Nathan 
Do you have a driver’s license and you’ve been toying with the idea of driving for Uber, but you don’t own an vehicle? There’s people out there that rent cars so they can drive for Uber, so they can make money with Uber; But should you do this, too? Here’s what you should know before you decide to rent a car so become an Uber driver.
How Does It Work
It’s straightforward. You find a place to rent a car, choose the rental you want and pay the rates. Oh, and you’ll have to tell the company how long you want the car for. Once you have your rental, log into your Uber driver account and wait until there’s passengers that need to be picked up.
Who Should Consider Doing It
Anyone who doesn’t own a vehicle, but want to potentially make money driving for Uber should consider renting a vehicle. Those who own a vehicle, but don’t want to use it for Uber might also want to think about getting a rental.
Can You Still Make Money Renting And Driving For Uber
Of course you could potentially make money renting a car and then using it to drive for the ride-sharing company; But, the key (obviously) is to make more with Uber than it cost for your rental. Not only that, but you have to make sure it’s actually worth your while. If you put in a ton of hours driving, yet only make a profit of $100 (after car rental costs), then in my opinion that isn’t worth it.
However, if you score a cheap rental, and rake in around $1,000 in profit (just an example, again) for around 40 hours of work, then I would say that’s probably worth it.
Where To Rent A Car To Drive For Uber
There’s actually a lot of places you can rent a car for Uber. Below is only a handful of the very many places:
USA
Europe
Australia
Those are only a few places you could check out if you’re considering renting a car.
The Pros
The handful of benefits or pros of renting a car for Uber so you can potentially make money with Uber are:
- No wear and tear on your own vehicle or miles
- No monthly/annual car insurance to pay for
- Can rent a different vehicle regularly
When you use a rental, you won’t be putting wear and tear on your own car. Any kind of job that requires you to use a vehicle is going to rack up miles, as well as wear/tear on the vehicle.
Owning a car usually means an annual car insurance bill or a monthly car insurance bill. Sure, renting a car will sometimes mean paying extra for insurance. However, there are companies that include insurance in the price of the rental.
Another good thing about renting a vehicle is you can change things up regularly. After you return the car, you can rent a different make and model.
The Cons
There’s a few cons of getting a rental vehicle, with some of them being:
- You can lose money
- Driving for Uber is competitive
- Can become tedious
If you rent a vehicle and don’t get enough passengers to at lease break even, then you could lose money. Let’s say you rent a car for $500 for the entire week, but you have a bad week driving for Uber and you only make around $200 take home $200, then that means you lost $300.
Driving for Uber is competitive. Sure, it all boils down to supply and demand; So if you drive in a major city, the potential to earn good money is there. But, the competition can be fierce in some places. When you use your own car and you don’t get enough work, then that’s bad enough. However, I can see how it could be even worse if you spent hundreds on a rental and can’t get enough passengers.
Renting can become tedious. Regardless if you do a short, medium or long-term rental, you’ll still have to go back and forth from the rental place. This can eventually become a hassle for some people.
Advice
Don’t just rent a car for the sake of being able to doing it. Do your research on the areas you plan on driving in. If you’re located in or near a big city, then renting a car for Uber might make sense. However, if you’re in a rural area or an area where Uber and ride hailing apps in general aren’t popular, then renting a vehicle isn’t going to be worth it.
Another tip is to compare different rental companies. The goal is to get the cheapest rate possible on a car. The less you pay for a rental, the bigger your profit margins will potentially be.
If you’re adamant on renting a car so you can make money driving for Uber, then consider rent a vehicle for an entire week (only if your budget allows and only if you can afford to lose the money). If you make a profit and it seems worth your while, then keep on renting and keep on earning. But, if you lose money or barely breaking even, then it’s probably best to look for another way to earn cash.
