Need a car to drive for Uber or Lyft? Uber and Lyft offer rental car programs that provide cars for drivers starting at $250 per week—with auto insurance and routine maintenance included.
Renting a car is a great way to start with Uber and Lyft without making a big financial commitment. But is buying a car the better financial decision?
Read on to learn how to rent a car for Uber & Lyft, and see if buying or renting is the better move!
What you need to know
- You can rent a car to drive for Uber or Lyft
- Uber rentals are through their Vehicle Marketplace
- Lyft rentals are through the Express Drive program
- Rental partners include Hertz, Avis, and other local agencies
- Pricing starts at $250 per week, but taxes and fees can make the final price climb to $400+ per week
- Insurance is included, typically with a $1,000 deductible. You have to pay extra to get $0 deductible
- You can also rent through third-party rideshare rental agencies
- Most drivers need to put in full-time hours to pay for the rental and make a profit
Drive with Uber: Apply to drive here!
Article Contents
- Uber rental cars: The Vehicle Marketplace
- Lyft rental cars: Express Drive
- Third-party rideshare rental options
- Should you buy a car for rideshare?
How to apply with Uber or Lyft when you don’t have a car
Uber and Lyft allow you to apply even if you don’t have access to a qualifying car.
Uber: Apply to Uber and select “I need a car” to apply without providing vehicle information on the application.
Lyft: Apply here and select “I need a car” to apply with the Express Drive rental program.
Overview of the Uber and Lyft vehicle rental programs
Both Uber and Lyft partner with rental car companies to provide rental cars for drivers.
Uber offers rentals through their Vehicle Marketplace, and Lyft offers rentals through the Express Drive program.
Here’s how rentals work: You pay a weekly fee to rent a car. You can rent a sedan, SUV, or an electric vehicle. Insurance and basic maintenance are included in the weekly rental cost.
After you make a rental reservation in the Uber or Lyft app, visit a local rental car lot to pick up your vehicle. Some rentals require a refundable deposit, typically around $200–$300.
Rental associates will help you add the rental to your Uber or Lyft profile so you can immediately start accepting rides.
One limitation to remember is that you can’t use your Uber rental to drive with Lyft or your Lyft rental to drive for Uber.
Upsides to renting
- You can drive for Uber and Lyft without using your own vehicle
- Insurance is included — You don’t have to worry about adding rideshare to your personal policy
- You can rent with no credit or bad credit
- You don’t have to worry about vehicle depreciation or maintenance costs
Downsides to renting:
- High weekly cost — Plan to drive full-time to earn a profit
- Not available in all cities
- Rentals are in high demand. It can be hard to get a car when you need it
- There are hassles picking up, dropping off, and renewing your rental
Rent a car for Uber: The Uber Vehicle Marketplace
Uber partners with several vehicle rental companies to provide rental options for drivers.
You can view rental options in the Uber driver app or visit the online Uber vehicle marketplace.
Requirements & basic facts about Uber rentals
- Uber rentals start at $250 per week
- To qualify, sign up to drive and pass the background screening
- Age requirement is 21 or 25, depending on the rental service
- Most companies require a refundable deposit that is refunded after you return the vehicle
- Insurance is included in the price of the rental, typically with a $1000 deductible
- No credit check if you pay with a credit card, soft credit check if you use a debit card
- Routine maintenance is included
- You can’t always reserve a vehicle in advance. First come, first served
- You can’t use an Uber rental to drive for Lyft or other services
New requirements in some cities: Maintain a 4.90 driver rating to rent
Uber announced new rules for renters in Los Angeles and Orange County: To be eligible to rent, you must maintain a 4.90 rating after completing 50 trips.
Need more help? Call Uber’s vehicle advisors at 1-866-987-3743
Uber currently partners with the services below to provide rental vehicles for Uber drivers.
Hertz rentals
- $200 refundable deposit
- Around $260 – $350 per week
- Keep the same car for up to 180 days without visiting a branch
- EVs are available
- Unlimited miles
- Insurance is included, $1000 deductible
- Must be 21 or older. Some cities require 25+
Avis rentals
- $200 refundable deposit
- Around $250 – $350 per week
- Keep the same car for up to 56 days
- Unlimited miles
- Insurance is included, $1000 deductible
- Must be 25 or older
KINTO Carshare rentals
- No deposit
- Around $275 per week
- Unlimited miles
- Must be 25 or older
Getaround rentals
- Rent cars by the hour
- Unlimited miles
- Our full Getaround review
Related: See every electric vehicle option on Uber and Lyft
Sally rentals
- Deposit required
- Starting at $275 per week
- Must be 21 or older
- Available in Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, NYC, San Francisco, Seattle
Can you rent without a deposit?
Hertz, Avis, and other 3rd party options require a deposit. The only rental agency that doesn’t require a deposit is Kinto.
How to see your Uber rental options in the Vehicle Marketplace
Uber rental options aren’t the same in every city. To see what is available in your area, open the Uber Driver app and tap Menu > Account > Vehicles > View Rental Options.
Tap View Rental Options to see a list of all rental options in your area.
Find rental options in the Uber Driver app
Uber rental listings in Los Angeles
Uber rental categories to choose from
Features included with Avis Uber rentals. Note the extra charge for unlimited miles
Credit check for rentals: Can you rent with a bad credit score?
Uber doesn’t run a credit check for renters, but rental car agencies may run a credit check depending on the payment method you use to pay for the rental.
There is no credit check if you use a credit card to pay for your rental. However, if you pay with a debit card, Hertz and Avis may run a soft credit check that will not affect your credit score.
Hertz and Avis don’t say what the minimum credit score requirements are. If you have a low credit score, make sure to bring a credit card to your reservation as a backup payment method.
Paying for a rental: How much money to keep on your card
Make sure you have enough funds to cover the rental deposit, the weekly fee, optional insurance, and taxes. That’s especially important if you use a debit card to pay. You don’t want to overdraft your account when Hertz places holds and completes the various charges.
When you begin a rental Hertz places a hold for the weekly rate and the deposit. After that, the weekly rate will be charged at the end of each week.
However, the exact policy for holds and charges may vary depending on your area. Read closely and ask lots of questions!
Most rental agencies do not accept pre-paid cards. You will need a credit or debit card to make a reservation.
For debit card users on Avis, your first week’s payment is held as an authorization hold.
Warning for Hertz: Your card may be charged all at once when you return the car
Hertz has different policies for processing rental fees. In some areas, Hertz charges the weekly rental rate each week. But in other areas, Hertz charges you for your rental when you return the vehicle or at the end of your four-week contract.
That means that you may be charged over $1,000 at one time if you rented the car for a full month! And don’t forget that your deposit isn’t returned until your rental period is over.
Make sure you have enough funds to cover the full rental period AND the refundable deposit. Keep a close eye on your rental charges and earnings and don’t spend or transfer your rental funds!
Can you use an Uber rental for personal use?
You can use an Uber rental for personal use, but each rental option may have different mileage limitations.
For example, many Hertz rentals offer unlimited miles but some Avis rentals may limit you to 700 miles per week before adding additional charges.
Can you lease a car through Uber, rent to own, or buy?
Uber does not currently provide an option to lease a car, rent to own, or buy. The vehicle marketplace has a ‘car sales’ section, but it only links you to TrueCar, an outside car sales company.
Uber used to have a leasing program—Uber Xchange—but it is no longer available.
You can use a leased car to drive for Uber, but you may exceed mileage limitations or restrictions on commercial use.
Many typical leases limit you to 1,000 miles per month, which you can quickly exceed driving for Uber.
You can be banned from Uber rentals
You can be blocked from reserving a new rental if you had issues with past rentals. The most common reason is failure to pay a balance owed to the rental agency
When you are on the ‘do not rent’ list, you will see an error message when you attempt to create a reservation.
Rental companies can block you from new rentals
If you are blocked from rentals, you can try contacting Uber to see if there is anything you can do to rent again. If you owe a balance to a rental company, paying the balance can remove the block.
How to rent a car for Lyft: Lyft Express Drive
Lyft offers a vehicle rental program for drivers called Express Drive. With Express Drive, your weekly rental fee covers rideshare miles, insurance, and vehicle maintenance.
Lyft Express Drive rentals cost around $250–$300/week. Taxes, fees, and optional additional insurance can increase the cost to $350–$400 per week
Lyft currently partners with Hertz and Flexdrive for the Express Drive program. You can only use a Hertz rental to drive for Lyft, but you can use a Flexdrive rental for other companies.
You must be 25 years or older to qualify for Lyft Express Drive rentals.
Express Drive options in Los Angeles. The extra miles are for personal use
Can you use an Uber rental for Lyft or a Lyft rental for Uber?
You can only use a rental from Uber to drive for Uber and a Lyft rental to drive with Lyft. The rental agreements for both Uber and Lyft strictly prohibit using the vehicle to drive for another platform.
One exception is Lyft rentals through Flexdrive: Flexdrive allows you to use the rental for other platforms. Unless you rent with Flexdrive, don’t try to use your rental for another app.
HyreCar—a third-party rental platform—allows you to use rentals on any platform.
Should you pay for the loss damage waiver/collision damage waiver?
The standard insurance included with Uber & Lyft rentals has a $1000 deductible. That means you have to pay up to $1000 if you cause damage to the vehicle, including damage to the tires and glass.
Most rental agencies offer an additional insurance option that can waive damage fees. If you pay for the extra insurance, you won’t have to pay for any damages even if you’re at fault.
The additional coverage goes by several different names, depending in the rental agency. It might be called Loss Damage Waiver (LDW), Collision Damage Waiver (CDW), Limited Liability Damage Waiver (LLDW), or Optional Supplemental Insurance.
For Uber and Lyft rentals, LDW/CDW optional insurance costs $5–$10 per day. The exact cost depends on your location and the vehicle you rent.
Lower the rental insurance deductible to $0 with supplemental insurance
Is LDW/CDW worth it? That depends on how long you plan to rent and your financial situation.
Doing the math, you will pay $1000 in supplemental insurance if you rent for 20 weeks or more. If you rent for a full year, you’ll pay $2600.
Loss damage waivers are a good idea if you’re planning to rent for only a few months, or if you know that a sudden $1000 expense would stretch your finances too far.
But if you plan to rent for longer than 20 weeks, it is more profitable to decline the supplemental insurance and put money aside to save for the $1000 deductible.
Other rideshare rental options
Many drivers choose to rent vehicles directly through Uber and Lyft, but several third-party companies also offer rentals that you can use for rideshare.
A qualified third-party rental agency will give you the vehicle documents you need to add the rental vehicle to your Uber or Lyft driver profile.
HyreCar, a peer-to-peer rideshare rental platform
HyreCar is a vehicle marketplace that allows you to rent vehicles from private owners for use on any rideshare or delivery platform.
You can rent a car on HyreCar for as short as two days. Map and filtering tools make it easy to find a vehicle that fits your budget. Insurance is included with every rental.
KINTO
KINTO is a service by Toyota that offers rentals for rideshare, delivery, and personal use. Rentals are available by the hour or by the week.
Rentals start at $275 per week. Unlimited miles and insurance are included. Payments are charged upfront when you begin your rental reservation.
KINTO Share is currently available in Southern California and Texas.
Getaround: Hourly & weekly rentals (Uber Only)
Getaround is another peer-to-peer rental service that rents cars for Uber drivers. You can rent the vehicle by the hour or by the week.
Getaround uses technology that allows renters to get inside the car with a smartphone, so you never have to meet with the vehicle owner to get the car keys.
Getaround for Uber is currently available for drivers in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Baltimore, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Miami and the state of New Jersey.
RideShareRental & EVmo: Evs and Hybrids
RideShareRental, also called EVmo, offers EV and Hybrid rentals that include unlimited miles, insurance, and no credit check.
EVs currently rent for around $300 per week on EVmo at RideShareRental.
RideShareRental is currently available in Los Angeles, Oakland CA, Las Vegas, Chicago, Cranford NJ, Vista CA, San Diego CA, and Westfield NJ.
What are the differences between the rideshare rental options?
The table below shows the features of each major rideshare rental service to make it easier for you to see which one might work for you.
| Uber | Lyft | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$250 per week and up | ~$250 per week and up |
| Deposit | ~$200 refundable for Hertz, no deposit for Avis | ~$250 refundable |
| Rental Period | Weekly | Weekly |
| Insurance | $1000 deductible | $1000 deductible |
| Use for other services? | No | No for Hertz, yes for Flexdrive |
Drive for an Uber Black fleet via Craigslist
Some fleet owners rent out vehicles to use on high-end services like Uber Black. It’s a common way to drive for high-paying services without purchasing an expensive luxury vehicle and commercial registration.
How to rent a car for Uber on Craigslist
- Search your local Craigslist for “Uber rental,” “Uber Black” or similar keywords
- Contact the owner and review any offered leasing arrangement
- The vehicle owner will then add you to both the vehicle’s insurance policy and their Uber Partner account
- If you aren’t an active Uber driver, you will have to undergo background screening
Part-time drivers: The math for rentals might not add up
For part-time drivers, it’s usually the most profitable choice to use a car you already own. You have to drive 12+ hours just to pay for a rental, and many part-timers only want to drive that many hours in a week.
Even accounting for vehicle depreciation, your earnings will likely exceed your costs if you don’t put too many miles on your car and choose your rides wisely.
But rideshare rentals may be the best option for full-time drivers putting 1000+ miles on their car each week.
When you drive that many miles, vehicle depreciation and maintenance become major expenses that might not make sense for your everyday vehicle.
Should you buy a car for Uber & Lyft?
Buying a car exclusively to drive for Uber or Lyft is a big investment that may not pay off if your market isn’t busy with ride requests.
According to our research about how much Uber drivers make, you should expect to make around $15–$25/hour after expenses.
Many drivers can make money with an affordable used car ($15,000 or less), but other drivers who splurge on a more expensive model find that it can become a breakeven or a loss.
Always closely check Uber vehicle requirements before you purchase a car, and email Uber to make sure your car qualifies, especially if you’re aiming to use your vehicle for UberXL or Lyft XL.
Upside: You’ll own the vehicle, so you can use it as you wish, sell it whenever you want
Downside: You might get stuck with a car payment you can’t afford if the vehicle is too expensive or if rideshare isn’t lucrative in your area
Don’t buy a car until you’re approved to drive!
Some people buy a car before they get approved to drive by Uber or Lyft.
In many cases, these people were confident they could pass the driving record check and background check, so they went ahead and got the car before Uber approved their application.
Then something happened in the application process—delays or a rejection—and now they’re stuck with a car payment they can’t afford. Don’t put yourself in that position.
Get approved to drive before you get the car! You can get approved in only a week or two.
Uber and Lyft applications allow you to sign up without a car, so you won’t need to enter vehicle information to complete the application. You can figure out how to get the car after you’re approved.
Kerry says
I read in the news online that uber recently reduced drivers pay by 45% and that drivers were now making less than $3.00 per hour. And they are understandably angry and scrambling to leave uber and find other jobs. what do you know about this and is uber no longer worth driving for? Drivers are publicly protesting and boycotting the company and publicizing how they have been cheated. Uber is trying to block them from the media and many drivers are not making anything after expenses.
If this is true, I,m sure that this will get deleted somehow. But I will be re-posting if it does and posting elsewhere and signing their petitions.
DougH says
It’s true that many drivers are upset. The $3/hour claim may be true for some people, but I’d say it’s not true for most. Yes, driver pay is dropping, and for many, the job is no longer worth it.
Mike I says
I decided to apply for lyft for pt work. My 4runner is a 95 and my issue is with my other part time gig, I do not make enough for the minimum req to get an auto loan, though my credit is good…just a bit over 700…I won’t be taken seriously on paper by those lenders. I am looking at a personal car to use, a truck specifically and I know the lyft req so a spacious 4 door truck is my idea. Like I said it is going to a be a personal vehicle so that is why I want the truck because I could use the space for when I take my bike when I hit the trails or go camping and such plus I like trucks. I used your blog and did lots of research elsewhere and lyft is my choice to do pt work to supplement my other job. Do you know of any finance companies that have a leniency towards Lyft drivers specifically. I can sell my 4runner to carmax and get my down payment, I just need that opportunity to get a truck for 10 grand or less with about 100,000 miles and is clean with 4drs. I already know I will qualify in regards to being a driver. I have a class A and spent many years on the road here in so cal. My background and driving records are super clean. Any info could help if I her from ya in the next couple days
DougH says
Hi Mike. Thanks for writing in. Most of the lenders that are meant for Uber/Lyft drivers offer leases, and it sounds like you don’t want a lease. Other than those leasing companies (Breeze, Uber Xchange), I don’t know of any auto loan companies that are extra lenient for Lyft drivers. It seems like you should be able to get a loan from just about anywhere, but you might not get a good rate if your income isn’t high.
mark says
If my girlfriend adds me to her car insurance can I sign up for uber with her vehicle?
DougH says
You can! Treat her car well 🙂
oscar says
A 2010 ford focus is good to work with uber? and is neccesary to have a florida license driver to work in florida or I can work for uber with a driver license of other state, thanks
DougH says
Your 2010 should qualify. You will need to get an in-state license to drive.
oscar says
Can my brother with kansas State license drive my car here in south florida counties, like broward, palm beach nd miami
DougH says
He’ll need an in-state license to drive.
Bob says
Can I drive a car purchased by my father-in-law-and in which I am NOT on the title as long as I am on named on the insurance policy as a driver?
DougH says
Yes. You’ll qualify as long as your listed on the insurance policy.
Uriah says
Hello! I have a 2004 Subaru Forester that has a few scratches and small dents. I was curious how strict they are on the exterior cosmetics. The interior and functionality of everything is 10/10.
DougH says
Small scratches and dings smaller than your hand usually aren’t a problem, but anything larger could get you rejected. Especially with lyft. Lyft tends to be more strict about cosmetic damage.
Jerry says
Hello I have 4 pruis from 2006-2009
I’m having trouble finding drivers
I want to split the revenue 50/50
I have a couple ads in Los Angeles Criaglist
But it’s still hard to find drivers
Do you have any ideas how to find drivers
Who would like to drive my cars
Thx!
DougH says
Craigslist seems like a good way to go. The problem is likely the 50/50 split. Even if the driver keeps 100% of their earnings they’re only making $10-$20/hour. Split in half that’s $5-$10/hour! Not a great deal for the driver.