Buying a Mach-E and making Uber pay for it

[Rotmeat]

I've seen a few comments here and there on the rideshare experience and wanted to put my 2 cents in.

From a business perspective, if you're driving a lot, a Mach-E makes a LOT of sense.

I drive about 4,000-5,000 miles per month, bringing home about $1,000 per week for a little over 30 hours of driving (before expenses).

I pay about $150/month for electricity.

• I live in an apartment with reserved charging spots that cost $50/month for unlimited L2 charging.
• I'll probably fast charge 3-4 times each weekend, paying about $8 each time. Uber drivers with at least Gold status currently get 40% off at EVGo, and there are a number of 60kW chargers that only charge $0.12-20 per kW that are great for topping off during lunch breaks.
• I also occasionally stop at the free fast charger at my grocery store late in the AM when there's no demand.

In comparison, this is what I'd be paying for gas:

• at 18 MPG (realistic for a non-hybrid SUV), at $4/gallon (typical in my city), I'd pay about $890-$1111 per month.
• at 30 mpg (typical sedan), I'd pay about $533-667.
• at 50 mpg (Prius-level), I'd pay about $320-400.

I drive a GTPE, and my monthly payment is about $1,000. I purchased it new, and would have saved a lot by buying used, or even getting a lower trim, but I just wanted it.

In comparison,

• a Cadillac Escalade (a vehicle that qualifies for similar rides as the Mach-E, and which is popular among Uber drivers) costs around $600/month used.
• a Kia Soul (picking an average-but-usable vehicle with 30 mpg) would cost around $225/month used.
• a Toyota Prius would cost around $350/month used.

So, altogether, driving my Mach-E costs me about $1150 per month. An Escalade would cost me around $1600/month, a Kia Soul would cost a little under $800, and a Prius would cost about $700. I could save a few hundred dollars per month by driving a Kia Soul or Prius... but then I'd have to drive a Kia Soul or Prius.


But that's not all.

• Since the Mach-E is electric, I'm eligible for Green rides. They don't pay any extra, but some people only take Green rides, so I have less wait time.
• I'm also eligible for Comfort and Premium rides, which do pay extra, and which the Soul and Prius don't qualify for.
• I also get an additional $1-per-ride flat bonus for driving electric.

All in all, I gross a little over $30/hour, whereas the average for my city is only $27. The extra earnings wind up putting an extra $400/month or so in my pocket, which means that my take-home average is about the same as the Soul or Prius... but I don't have to drive a Soul or Prius.


This is also not factoring in the extra time and money you'd spend on maintenance (remember, every day your car is in the shop, that's hundreds of dollars out of your pocket...). I'm not going to try and guess at that, but it's more than nothing.


Obviously, the math varies for people. Your charging costs might be higher or lower, gas might cost more or less, maybe you got a great deal on your vehicle, I don't know. But I wanted to show some real-life typical numbers to illustrate that a Mach-E is actually a very reasonable choice from a business perspective.

And you don't have to drive a Soul or Prius.

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[onepunch]

if you are doing it as a "business", then technically you should also be writing off the mileage and/or depreciating the car on your taxes.....

 

[RickMachE]

Glad it works for you. Just make sure that a) your vehicle is insured for damage while driving for Uber. Some personal auto policies won't cover it, and Uber may only cover liability insurance, b) understand any implications for the car's warranty coverage, given it's being used for commercial usage, not personal, and c) if you're not using Ford Drive with Uber, make sure you have verified that your lender (if the car is financed) permits commercial usage.

 

[hybrid2bev]

if you're not using Ford Drive with Uber, make sure you have verified that your lender (if the car is financed) permits commercial usage.

Yes, especialy this if you are doing Ford Options or Red Carpet Lease!!

 

[Logal727]

Yes, especialy this if you are doing Ford Options or Red Carpet Lease!!

5k miles a month on a lease seems idiotic.

 

[hybrid2bev]

5k miles a month on a lease seems idiotic.

People don't always make the best choices.

 

[smcnair]

At $1000 / month that doesn't sound like a lease. Unless he got some really bad terms.

I had an Uber driver in San Diego that had the same Mach E as my son. Description on his profile said "really cool car". I agreed...much better than a Soul or a Prius.

 

[Art]

I've seen a few comments here and there on the rideshare experience and wanted to put my 2 cents in.

From a business perspective, if you're driving a lot, a Mach-E makes a LOT of sense.

I drive about 4,000-5,000 miles per month, bringing home about $1,000 per week for a little over 30 hours of driving (before expenses).

I pay about $150/month for electricity.

• I live in an apartment with reserved charging spots that cost $50/month for unlimited L2 charging.
• I'll probably fast charge 3-4 times each weekend, paying about $8 each time. Uber drivers with at least Gold status currently get 40% off at EVGo, and there are a number of 60kW chargers that only charge $0.12-20 per kW that are great for topping off during lunch breaks.
• I also occasionally stop at the free fast charger at my grocery store late in the AM when there's no demand.

In comparison, this is what I'd be paying for gas:

• at 18 MPG (realistic for a non-hybrid SUV), at $4/gallon (typical in my city), I'd pay about $890-$1111 per month.
• at 30 mpg (typical sedan), I'd pay about $533-667.
• at 50 mpg (Prius-level), I'd pay about $320-400.

I drive a GTPE, and my monthly payment is about $1,000. I purchased it new, and would have saved a lot by buying used, or even getting a lower trim, but I just wanted it.

In comparison,

• a Cadillac Escalade (a vehicle that qualifies for similar rides as the Mach-E, and which is popular among Uber drivers) costs around $600/month used.
• a Kia Soul (picking an average-but-usable vehicle with 30 mpg) would cost around $225/month used.
• a Toyota Prius would cost around $350/month used.

So, altogether, driving my Mach-E costs me about $1150 per month. An Escalade would cost me around $1600/month, a Kia Soul would cost a little under $800, and a Prius would cost about $700. I could save a few hundred dollars per month by driving a Kia Soul or Prius... but then I'd have to drive a Kia Soul or Prius.


But that's not all.

• Since the Mach-E is electric, I'm eligible for Green rides. They don't pay any extra, but some people only take Green rides, so I have less wait time.
• I'm also eligible for Comfort and Premium rides, which do pay extra, and which the Soul and Prius don't qualify for.
• I also get an additional $1-per-ride flat bonus for driving electric.

All in all, I gross a little over $30/hour, whereas the average for my city is only $27. The extra earnings wind up putting an extra $400/month or so in my pocket, which means that my take-home average is about the same as the Soul or Prius... but I don't have to drive a Soul or Prius.


This is also not factoring in the extra time and money you'd spend on maintenance (remember, every day your car is in the shop, that's hundreds of dollars out of your pocket...). I'm not going to try and guess at that, but it's more than nothing.


Obviously, the math varies for people. Your charging costs might be higher or lower, gas might cost more or less, maybe you got a great deal on your vehicle, I don't know. But I wanted to show some real-life typical numbers to illustrate that a Mach-E is actually a very reasonable choice from a business perspective.

And you don't have to drive a Soul or Prius.

4,000 miles per month divided by 30 hours worked = 133 miles every hour.
Something is wrong here.

 

[RickMachE]

4,000 miles per month divided by 30 hours worked = 133 miles every hour.
Something is wrong here.

Maybe he just drives really fast?

 

[hybrid2bev]

4,000 miles per month divided by 30 hours worked = 133 miles every hour.
Something is wrong here.

"$1,000 per week for a little over 30 hours"

30 hours per week.

 

[Rotmeat]

1) I own it, my credit union is ok with it, I have rideshare insurance
2) I have an LLC and expense and depreciate appropriately
3) it's 30 hours per week = roughly 30 MPH average

 

[ErBauer]

I know this thread is a little old, but I started doing Uber in part because of this post. In Nov. and Dec. I drove part-time and made 45 trips, drove 1,020 miles, and made $636. I also drive Lyft, but I don't have the numbers on those rides handy. Between the two I average about $30 per hour. I only do about three hours in the mornings on the days I drive. If I have a weekday off, sometimes I will do another 3 hours in the afternoon. After my $.65 per mile tax credit, I actually report a loss at tax time!

(Yes, I have coverage from my insurance for rideshare - it costs and extra $300 per year to cover the times not covered by Uber and Lyft.)

I have met some great people driving and I have answered dozens of questions about the car. One guy was so excited, he wanted to take pictures to send to his friends. When I dropped him off, three of his friends came out to see the car. I drove one woman who was in the US from Botswana. She facetimed with her son so he could see the car. I had a brochure from Ford in the back and gave it to her for him.

This has been great fun! Hoping to do it full time when I am off in the summer. Should be able to pay off the remaining balance in 10 weeks or so!

 

[Rotmeat]

I know this thread is a little old, but I started doing Uber in part because of this post... /snip

That's awesome! I'm glad to have made an impact!

To give my own update, I've since moved to full-time. So far the Mach-E seems to be holding up really well! Riders in my area get very confused about the door buttons (though most of them really like it once they figure it out), so I've had to put some decals up for day driving and interior spotlights for night driving.

I've had a lot of great experiences. Tesla has a huge influence, for better and worse - people associate EVs these days with cheap interiors, and are often pleasantly surprised at how nice the Mach-E is inside. It's also a constant struggle to convince people they don't need to push a button to get back out - they'll often roll down the windows once, even twice, push the B&O icon, and search all around the rest of the car before I can get them to understand that's only a Tesla thing.

But they know the cars are fast, and always get a kick out of it when I can punch it up an on-ramp for them.

The Elon hate is also real, and there are a lot of people who've told me they hadn't considered an EV before because of him, but might consider a Mach-E now.

Many of them also way overestimate how long it takes to fast charge - when I tell them it takes about 40 minutes 20%-80%, and the Mach-E charges very slowly compared to the competition, I often hear people say "Wow! That's still fast! I thought it was more like 2 hours..."

Anyway, Uber seems like it's been a great way to introduce the vehicle to people. By its very nature, the forum leads you to a lot of negativity, but there's a LOT of excitement out there for this vehicle.

 

[ErBauer]

That's awesome! I'm glad to have made an impact!

To give my own update, I've since moved to full-time. So far the Mach-E seems to be holding up really well! Riders in my area get very confused about the door buttons (though most of them really like it once they figure it out), so I've had to put some decals up for day driving and interior spotlights for night driving.

I've had a lot of great experiences. Tesla has a huge influence, for better and worse - people associate EVs these days with cheap interiors, and are often pleasantly surprised at how nice the Mach-E is inside. It's also a constant struggle to convince people they don't need to push a button to get back out - they'll often roll down the windows once, even twice, push the B&O icon, and search all around the rest of the car before I can get them to understand that's only a Tesla thing.

But they know the cars are fast, and always get a kick out of it when I can punch it up an on-ramp for them.

The Elon hate is also real, and there are a lot of people who've told me they hadn't considered an EV before because of him, but might consider a Mach-E now.

Many of them also way overestimate how long it takes to fast charge - when I tell them it takes about 40 minutes 20%-80%, and the Mach-E charges very slowly compared to the competition, I often hear people say "Wow! That's still fast! I thought it was more like 2 hours..."

Anyway, Uber seems like it's been a great way to introduce the vehicle to people. By its very nature, the forum leads you to a lot of negativity, but there's a LOT of excitement out there for this vehicle.

Agree with all of this! I have given up the struggle with the outside button in the winter. I would roll down the window to tell passengers how to get in, now I just reach over and open the door for them. I have had nothing but compliments also - and many in comparison to their Uber Tesla experiences.

Only doing a few hours on the weekends or days off, but really enjoying it so far. SO many interesting people and interesting stories!
Eric

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