How Does Renting a Car with Uber Work, and Is It Worth It?

Uber’s rental car program allows drivers to rent a car through one of their partners, which include household names like:

• Avis
• Getaround
• Hertz
• KINTO

You can rent on either an hourly or weekly basis. If you rent by the week, you’ll need to put down a refundable deposit (the size of which will vary depending on what rental agency and model of car you choose).

All rentals made through Uber come with basic rideshare insurance. Your rental company may also give you the chance to buy additional coverage; if they do, the price will probably depend on several factors, such as your driving history. Always make sure you understand and are comfortable with your coverage before you start driving (under any circumstances, not just for Uber).

Who can rent a car with Uber?

Only current Uber drivers can rent cars from their affiliates, so you’ll need to have an active Uber account. That means you’ll need to meet Uber’s sign-up requirements. At minimum, you’ll need to:

• Be at least 21 years old
• Have a US driver’s license
• Have a valid credit or debit card

Some rental companies may have further requirements you’ll need to meet, which may be vehicle-specific. Hertz, for example, only rents Teslas to drivers aged 25 and over. Check each rental company’s site to find their exact requirements. 1

Pros of renting a car through Uber

People generally choose to rent from Uber when they believe it will save them money. Driving for Uber comes with more than a few expenses, and using a rental allows you to mitigate many of them.

Specifically, renting allows you to:

• Avoid vehicle depreciation: This is by far the biggest benefit of renting. Driving for Uber will put a lot of mileage on your car, which, in turn, will decrease its value. Depreciation costs can be substantial, and renting lets you preserve the value of your vehicle (which, if you’re like most people, is probably one of your most expensive possessions).
• Save on maintenance: The extra mileage from ridesharing will also put a lot of strain on your vehicle, potentially causing expensive problems down the line. You aren’t responsible for maintaining rentals, freeing you from worrying about this.
• Accept higher-paying rides: If you rent a qualifying car, you’ll be able to accept trips from Uber’s more lucrative services, such as Uber Comfort (which requires higher-quality vehicles than Uber’s basic rideshare service, UberX). Having a newer and more comfortable car may get you better tips, too.
• Get better gas mileage: If your usual car is a gas guzzler and you rent a hybrid or electric vehicle (EV), you’ll save money on gas. Fuel efficiency is very important when figuring out how to make more money as an Uber driver.

Moreover, sometimes it just isn’t feasible to use your own car for Uber, such as when it’s being repaired or a family member needs to borrow it. Renting allows you to keep driving when it would otherwise be impossible.

Cons of renting a car through Uber

The cons of driving a rental car for Uber are obvious: renting a vehicle costs money. These costs come in two forms:

• Rental fees: Although you’ll save on certain expenses, such as vehicle depreciation, you’ll also pay hefty rental fees (hundreds of dollars per week).
• Missed opportunities on other apps: Renting also comes with an opportunity cost. Uber’s policies forbid “multi-apping” (driving for another gig app, such as Lyft) when using one of their rental cars. This is a big hit, since multi-apping is one of the best ways to earn more as a rideshare driver.

We’ll break down how to evaluate whether you should rent a car below. In most cases, it isn’t a very good idea, but there are limited circumstances in which it may be worth considering.

As of September 2024, Uber states that rentals start from $260 per week before taxes. 2 User reports corroborate this, with many drivers claiming to spend $260–$500 per week in rental fees.

Uber doesn’t provide any information on how much their partners charge when you rent by the hour. However, it’s likely that hourly rental prices are somewhat higher; renting for a longer period of time is almost always more cost-effective, with the tradeoff being that it also requires more of a commitment on your part.

What factors affect Uber rental costs?

The exact cost of renting a car for Uber depends on:

• How long you rent it for
• What kind of car you pick
• What agency you rent from

Because Uber contracts with multiple companies and rental rates are subject to change, the fees you’ll have to pay aren’t totally predictable, so you should read up on whichever company you’re considering. If you rent through Hertz, for example, you have to pay a $200 refundable security deposit, whereas Aviz doesn’t ask for one.

How much do rental fees affect your earnings?

Uber drivers earn $20–$30 per hour on average, before factoring in expenses like gas, insurance, and maintenance.

To illustrate how renting will affect your profits, let’s say you decide to rent a Tesla, one of the more expensive vehicles on offer. It will cost you at least $325 per week in rental fees (the current price from Hertz in September 2024).

If we assume you’ll consistently earn $30 per hour—which is fairly generous—then you’ll need to work almost 11 hours to cover those fees before even beginning to make a profit.

The more you drive, the smaller those expenses will get relative to your earnings, but even if you work for 30 hours (equivalent to 4–5 hours per day), you’ll still end up paying well over two thirds of what you earned in rental fees.

All in all, renting a car from Uber is an expensive proposition that will eat into your profits substantially. That doesn’t mean that it’s never worth it, but it does mean that the scenarios when it is are fairly rare.

Driving an Uber rental car is worth it in one circumstance: when driving your own car would cost you more in vehicle depreciation than you’d pay in rental fees.

Again, if you spring for one of Uber’s cheapest rental options, you’ll pay a minimum of $260 per week for it. That means that renting is your best move if driving your own car would cause it to depreciate by more than that each week.

That isn’t impossible—but it is unlikely. Generally, your depreciation costs will only be that high if all of the following conditions are true:

• You have an expensive car: Vehicles depreciate at different rates, but the pricier they were originally, the faster they drop in value.
• Your car is also fairly new: Depreciation hits the hardest for the first 100,000 miles you drive and then trails off somewhat after that.
• You drive a lot: Even if you meet the first two criteria, for the cost of vehicle depreciation to exceed $260 per week, you’ll need to rack up mileage very quickly. This usually means driving on a full-time basis (upwards of 8 hours per day).

There’s no universal point at which renting becomes cheaper, since cars depreciate at different rates. However, as a guideline, if you recently bought a pricey car and you’re planning on driving for 8–12 hours every day (equivalent to driving 80,000+ miles per year), renting might be the better option. Otherwise, you should probably stick to what you have.

An alternative to renting: buying a used car for Uber

If you’re in the situation we just described, you have another option besides renting. You could buy a car specifically for Uber.

Buying a new car isn’t a good idea for the reasons we just outlined, but used cars depreciate much less dramatically. If you go this route, try to buy a secondhand car that:

• Has a fair amount of mileage on it (at least 20,000 miles)
• Is in decent condition and is from a reliable brand, such as Toyota, Honda, or Mazda
• Is selling for under $15,000

If you can find a car like this and use it for at least 2–3 years, its effective weekly cost will be significantly under $260, regardless of whether you buy it outright or get a loan. This makes it a better deal than renting.

What’s more, at the end of that period, you’ll still own the car (which will have declined in value, but will still be worth something). Conversely, if you just drove rentals for several years, you’d be left with nothing.

Is renting ever better than buying a secondhand car?

As you’re probably gathering, buying a used car for Uber is generally more cost-effective than renting, provided you’re strategic about what you buy.

Renting might still be attractive if you’re not sure that you’ll stick with Uber in the long term and aren’t prepared to make such a big investment just yet. If your own car isn’t suitable for Uber, you can rent one to test the waters and see whether Uber will be worth it for you.

However, within 3 to 6 months, try to decide whether you plan on pursuing this side hustle for at least 2 years (at which point it’s hard to make a case for driving a rental).

If you do decide to rent through Uber, the main requirement is to have an active Uber account. Create one if you don’t already have one, then follow these steps:

1. Go to the Uber Rent homepage or click the rental car icon in the Uber Driver app.
2. Enter your pick-up and drop-off dates and times, then click “Book a rental car.”
3. Choose your vehicle.
4. Go to the rental agency at the appointed time and pick up your car.
5. Once you’re done with it, drop it off at that same location.

You can either pay in advance or at the rental company’s outlet.

Renting a car from Uber isn’t usually worth it, but if you’ve decided to do it anyway, follow these tips to make the most of your time behind the wheel:

Rent an EV or hybrid

Most of Uber’s rental partners offer EVs. If you rent one, you won’t need to pay for gas. You will still need to pay charging costs, but those are less expensive.

This will cut down significantly on your overhead. Although EVs are usually more expensive to rent, it will still probably be a net gain for you.

As mentioned, you’ll also be able to accept Uber Comfort and UberX rides with most EVs and hybrids, opening you up to more potential customers.

Claim your rental costs as tax deductions

As an Uber driver, it’s very important to take all of the tax deductions you’re eligible for. If you don’t, you’re leaving money on the table.

When you drive a rental car, you aren’t eligible to take the IRS’s “standard mileage deduction” on commercial driving (which currently stands at 65.5 cents per mile). 3 However, you are allowed to write off your other rental costs.

Make sure to claim the following as business expenses when you file your taxes:

• Rental fees
• Gas purchases
• Insurance costs

This will greatly mitigate the financial hit you’ll take by renting, although driving your own car will still be a better deal overall. (Note that if you buy a secondhand car and use it exclusively for your Uber side hustle, you can claim its purchase price, too—there’s nothing special about renting when it comes to taking Uber tax deductions.)

Drive for Uber Eats or deliver packages

As mentioned, when you rent a car through Uber, you aren’t allowed to multi-app, but you are allowed to accept deliveries through Uber Eats. You don’t have to go through a special sign-up process for this; all Uber drivers are automatically qualified to do delivery work as well.

Delivering on Uber Eats doesn’t pay as well as ridesharing, but it’s still a good way to supplement your earnings during slow periods when there aren’t many rides. In some markets, Uber also offers package delivery services through Uber Connect.

You can find Uber’s delivery services in the usual Uber Driver app. Keep an eye on offers as they come in, and accept any that seem decent. Just take care not to accept orders that will take you out of the busy zones for ridesharing, since driving back will burn both time and gas, potentially costing you more than you earned.