Is it better to rent a CAR?

We've recently seen a surge in people renting cars for Uber, Lyft, and other platforms with multiple companies, and here we share our personal and professional opinion.

The first question many may ask is: Is renting a car profitable? The short and simple answer is a resounding NO. I know many will have different opinions, saying it's profitable, that we don't know what we're talking about, etc. This is our opinion based on our professional analysis. We invite you to calculate your hourly earnings after expenses, and you'll see that it's around $8 to $10 an hour, but that's after working 85 hours in a week. If that's okay with anyone, we wish you the best.

Once again, people aren't calling for sanity and calculations. No one is doing real numbers. Many people are acting out of desperation, necessity, and making pure mistakes due to a lack of knowledge of how to properly manage their driving business.

I'll share an example of something that can happen to any driver. In May 2023, I was involved in an accident next to the Fort Lauderdale airport. A tornado hurled a piece of a tree at my car, causing severe damage. The first thing I did was call Uber, and their response was that they didn't cover that type of damage. Uber, Lyft, or any other insurance platform doesn't cover damage caused by catastrophes. I had three passengers in the car at the time. The tornado passed over us. It was a very ugly and scary experience; for a moment, I thought I was going to lose my life.

After some research, I realized that my personal insurance included protection against damage from natural disasters. If it hadn't been for that coverage, I would have simply lost my car because the total repair cost around $7,000 USD.

As a result, I had to rent a car, which I did with Hertz through Uber. I rented a Tesla for two months. Now I want to tell you about my experience.

When you rent a car, from anyone, there will always be hidden fees you have no idea exist. These fees are often charged when you sign the rental agreement. A mistake many people make when renting these cars is not providing insurance to avoid paying so much. The cost of basic insurance at Hertz is $11.99 per day. If you don't have insurance, any damage to the car is out of your pocket. There are cities where the risk of accidents is quite high, so it's advisable to purchase insurance.

In December 2023, I unfortunately had another accident where I wasn't at fault. My car was a total loss. I had to rent a car again from Hertz to settle the matter until I could buy another car. This trip was for two months and three weeks.

I'm only going to use Hertz as an example, since I've rented from them multiple times. My experience with Hertz was absolutely horrible both times due to hidden and unjustified charges. The result of renting with Hertz was that between the weekly fees, taxes, and fees, it added up to over $450 USD per week. Add to this the insurance, which is $83.93 weekly. In the end, you end up paying over $530 USD per week.

There's a fee called the Tesla Rebill that they charge you every time you have to return or exchange your car. Sometimes, when Hertz makes calls to close contracts for car maintenance, they'll charge you this fee. Always, always, at contract closings, they make unexplained charges, and when you try to inquire with one of the agents, they simply tell you to call the billing department. That department never responds.

Now the question everyone has: Is it better to rent? Here we go. You have a car. Your car is getting between 300 and 400 miles a day. You're just burning it. The money you're generating is practically the value of that depreciation; you're not generating any money in profit from your resources. Eventually, your car will lose its value and become riddled with problems. In all that time, with the little money you're earning, you'll need to perform maintenance, buy tires, replace brakes, and make minor and major repairs, including transmission and suspension issues.

Some people say, "I'd better rent to avoid damaging my car," or "I don't have a car, I'll rent." The weekly cost of renting a car is similar to what you'd have to save up weekly if you were using your car. You'd need to set aside around $2,000 a month from your earnings, which you'll spend on everything related to your car and save up to cover its depreciation.

• What about renting a car?

You have expenses of around $450 or more per week. This means you have to work long hours every day, 7 days a week, to make the rent money and generate profits for yourself. Renting a car practically makes you a slave to Uber and Lyft, where you have to accept all the low-paying rides to generate income. Is it worth spending 12 to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, stuck in a car to earn $700 net? No, it's not worth it.

What other disadvantage does renting a car have? Well, the seasons. During the off-season, Uber and Lyft reduce their payouts even further to balance their profits. In other words, even driving 14 hours a day during the off-season, with the number of drivers on the road, won't generate the income necessary to pay the rent and make a profit.

The best thing many can do, and what I've been doing for a few weeks now, is to find regular employment and leave Uber and Lyft for good, as the pay conditions are only going to worsen. We've said it before and we'll say it again: we are an exploitable, sublime society, prone to enduring abuse and unwilling to unite. These conditions are what will allow Uber and Lyft to pay $0.25 per mile and $0.00 for time. We've predicted this for months, just as we predicted that the surge fare scheme will disappear.