For many people, cars are simply a way to get around town. Well, what if we told you that you can also use them to turn a profit?
With the rise of the gig economy, it’s easier than ever to turn your car into a money maker. Anything involving a peer-to-peer app can be a viable option, from ridesharing to advertising. This can be either a full-time career or a way to earn some cash on the side.
Looking for the best ways to make money with your car? Here are our seven favorite options!
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Drive With Uber or Lyft
Let’s start with the obvious one: driving for Uber or Lyft. Everyone’s heard about it, but you may not know just how lucrative it is.
The job itself is simple enough: driving people from point A to point B and getting paid via app. To apply, you must pass a background check and own a car made in 2007 or later. The main difference between Uber and Lyft is that the latter encourages tipping.
Both Uber and Lyft are growing so fast that they can barely find enough drivers. This reflects on your potential salary, with the average driver earning $25 per hour. Keep in mind that you’ll have better luck driving during peak periods, i.e. weekday rush hours.
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Deliver for Amazon
Driving for Amazon Flex involves delivering Amazon products, such as gifts and groceries. You’ll make $18-$25 per hour, with billing cycles occurring twice a week. You can set your hours by picking up an available “time block” anytime you feel like it and with the help of the Amazon flex bot you can easily reserve deliveries fast and efficiently, thus getting more deliveries while saving your time and money.
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Help People Move
Speaking of bigger vehicles, having a van or truck comes with its own benefits. One of them is the opportunity to get paid on a moving day.
Services such as GoShare allow you to earn $40-$70 per hour for providing moving help. Since you’re just the driver, you won’t need to do any heavy lifting. To make yourself available for deliveries, simply activate the app on your phone.
You also have services that focus on long-distance shipping, such as CitizenShipper. They post each job on their website, and any registered driver can bid on it. The service covers the entire country, so it should be easy enough to find a job in your area.
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Put Ads on Your Car
The practice of putting ads on your car is best known as ad wrapping. Unlike other side gigs with a car, this one requires no extra effort on your part.
The way it works is you let an advertising company display their ads on your car and you drive around as you usually do. For example, you may put a “cash for cars near me” decal on your windshield. All decals are removable, so there’s not much to lose.
The money you’ll earn will likely depend on your mileage. The largest service, Wrapify, claims that drivers with a full wrap can make close to $500 per month. If your car qualifies for ad wrapping, this can be a great source of passive income.
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Carpool to Work
In some places, you can get paid for carpooling to work. This list includes Washington, Birmingham, and San Mateo County.
If you join or start a new carpool in the Washington metro area, you can make $2 per day. The maximum you can get is about $130 over 90 days. In Birmingham and surrounding counties, you can make $70 over the same period.
In San Mateo County, the benefits are slightly different. By joining a carpool or starting a new one, you receive a $50 gift card. The idea of this program is to reduce traffic congestion during peak travel periods.
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Run a Dog Taxi
Many people need help taking their dogs to groomer and vet appointments. This is particularly true for seniors and busy professionals.
If your car has a rear gate or a kennel, you’re already qualified to run a dog taxi. Start by going to your local groomers and vet clinics and leaving a few business cards. Most pet taxi services charge a flat fee with an hourly rate for waiting time.
Speaking of your neighbors, how many of them have dogs and hate taking them to the groomers? They may not have a car or, if they do, don’t want their dog to dirty it up. If you know a few people like that, consider offering them your taxi services!
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Rent Out Your Car
One secret truth about cars is that we don’t use them that much. The average car owner leaves his or her vehicle parked 95% of the time.
If your car is in the garage too often for your liking, you can list it for rent on sites like Turo. According to their statistics, renting a car for 10 days a month would earn you about $4,700 a year. Not a bad deal if you’re not getting much use of your car anyway.
The main downside of the service is that you’ll need to hand off your car to a stranger. That said, this isn’t as bad as it might sound. Reliable rental companies insure all rented cars, sometimes up to $1 million each.
Other Ways to Make Money With Your Car
The great thing about the gig economy is that it lets you earn money without having to start a business. Doing it with your car is the cherry on top.
Keep in mind that there are plenty of other ways to make money with your car. These include delivering pizzas, doing airport runs, or taking kids to school. Regardless of what you use your car for, the earning potential it provides is high.
Interested in learning more about how to make money with your car? Want to know about the fastest way to sell a car? Keep reading our vehicle-related articles!
