I Do Uber Eats in Melbourne in a Car - What Do You Think about My Approach?

LFrugalDealSeeker on 15/01/2020 - 09:01
Last edited 16/01/2020 - 00:11 by 1 other user

A few points to be noted:

  • I am a temporary resident which severely restricts my credit options when it comes to purchasing a car.
  • I have a decent full-time job, so Uber Eats is a supplementary income

Ok so, I bought a car on a cash-credit loan (I know that may sound dumb but hear me out), a Honda Accord 2009 from a dealer driveway. I got $5000 approved + $1500 of my own money and another $50 for pre-purchase inspection was all I paid towards the car. My loan instalment is $125/wk. After work at about 5 pm, I work about 1-2hr every day and this results in a net payment of approx $250/wk - $30 for fuel which I would have to pay anyway for public transport (I commute in Zone 2 almost exclusively). The loan interest goes up to 30% pa but there are 2 silver linings:

  • Car is not under finance so I can basically sell it anytime as I am betting the car would still hold value more than the remaining payments and after about 6 months I would still make a profit regardless
  • As per the first point, I don't have any finance options anyway
Final Thoughts

My insurance ($104/m) + fuel ($30/w) are basically the only running costs. I have not serviced yet so I am not sure about maintenance.
I am open to suggestions and criticisms.

Education & Work

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Comments

      • abb on 16/01/2020 - 09:48
        +1

        loan repayments

        AFAIK you can only claim the interest component, but an accountant would probably know better than me. Things change if the business buys the car too, no doubt.

        • apsilon on 16/01/2020 - 10:08
          +1

          I believe that's correct. Wouldn't the loan also have to be in the business name plus the vehicle registered and insured for business use rather than private use? Lot of things to check.

          EDIT: oh and make sure you maintain a log book.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2020 - 18:43

        Does that mean that your full-time job is on ABN too?

        Edit: Saw you've already answered that question below.

      • worrierwan on 16/01/2020 - 20:35

        Your personal reason is getting to work. Uber eats is only a side thing for that, so i dont think 90% would be appropriate in this case

        • djprima on 17/01/2020 - 13:18

          %age will depends on his logbook. How many kms of Uber vs personal use

  • pegaxs on 15/01/2020 - 10:48
    +8

    I'm confused. Is this a question or an AMA ??

    • John Kimble on 15/01/2020 - 10:53
      +12

      Humblebrag…😳

      How many people do you know who do Uber Eats in Melbourne in a car….hmmm?

      • netjock on 15/01/2020 - 11:00

        $17 per hour gross pay before costs. Not many people will be doing it unless you work literally right next to a food place to do a few rounds after work.

        • Hangryuman on 17/01/2020 - 14:42

          I thought I saw more like $11 per hour net pay after costs.

          Should totally pay off that $5000+30%pa car loan in … hmmm … a bit under 500 hours

          if he works 50 hours a week that's under 10 weeks (not including parking tickets and other mishaps)

          oh - he doesn't need to buy food for himself or pay rent or bills … ?

          If he does, and we use the bank standard 30% of income as loan repayments, then make that 30 weeks.

          U go gurl - just try to avoid the ketotic breath (acetone/pear drops smell) that can happen when you miss meals your body wanted - that might get you some reviews like 'delivery guy had bad breath - ew'

      • mskeggs on 15/01/2020 - 11:14
        +3

        Hard to find one more humble.

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 15/01/2020 - 18:45

      I guess I should have said AMA but also asked the question, what do you think about my approach?

  • Bid Sniper on 15/01/2020 - 11:17
    +2

    Wont make the numbers but actually go backwards with those overheads. Once accident and you're in serious financial strife.

    Personally, I do inner city Uber eats (if you want income that way) using a pushbike. Or look for a shelf stacking job.

    "DO NOT DRIVE FOR uberEATS - Full Day Earnings Report"
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw5sO6PBT1U

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 15/01/2020 - 18:57

      I think that video was based out of the US as he said gallons when refueling… At the current rate, $124 a day. That is easily doable in just the evening shift on a Saturday or Sunday in Melbourne. Maybe the US is bad. Australia is less bad.

    • Hangryuman on 17/01/2020 - 14:47

      in inner Sydney it's all electric bicycles going 15-20 kph without pedaling and zooming between pedestrians on footpaths - illegal last time I looked but they're mostly Chinese appearance so likely temporary visas who wouldn't pay the tickets before they go back o/s anywaze.

      I loved reading a recent article by someone saying they feel the pit of shame when they order delivery of McDonalds - no wonder they stay home - to hide their ignominy - those Mickey Dee fries don't stay crispy after 10-20 mins in a bag … soggy doggy bag shame …

  • Ryanek on 15/01/2020 - 11:21
    +2

    They need to make cash credit high interest loans illegal. They prey on the desperate.

    • whooah1979 on 15/01/2020 - 11:25
      +2

      Op isn't desperate. They have a day job.

      • apsilon on 15/01/2020 - 12:12
        +3

        Yes and now they also have an evening job to pay off the loan they took out so they could work an evening job. Live to work, that's their motto.

      • FrugalDealSeeker on 15/01/2020 - 18:40

        See I agree with you. I work as a contractor and I get about $300/day on ABN which is decent for an immigrant who is single on a TR. I am not desperate for money. I needed a car as public transport to work is pretty crap. 10 min drive or 45 min via PT. Did I have to splurge or the car as much? Probably not.

    • HighAndDry on 15/01/2020 - 13:41

      The alternative is that the people who need them starve instead, unless you're out there giving them the money they're borrowing for food/rent/essentials instead.

    • brendanm on 15/01/2020 - 18:30
      +1

      They need to make the cash credit high interest loans business easier to get into for me. I assume there are too many hoops to jump through to get 30% interest off suckers easily.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/01/2020 - 22:06

      When it is made illegal and people start losing limbs to loan sharks, you'll probably be singing the opposite tune.

      There should be a regulated cash credit loan to prevent people from being desperate.

      • FrugalDealSeeker on 16/01/2020 - 08:31

        Or they could relax the requirements for immigrants.. you see, an average car loan is 9% pa since I am a flight risk (they think I will literally put the car in my pocket and run away to my home country), I am generally not issued a car loan, credit card, home loan, etc.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2020 - 08:38
          +6

          Why would they relax it?

          Lower security = poorer loan conditions.

          Unless one has something to offer, the banks aren't going to take a greater risk for no apparent reason.

        • whooah1979 on 16/01/2020 - 08:49
          +2

          Borrowers could run after stripping the vehicle for parts and sell them.

        • unwashed00 on 17/01/2020 - 13:59

          What kind of visa do you have? Working visa used to be ok for all of the above with the limitation of a loan period.

          • FrugalDealSeeker on 21/01/2020 - 16:19

            @unwashed00: Graduate work visa but there are several complexities with my income since I have to raise invoices instead of payslips it's just a bureaucratic nightmare, to be honest.

  • brendanm on 15/01/2020 - 14:45
    +1

    So you are basically getting $9.50 an hour after paying for the loan and fuel. This is completely ignoring maintenance, depreciation, insurance, rego etc. Sounds pretty crap.

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 15/01/2020 - 18:43

      If I focus on working only during peak hours i.e. after my day shift, I do get approx $18-$19/hr and people in this area are really nice so I almost daily get at least once tipped. So probably brings to $15-$16 after fuel. $9.5 would be too extreme.

      • brendanm on 15/01/2020 - 19:51
        +2

        2 hours a day X 5 days = 10 hours
        $250-30 for fuel = $220
        $220-125 for loan = $95
        $95 / 10 hours = $9.50 an hour
        $9.50 an hour - all other costs = much less than $9.50 an hour

        • FrugalDealSeeker on 15/01/2020 - 20:18
          -1

          Ok, you are kind of defeating the purpose here. This is not a revenue generation model, I have a day job for that. I need a car, so to afford it I have to work 10h a week so I don't end up spending anything to pay installments or running costs or even lose over depreciation.

          • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2020 - 00:04

            @FrugalDealSeeker: So no social life?

            • FrugalDealSeeker on 16/01/2020 - 08:34

              @[Deactivated]: I wouldn't have one anyway as I am an introvert type person and I play video games.

              • ihbh on 18/01/2020 - 12:00

                @FrugalDealSeeker: Gosh, what do you do for intimate contact?

                • FrugalDealSeeker on 18/01/2020 - 12:26

                  @ihbh: I don't want to sound materialistic but my car has helped me run a rather successful Firewood enterprise on a short-term basis, which would again be inconvenient if I had to rely on PTV. This does reasonably satisfy me in my opinion.

          • od810 on 16/01/2020 - 15:32
            +3

            @FrugalDealSeeker: Ok i will do the math for you then:

            Let's say you need another $4500 to buy the car. You get $300/day from your day job. Let's say you save $150/day. That means you need about 30 working days. Each day you require 1 hour extra for public transport (30 mins each way). So that's 30 hours to get a new car.

            Now with the loan and Ubereats, you need to pay $4500 + interest @ 30%, usually term is about 2 years. Let's make it simple and say total interest is $3000. Let's be generous and say you earn $15/hour, you need to drive 200 hours just to pay off your interest vs 30 hours of commuting on PV.

            If you don't value your 200 hours, then sure go ahead

            • FrugalDealSeeker on 17/01/2020 - 08:28

              @od810: Actually, there is a mistake, I pay $125/wk and the loan term is little over (1-2 weeks) over a year. I did the math as per below before buying the car:

              125 X 53/20/53 X 1.5 which is approx 10h a week.
              Assumptions:
              $125/wk is the installment
              53 installments I have to pay
              I work 1.5h / day to earn $20 for 53 weeks

              and the car pays itself off.

              EDIT: Minor formatting

              • od810 on 17/01/2020 - 14:03
                +2

                @FrugalDealSeeker: Not really the car payoff for itself, it's you working 10h/week over 1 year to get it pay off. If you save up the money buy the car, you would pocket that money + the interest.

                You value your time quite cheap.

              • apsilon on 17/01/2020 - 14:12

                @FrugalDealSeeker: I've been trying to resist but I can't take it any more, I just have to know…. why 53 weeks? 52 weeks I'd get, x months or years I'd get but 53 weeks. It's so odd. Why 53?

                • FrugalDealSeeker on 18/01/2020 - 12:06

                  @apsilon: I was extremely drunk when the dealer called me to say he was ok to sell the car at my price and then I had to choose the repayments in their portal. I was pre-approved $5000 but I had to move the slider to choose repayments and loan duration before the money could be credited. I didn't bother to change it after that.

        • 91rs on 16/01/2020 - 21:57

          $9.50 less tax though right?

  • holdenmg on 16/01/2020 - 07:45
    -1

    I thought Uber cars needed to be less than 10 years old.

    When does the vehicle need to be swapped or upgraded to comply if this is the case?

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 16/01/2020 - 08:27
      +1

      For Uber, its actually 9 years old, for Uber Eats it can be as old as 1970.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2020 - 18:51
        +2

        Uber Eats it can be as old as 1970.

        No one cares about the safety of the food I've ordered. Not sure why I'm a little saddened by that thought.

      • mubd1234 on 16/01/2020 - 22:02

        Pretty sure it's always been 1990 cars and above. I know this because I drive a 1991 car for Uber Eats.

    • Speckled Jim on 16/01/2020 - 08:39

      Ubereats. I'm sure the slop won't mind.

      Edit: ninja'd!

  • OzHunterNSW on 16/01/2020 - 09:42

    You say you seek extra income but immediately you have committed your self to an extra 5K + on a 10 year piece of crap.

    • bdl on 16/01/2020 - 16:37
      +6

      Vtec kicked in, Yo

  • nignucial on 16/01/2020 - 10:06

    Seems like you got a legit use case for the loan so here are two pieces of advice:
    1. Repay your loan ASAP
    2. Get a more reliable car

    • [Deactivated] on 16/01/2020 - 19:13
      +3

      Honda Accords are pretty dang reliable dude

      • Jugganautx on 17/01/2020 - 03:27

        Yeah right

      • nignucial on 17/01/2020 - 11:36

        Skimmed through it and thought it was Holden…

      • brad1-8tsi on 17/01/2020 - 14:20
        +1

        I have an Accord Euro. It's quite reliable if you keep the maintenance up.

  • HKS on 16/01/2020 - 14:18
    +3

    buy a motorbike instead of having a car

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 17/01/2020 - 12:21

      Melbourne weather is too harsh for me.

      • CocaKoala on 18/01/2020 - 13:16

        Get good winter wear - it's not too hard or expensive when compared to buying or maintaining a car.

  • blackout134 on 16/01/2020 - 14:55
    +23

    Let's get this straight. You decided to get a second job for 2 hours a day so you could save 1 hour a day by not having to take public transport to and from your primary job.

    Makes perfect logical sense to me.

  • Ononono on 16/01/2020 - 15:16
    +2

    You don't need a car in Melbourne, that's a huge waste of money and time wasted just so you can have a car. That kind of loan would give me nightmares tbh

    • blackout134 on 16/01/2020 - 15:30
      +2

      Ironically he is doing it to save time.

  • wetsandwich on 16/01/2020 - 15:54
    +2

    I'm guessing school didn't offer finance or mathematics in your home country :/

    Add depreciation and maintenance because they do exist, and you're pretty much working for nothing to trick yourself that your car is free.. or some other strange mental gymnastics.

    Should have just got a job stacking shelves because it's like $25 an hour and you aren't paying to go to work.

    Next time look at Ratesetter for 10% interest. Surely someone other than an extortionate loan shark would consider you if you have a full time job and are not wasting all your spare cash.

  • Blue Cat on 16/01/2020 - 16:49

    Do you have an Australian driver's licence?
    I read that you must have an Australian driver's licence to even join Uber as a driver.

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 17/01/2020 - 08:16

      Yes, but my car doesn't qualify as it is >9 yo.

  • leiiv on 16/01/2020 - 17:24
    +2

    You really need to find a different loan with a much lower interest rate. Even credit card interest rate is lower than that.

  • CocaKoala on 16/01/2020 - 17:55

    30% interest rate and has Silver linings?! Haha, I've a bride and a tunnel for sale.

    • brendanm on 16/01/2020 - 22:55
      +1

      What sort of bride? Russian?

      • whooah1979 on 16/01/2020 - 23:18

        From Odessa.

      • CocaKoala on 16/01/2020 - 23:39

        Haha, a bridge.

  • t_c on 16/01/2020 - 17:55
    +1

    Brand new Honda cb125e is $2900 rideaway

    • mubd1234 on 16/01/2020 - 22:03

      You need a full motorcycle licence for that.

      • brendanm on 16/01/2020 - 22:54
        -1

        No you don't.

        • mubd1234 on 17/01/2020 - 00:03

          I'm talking about for Uber Eats delivery.

          Strangely in Melbourne, you can sign up to deliver for Uber Eats on P plates (in Sydney you can't), but the law says it's illegal for P platers to use their mobiles for anything while driving, not even for GPS or music. This effectively means it's not possible to deliver food for Uber Eats while you're on your P plates without a whole load of hassle.

      • whooah1979 on 16/01/2020 - 23:20

        It's a 125cc.

        The CT110 is way more fun.

  • murkywater on 16/01/2020 - 18:33
    +9

    I come to Ozbargain for these posts instead of the bargains now.

  • gazzathegreat on 16/01/2020 - 19:28
    +7

    No matter the maths side of this, I admire your work ethic. 2 jobs instead of having your hands out for donations and medical .WELL DONE!

    • rawm on 16/01/2020 - 19:40
      +5

      Agree - We need to put the popcorn aside and acknowledge that while this does not seem ideal to us, for someone new to our country, OP has a great mindset. He's impressed with the things we take for grated ie. nice customers, Sandringham looking nice in the late afternoon and has a great work ethic. Best we give OP a break and a pat on the back.

  • Anzac78 on 16/01/2020 - 21:54
    +3

    Unlike every other post…kudos on the work ethic…working two jobs….better than the 1000s on Centerlink doing nothing with their life.

  • mubd1234 on 16/01/2020 - 22:04
    +2

    I would have bought a sub $2000 car to start with, and done Uber Eats with that.

    You don't need a 2009 Honda Accord - you should have purchased something a bit older, like an old Falcon or Camry with maybe 150k on the odometer.

    I do think you're doing a good thing working multiple jobs, but you've saddled yourself with this car loan on 30% interest! That's almost usury in my eyes.

    I did Uber Eats as a side gig in addition to my day job about nine months ago, working Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.

    I was making a very good income off the back of that - earning about the same I did at my day job, before tax (so effectively doubling my income). I did have to put in 60 hours online (which I did by working every day during my spare time), but one week I actually made $1500. I did get a bit sick of it after a few months and stopped, but it really was a great little thing I had going at the time.

    Right now, I'm between jobs so I'm doing Uber Eats pretty much every day at lunch and dinner times. Far better than the dole IMO. The only thing that shits me is finding a park in some places.

    • netjock on 17/01/2020 - 09:05
      +1

      Camry yes, falcon no.

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 19/01/2020 - 11:30

      To be really honest, the car was an overkill. I did not need to splurge this much. I could've easily bought a $2k - $3k car, but I wanted a nice car and I am prepared to work towards it. Also, a large portion of my day job involves going to several different locations to supervise/ inspect sites so comforts, like cruise control, was somewhat a priority. With regards to UE, the only 3 drawbacks I have had were, sometimes even in rush hours you may not get any orders, my hourly rate sometimes has averaged to just $5/hr; you don't get fair compensation for traffic, the excess effort required in malls and buildings; UE rating system doesn't care about drivers at all. If a customer complains, it is the driver's fault regardless of their side of the argument. They will issue you rating warnings regardless of your explanation and responses to those are often scripted.

  • DBBROS on 17/01/2020 - 02:55

    At least the car isn't under finance. When I used to be a TR, my motorcycle was under finance with a rate of 29.9% and added costs. I wouldn't be worrying about the maintenance cost for the accord . It is reliable and cheaper to service than euro cars. Did you enquire at the dealership about the financing the car ?

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 17/01/2020 - 08:14

      Yes, I did, they basically said do you have PR? No, well good luck, we don't do finance for non-PR as they are a flight risk!

      • unwashed00 on 17/01/2020 - 14:11

        There are (or at least used to be) lenders like Esanda who work with people on working visas etc. The had a rate of 12-13% a few years ago.

        • FrugalDealSeeker on 18/01/2020 - 12:14

          No, ANZ doesn't issue $1000 credit cards to immigrants, forget car loans.

  • Cheap Charlie1 on 17/01/2020 - 04:15
    -2

    If you're a temporary resident resorting to predatory loans and working Uber Eats in order to survive in Australia, then maybe you should think about going back to your home country.

    Australia's an expensive place.

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 17/01/2020 - 08:12

      I'm resorting to predatory loans to get a free car. I have decent day job.

      • blackout134 on 17/01/2020 - 09:18

        I'm going to find a second full time job at night so I can hopefully buy a free house on finance.

      • Hangryuman on 17/01/2020 - 14:53

        'I'm resorting to predatory loans to get a free car'

        what's wrong with that sentence … ?

        'Does everyone see? This guy gets it!'

        Lol - I thought that was total irony.

        Is it U or I don't get it … ?

        • FrugalDealSeeker on 19/01/2020 - 11:59

          I assumed it went without saying, their night job was something to do with the house in which the house paid the mortgage, like for example turning it into a meth lab.

      • Cheap Charlie1 on 17/01/2020 - 23:14

        You don't have a decent day job otherwise you wouldn't work for $7 per hour during the evening.

        If you're a student then you're supposed to come here with enough funds to cover the entirety of your studies. The 20 hours you are allowed to work aren't supposed to sustain you, it's for experience.

        • FrugalDealSeeker on 19/01/2020 - 11:50

          OK, I am not a student, I am a graduate. Secondly, the only reason I am turning my car into a revenue generation/ installment offset model is that I don't want to disturb my existing saving/ investing model with my day job money as I am working towards some other financial goals. I had used a similar model previously in which I bought a pretty good computer and then used it to make artwork for Redbubble and my own Dropshipping store which now pays for my internet and electricity bills and has recovered about 90% of my investment for the computer in the last 1.5 years. The only difference was I used my own money (AfterPay for the most parts, pun unintended). So you are right, my day job isn't decent enough, but no matter how much it paid me, it won't be enough anyway.

    • Jugganautx on 19/01/2020 - 03:31

      No. Sydney and melbourne are expensive places.

  • The Az on 17/01/2020 - 05:40

    Why don't you try and work for DiDi aswell.. they pay the driver 90% of the fare plus you can as you said take jobs on when you want to..

    Good luck with everything..

  • [Deactivated] on 17/01/2020 - 06:20

    What do I think, hmmm do you pay take?

  • Ciderfizz44 on 17/01/2020 - 11:42
    +2

    You overspent money you don't have, sell the Honda, repay loan cut your losses. Wait until you have $2,000 of your own money to put towards a cheaper Ford Falcon/equivalent.

  • djprima on 17/01/2020 - 13:29

    Speak to an accountant OP. Pretty sure you could claim deductions on more things if you sort out the paperworks from start. Car depreciation (25% per year), loan interest, maintenance cost, even fuel could be tax deductible is you use the car to generate income. You could even claim it against your normal job if all the expenses are more than what you earn from Uber.

    Obligatory not an accountant and not a tax advice disclaimer

  • H E B on 17/01/2020 - 14:25

    at 30% why not just hire/rent?

    • FrugalDealSeeker on 19/01/2020 - 11:52

      I don't have a VIC license. I don't have enough time (during regular business hours) and my country isn't eligible for transfer.

      • H E B on 01/02/2020 - 16:43

        But wouldnt there be registration issues without a local licence with uber eats? transfer of registration? or if you get pulled over by police for not having a proper licence if you are residing here for an extended period?

        • FrugalDealSeeker on 26/02/2020 - 09:54

          At the time it wasn't compulsory for temporary residents to have a vic license. Now it is.

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