If you love driving, you may be able to turn that love into a potential side hustle, or who knows? Maybe even a full-time job.
In today’s gig economy, there are so many ways you can earn money using your car. From delivering food to driving people around town, I can almost guarantee you that there’s something that you’d enjoy doing.
And, the great thing is that a lot of these gigs pay quite the sum, sometimes up to $1,000 a week! Of course, you do need to factor in your expenses, such as your gas and your maintenance, but it’s not as much as you may think as long as you take advantage of writing off your mileage on your taxes and play it smart.
So, if you love your car and want to drive around almost anywhere, then strap in and take a look at the many ways you can make money with your car.
How to Make Money With Your Car
Lyft and Uber
One of the best and easiest ways to make money relies on transporting people from one place to the next. Yes, just like a taxi.
As long as you don’t mind picking up strangers and even commencing in a bit of a conversation, this side hustle could make you a ton of cash if you play your cards right.
Like the many apps I’m going to mention here, how much you make really depends on where you live, when you work and which jobs you expect. It’s not unheard of to make $30+ an hour working the late bar hours, sometimes much more during a popular event in a touristy city.
Lyft and Uber are the biggest players in the rideshare industry, but depending on where you live, other options can be available as well. You just need to search your town’s name to see what may be available, too. HopSkipDrive and Wingz are perfect examples.
For now, start with YouTube and even look for local groups on Facebook to see how you can succeed. You can even check out the very popular Rideshare Guide, a book that teaches you everything you need to know about the industry. With enough research, it shouldn’t be hard to start making $20+ an hour with your car.
Deliver Food
If you don’t like the idea of driving around people, don’t fret as you can deliver around food only.
The great thing about food is that it won’t talk to you, and it allows you to do as you please in your car, such as listening to anything on the radio without any complaints.
In my free time, I often deliver food to get out of the house, mainly with DoorDash and Grubhub, and I can easily earn $20+ an hour during the dinner rush. As you learn your market, it’s not too hard to gross $15 to $25+ an hour. This is market dependent, but if you accept the right jobs and work the right hours, you can really capitalize on your time.
To learn more about this industry, YouTube has hundreds of videos that can help you succeed. If you can learn the ropes, this is one of the best ways to earn money on the side, especially seeing you can work whenever you want. You can’t beat that.
If interested in delivering food, here are some of the top companies to consider…
Out of all these options, this is one of my favorites as it will supply you with a steady amount of work. People have to eat after all, right?
If you do decide to deliver food, consider signing up for them all to see which one works best in your town.
Deliver Packages
Like UPS, FedEx and the postal service, you can deliver packages on your own time with companies like Amazon Flex (your best option) and lesser-known companies like Deliv.
All of these companies work in the same way. You pick out your schedule, you pick out the jobs you want to accept and deliver your packages to get paid.
Amazon Flex, for instance, will pay you up to $25 an hour, but the only downfall is that you never know where you will be sent. While you will stay in your metropolitan area, you could be sent 90 miles away from home, making it hard to capitalize on your mileage per dollar earnings. The same can be said about the packages on your route. Some can have five, whereas other routes could have more than 90!
Nonetheless, it’s an option to consider if you just want to deliver, get paid and be done with it. The great thing about these jobs is that you will be paid right away and there’s no sitting around.
Deliver Groceries
Delivering groceries is much like delivering food, only that it will require more work in some cases, such as shopping for the groceries.
In the grocery delivery world, there are two types of jobs: a “full-service shopping job” and an “in-store shopping job.”
Your full-service shoppers will do it all, from accepting the job, shopping for the groceries and driving them to the customer’s home. In this scenario, you will make a lot more money as it will require more of your time.
As for an in-store shopper, this job will require you shop in store and collect the items mentioned on the app. Once you’re done, someone will come to pick up what you gathered.
If interested, Instacart is the main player in the industry, but Shipt is a great alternative as well as these apps like Instacart.
Depending on where you live and what hours you work, the average shopper can make up to $25 an hour gross. Again, like many of these jobs, you really need to learn how your market works to capitalize on your hourly rate.
Deliver Alcohol
This one is very limited to geographical locations, mainly California, but I wanted to include it here as it’s a great option if you just want to drive around booze. A company known as Saucey.com will pay you to deliver alcohol on your own terms.
The company claims you can make up to $700 a week, and you can work whenever you want as you get to set your own schedule.
If you want to get started, all they ask you to do is pick out a part of town you want to deliver in and fill out an application to see if you’re a fit as a driver. Remember, it’s only available in certain geographical regions, so be sure to check out the footer to see which cities they are working in at the moment. Even if you don’t see your city right now, they are growing, so be sure to check back in the future.
TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit deserves its own spot as it’s a great platform wherein you can do just about anything. It’s a company I have mentioned so many times, particularly in my work at home assembly jobs and how to make money in one hour posts. While there are many apps like TaskRabbit, I think it’s one of the best in the industry.
From assembling furniture to delivering items, I would at least check out the platform to see what kind of jobs are available in your area.
Like all of these apps, you can work whenever you want and choose the jobs that are of interest. So, if you want to just choose driving jobs, then you can do so.
If going this route, I do recommend you at least have a truck/van that can haul your bigger items as this is where the most money is. However, it isn’t necessary as you can perform smaller jobs that require you to drive to the store and pick up smaller items to deliver. Again, sign up and check out the jobs in your area as there’s a lot to offer!
Advertise on Your Car
If you drive more than 1,000 miles a month and don’t want to deal with apps, then let it be known that it is possible to earn money just driving around as you usually do.
What’s known as car wrap advertising, some companies will pay you to wrap your car with an advertisement. You let them wrap your car and they will then pay you a certain amount, usually a few hundred dollars a month as long as you drive the minimum set of miles.
I did write about this particular topic in the past, so I do recommend you at least check out my guide to see the many companies that are willing to pay you to advertise on your car. In that guide, I talked about one of the most popular car advertising companies, Wrapify, which is a cool app that can match you with a national company based on your driving habits. That app claims that you could make up to $450 a month.
Again, as long as you drive at least 1,000 miles a month and live in a busy area, you should be considered as a great candidate.
Make Money Renting Your Car
This one doesn’t require driving, but it’s a way to make money with your car.
Much like a rental car agency, you can rent out your car for up to $100+ per day. You get to set the rates and when you want to rent it out. How much you make really depends on your area as well as what kind of car you have.
I know it can sound scary, but you will find from reviews that strangers will treat your car much better than a car rental agency as they know it’s a personal vehicle. Plus, these companies will provide you with a million dollar liability policy in case something happens with it.
Two of your major companies, Turo and GetAround, work in a similar way. HyreCar is another that’s on the rise.
You pick out the dates it’s available, upload some photos and then meet up with the renter once a date is confirmed. If you want to make even more money, some renters will drive the car to the airport to meet up with their renter. On average, plan on making $20 to $45+ a day it’s rented. This won’t include the fees, in which includes monthly rental fees in some cases.
Both of these sites do have conditions, so you can’t post any car. In general, the car must have a clean title, less than 130,000 miles and be a somewhat newer car. You can read all about the restrictions via the official website.
Help People Move/Deliver With Dolly and GoShare
Dolly and GoShare are an on-demand moving app that connects you with people who need moving help today. As long as you have a pickup truck, cargo van or box truck, the company encourages you to apply.
From retail store delivery to small moves, there are quite a few jobs that require using your car. These apps claim you can make up to $30 an hour, sometimes more, all dependent on the job. Top helpers are said to make more than $1,000 a week! Again, it’s dependent on what you drive and where you live.
The app allows you to see what you can earn before you accept the job as well as allow you to set your own schedule. It’s as flexible as they come.
If interested in working as a helper, Dolly does work in most cities but asks that you wait up to 10 days to get approved. You can read more via the FAQ page on the official website.
As for GoShare, you can follow this link to see how you can qualify and start earning as early as this week.
Check out Indeed
Depending on where you live, there could be a ton of independent contractor opportunities in your area that require you to use your car. As it would be hard for me to list them all, I would recommend you at least check out Indeed to see what’s available. Most of what you will find, however, will include local courier routes, pizza delivery as well as newspaper delivery opportunities. Yes, people still get a physical newspaper.
For instance, when I searched my area, I could sift through more than 1,000+ jobs.
In using this free job search tool, Indeed will scan thousands of company’s career pages and list all of the opportunities they found on one page. It’s then up to you to see what’s the job is about, and if it’s something of interest, you can follow through to the application page.
Now, keep in mind that a lot of these gigs will be classified as an “independent contractor,” but many will expect you to work a set number of hours to stay active. I would only consider this route if you’re looking for a part-time or full-time gig.
As there are a ton of these opportunities, make sure you research the company in depth as a ton of scams exist. The same can be said about the pay. As long as you can find something about the company, such as a location, as well as some reviews, you should be safe in at least applying to see what it’s all about.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a ton of ways to earn money with your car, even if you don’t want to drive.
While you’re not going to make a ton of cash, some of these options can easily earn you $1,000 in a month, sometimes much more. Again, it depends on which platform you work, where you live as well as what kind of car you drive. There’s a lot to factor when determining your gross hourly rate.
Just remember, you must factor in gas as well as the wear and tear on your vehicle. This can add up, especially if you don’t budget for it! The same can be said about taxes as you will be treated like a freelancer. However, if you write out your miles, the amount you owe should be minimal at the end of the year. Insurance is a big thing, too, so make sure you chat with your insurance agent to see what’s covered.
In the end, there’s something for all. Consider one of the many apps mentioned above, and if you find one of interest, be sure to research it in depth to see how you can really capitalize on your earnings. You don’t want to start driving blindly as this can lose you a lot of money!
If you have ever tried any of these apps and want to comment on them and/or you want to add your own suggestion, then you’re more than welcome to do so in the comments section below.
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