Author Topic: Uber -- what's the cost of business?  (Read 2779 times)

studentdoc2

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Uber -- what's the cost of business?
« on: August 10, 2014, 09:04:24 AM »
My partner just did his first night of Uber last night, making about $100 in 5 hours before expenses. Not great, but not terrible. We think it's unlikely his boss (for his day job as an admin assistant) will be willing to cut him to 30 hours/week when his school schedule starts next month, so we're trying to find other work opportunities for him. Uber might fit the bill, working mostly Friday and Saturday nights to get the bar crowd in Chicago.

I know, of course, that the true take-home pay is less than it appears, after self-employment tax, gas (although we have a Prius), and extra wear and tear on the car. I'd like to divert a percentage of the income from Uber to our car maintenance/eventual car purchase (in like 10 years!) fund.

Any suggestions for what % of take-home pay to set aside for the extra car maintenance? I was thinking 15%....

beltim

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Re: Uber -- what's the cost of business?
« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2014, 09:26:06 AM »
My guess is you could use the 56 cents per mile figure that the federal government uses for reimbursement for car costs.  So from that deduct the actual amounts you spend on gas, and put the rest into savings for maintenance.  I suspect that will be oversaving, but it's a nice number that has calculations behind it.

studentdoc2

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Re: Uber -- what's the cost of business?
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2014, 05:47:22 PM »
My guess is you could use the 56 cents per mile figure that the federal government uses for reimbursement for car costs.  So from that deduct the actual amounts you spend on gas, and put the rest into savings for maintenance.  I suspect that will be oversaving, but it's a nice number that has calculations behind it.

Yeah, I considered that. It just becomes something of a pain to remember to reset the trip meter every time you get in the car to Uber. I was hoping to figure out a reasonable percentage of pay, recognizing that it's an imperfect system.

Has anyone else done Uber?

Paul der Krake

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Re: Uber -- what's the cost of business?
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2014, 06:13:46 PM »
I looked at it when they launched here a month ago- no way in hell, couldn't make the numbers work even with an uber-reliable (get it?) and fuel efficient corolla.

The rates for UberX are low to begin with, and uber takes 20% of that. Depending on your market, you may have to drive a significant amount of miles just to go pick up customers. You're also taking a huge risk with a completely unproven company and a shaky legal situation.