Thinking about driving for uber or lyft. Would a used Mazda Mazda5 minivan with a manual be a good pick? Or should I stick with a trusty used Accord or Camry? Going to buy with a manual either way. thanks
Stick with a Camry/Accord for what you will be doing. Either will last you longer and give you better fuel economy. See our sticky about which years to avoid:
Won’t you miss the convenience of a smooth automatic transmission? Especially in heavy traffic.
I’d go Accord/Camry simply because they’ll spend the least of the time off the road & not earning you money.
I would talk to some current Uber drivers and do research first. I've heard that after factoring in costs, Uber drivers barely break even, and sometimes even lose money.Either way, they're not making much.
This will not exactly answer the question, but quick advice ff you calculate not only gas but your car's use in the long run, uber is almost never worth it. You usually end up earning back what you will pay in maintenance at best. You'll get more with a normal minimum wage job. To gain money you absolutely need to be driving or going to a customer all the time, which doesn't happen unless near holidays or special events.
If you want to have a good mpg, get a Corolla. At the end of the day, Lexus is way more expensive to repair (especially the hybrid) and the difference in the gas mileage is not even close to the repair costs on that Lexus compared to Corolla.
As a side note;
If you operate as an Uber, then as far as I know, you are operating an unlicensed cab and as such, you need a chauffers license and commercial insurance. If you have an accident while transporting people for pay, you're regular car insurance won't cover you.
I could be wrong, best to check your states laws.
Same as taxis.
Prius.
If buying something new or only a few years old a Toyota hybrid would be the ticket under those conditions. (Look at all the hybrids used as taxis in places like New York City - cab companies have long been experts at keeping cost per mile at a minimum in stop and go short trips, follow their lead.)
If looking at older vehicles though a hybrid is a poor choice due to the likelihood of expensive repairs. In that case a small Toyota or Honda would be appropriate.
You could go with either of them but a Camry would be my choice because of their overall reliability, I did Uber with a crown Vic for a little while and still profited even with terrible gas mileage but tip is to keep the car clean and comfy and just go with the flow
I hope you mean brand new, because Scotty doesn’t recommend buying any used hybrid vehicle.
If you want a change from the Prius, how about a brand new Corolla/Camry hybrid?
Small cars like civics, correlas would be a good choice. Since it is in the city a hybrid would also be a good choice.
The most basic, smallest, lightest, cheapest in cost, cheapest in maintenance, yet high MPG.
The old Toyota Prius C seems to fit the bill. Or an older Yaris. With all the starts and stops, the Prius C might fit the bill since it is hybrid. The Yaris, you may need to change the starter out, but that shouldn’t be too expensive when the time comes.
what cars are you guys debating over?
For that amount of yearly city driving I would suggest a Toyota Hybrid; Prius or Corolla hybrid. If you look you'll see Uber drivers using hybrid too.
I'm looking to get a delivery job, and I wanted to know what are the best cheap cars to do that?
@johanyea
Are you ok with like for example
an 05 Highander or
05-06 cr-v?
Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla....that's my top two.
What will you be delivering? Can the items fit in a compact car like a Corolla, or do you need a station wagon, van, or SUV?
Small SUV's are the vehicles most often used as "delivery" vehicles in urban and suburban environments. For new vehicles, check-out the following review ?
If you can fit in a sedan, get a Toyota Camry for bigger space, otherwise get either Corolla or Civic.
Get a delivery job where your employer supplies the vehicle. The pizza place here in Southern Oregon uses a lot of entry level Kias and Auto Zone uses Chevrolet Sparks.
My delivery job has me driving a Ford Explorer to transport prisoners. Yah, it’s basically a police car without the flashing blue lights
- Hi Scotty. I am thinking to sell my 2011 toyota prius that has 255 000 miles on it and I am thinking to buy lexus ct200h. Can you make a video in YouTube and share your thoughts about this car are just answer here if it's possible. Thank you in advance!
I am doing uber so if you can recommend me a car that is going to be good for uber but not prius because I want to change with something else.
This is what I was thinking 🤔 I prefer camry for sure but I don't really know how reliable are the new ones.!? And also I am concerned about the transmission. And by the way I bought my prius 4 years ago and it was 65 000 miles and 4 years later is 255 000 miles with very low maintenance. The battery still works (thank God) and I didn't really spend much money for expensive repairs. And honestly I love that car but I want something with a bigger engine that can accelerate faster and also now I have to spend a lot of money to fix a lot of things on my car and I just want to change it and not spending money on it. And I researched camry and even with a lot of miles on it or just some miles their price is still high and it's almost like a new one. I don't want to spend more than $15 000 to $20 000 for a car but in the same time I want to be like prius but not prius. So I think camry it's my best option. I will appreciate if you can give me some ideas! Thank you!
Hi. I am doing uber eats only. I don't work with people. I used to work with people but not anymore. I've been doing this for 4 years. I am just wondering what kind of car for good price and be similar to prius but with a bigger engine and kind of the same mpg!?
Hey, Scottie! New but devoted fan here. I currently drive a 2018 chrysler 300s (not ideal for ride share).
In your opinion, what do you think would be the absolute best Rideshare vehicle considering cost, reliability and efficiency.
All the best,
Jacob Smith
Probably a regular Camry/Accord.
If you do a lot of in-city driving, then you can also consider a brand new Toyota hybrid (Prius/Camry hybrid).
I share the same opinion as MMJ. Whatever is being used primarily for taxi’s.
And from what I have seen anecdotally.
In the 80’s and 90’s, it was Ford Crown Victoria’s.
In the 2000’s / Early to Mid 2010’s it became the Prius, especially the Prius V. Heck, even though there is a newer generation of Prius, in some countries the older Prius V is still very popular in European countries, for both consumer and fleet operations, that they still sell it. It is known as the Prius+ there.
Camry Hybrids seem to also be popular cab cars.
2000’s Ford Escape Hybrids also seemed popular, but not as popular as the Toyota’s.
More recently, I’ve been seeing RAV4 Hybrid cans pop up. Especially in denser cities with stop and go traffic.
What would you recommend for Uber rideshare for full time use lots of miles in a short time and cheaper maintenance and repairs a Toyota or Mazda or Lexus or Honda for long last for Uber.
Hi Scotty! Watching your channel has given me the confidence to work on my own car, thank you!
I have been doing pizza delivery for the past several years and it is a pretty good gig here in central Florida. But the downside is that I put around 22k miles per year and it is almost exclusively city driving, not to mention the frequent general maintenance required to maintain a delivery vehicle. There is much debate among us drivers as to what is the best vehicle for pizza delivery. Would appreciate your insight. Thanks.
