around 10 – 18 hours weekly just
to pay off the rental.
The price for these rentals is in line with the cost of Uber
rentals, which are also priced so high that they require
full-time driving in a major market to make financial sense.
But the upside is that with these rentals, you can try it for
just one week and decide whether to stay on or not.
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RENT OR BUY
Need a car to drive for Uber or Lyft?
Should you buy, rent, or lease?
What should you do when you want to drive for Uber but you
don’t have a car to use? Ideally you’ll already have your own
car that qualifies for an Uber service, but many drivers will
have to buy, lease, or rent a car to use for ride sharing jobs.
What’s the best choice?
You can be approved to drive for Uber even if you don’t
currently have access to a vehicle. You can apply and see if
you pass the background and driving record checks before you
go through the trouble of accessing a car.
If you don’t have a car yet, apply to Uber first and see the
vehicle options they offer in your area.
When you decide to get a car to drive for Uber, is it a smarter
financial decision to should you buy a car, rent a car, or lease?
Each option has upsides and downsides that I cover below.
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PROJECT DRIVE FOR UBER IN A RENTAL CAR ENDED
Uber Xchange is no longer offered by Uber as of
October 2017.
It was a leasing service that allowed drivers to lease an
Uber-approved car for around
$800/$1000 monthly.
It was cancelled after it became too unprofitable for Uber.
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DRIVE FOR LYFT AND UBER
Buy your own car to drive for Uber & Lyft.
Owning your own car to drive for Uber can be the cheapest
option, AND ONLY with fewer restrictions than
leases and weekly rentals.
The car will be yours to do with as you want, and the weekly
payment will almost always be cheaper than leases and rentals.
If you decide that buying your own car for Uber is the way to go,
buy the type of car that can realistically make you money with
current Uber rates:
An older used car in great condition that costs
$5,000–$13,000 will be nice enough to please
your riders and won’t dig too deeply into your weekly ride
earnings.
