Between car payments, insurance and maintenance, cars can be expensive. According to AAA, financing costs alone jumped by 24% in 2019, raising the average cost of vehicle ownership to $9,282 per year. That’s $773.50 per month going to the wheels sitting in your driveway. But the good news is that there are ways to make money with your car too.
From transporting passengers to dropping off packages, it is easy to discover ways to make your car work for you. Here are 20 clever ways to make money with your car today.
1. Uber
The most popular ride sharing platform in the world, Uber is a taxi service on demand. If you have a car that meets the company’s specifications, you can get paid for driving by picking up passengers and dropping them off at various destinations.
Using the company’s app, you can see what trips are available and select the ones you want. When you are ready to stop driving, you simply sign out of the app until you’re ready again. Becoming an Uber driver is easy. You simply need to have a four-door vehicle with working windows and air conditioning, in good condition with ample insurance coverage.
2. Lyft
Similar to Uber, Lyft also offers ride sharing. One of the great things about driving for Lyft is the flexibility of your work schedule. You can drive as little or as much as you want when you sign up for the service. Simply log in to the app and start accepting fares. Lyft is available in most major cities in the world.
Lyft is available in almost every major metropolitan area in the United States and nine cities in Canada. Drivers who want to make money driving for Lyft have to have a car that meets the company’s specifications, a valid drivers license and adequate insurance coverage.
3. HopSkipDrive
HopSkipDrive is the ride sharing service tailored toward children, schools and families. Carefully screened drivers transport children to school, camp and activities safely. Many schools use the service in lieu of school bus transportation. You can earn cash for each child you pick up and deliver to their final destination.
Drivers that work for HopSkipDrive often find that they can earn the most money during the summer when children need rides to and from day camp and between parents and grandparents’ homes. Drivers can earn up to $30 hourly by simply providing a much-needed service to children and their parents.
4. Wingz
Wingz is a peer to peer ride-sharing service that focuses mainly on airport, event and senior rides. Riders schedule their trips in advance and pay one flat rate for the service. Wingz is rolling out in cities across the United States, so it is an open frontier for those looking to make more money with their car in a low-competition environment.
Catering to the senior market, Wingz drivers can earn up to $30 transporting seniors to doctor’s appointments, worship services and shopping. In addition, there is always a demand for airport rides, so Wingz drivers will find that there is a steady stream of work to keep them busy.
5. Uber Eats
A a driver for Uber Eats, you will be responsible for delivering people’s meals right to their front door. An excellent way to earn cash without having to interact with passengers, Uber Eats drivers can set their own schedules and work when they want.
Uber Eats drivers work under tight deadlines, as they are responsible for getting food to their customers while it’s still hot. Many Uber Eats drivers consolidate and combine trips to earn the maximum cash for each job. During rush periods, some Uber Eats drivers can earn as much as $30 per hour. Get started with Uber Eats.
6. Postmates
Postmates is a courier service that delivers everything from groceries to hardware items and more. They charge a flat fee of $5 for deliveries, and drivers keep 80% of that fee. Postmates is popular near college campuses and in urban cities where people order party supplies, alcohol and common household items.
According to Indeed, the average Postmates driver makes $16.25 per hour. And some of the most active couriers can earn up to $25 per hour for making Postmates deliveries. Drivers earn more money by working during blitz times and identifying the areas in the city where deliveries are most in demand. Get started with Postmates.
Related: Uber Eats vs. Postmates: A Real-life Case Study
7. DoorDash
DoorDash is a restaurant delivery service which dispatches “dashers” to restaurants to pick up and deliver food orders. Dashers earn money on delivery fees and tips. According to Indeed, the average Dasher makes $14.03 per hour, with the highest-earners making nearly $30 per hour.
One of the best features of Door Dash is that drivers keep 100% of the delivery fee and tips since Door Dash charges the restaurant, not the customer, for the service. Get started with DoorDash.
Related: Read our full DoorDash review.
8. GrubHub
GrubHub recently partnered with Seamless, expanding its customer base and creating a greater demand for delivery drivers. Delivering for Grubhub is one of the easiest ways to make money with your car. GrubHub is a food delivery service, and drivers pick up food from area restaurants and deliver it to customers.
GrubHub operates in almost every major city in the United States and a few in Canada. According to job salary site Glassdoor, the average GrubHub driver earns about $11 an hour. Get started with GrubHub.
9. Instacart
If you’re a whiz at grocery shopping, using your car to deliver for Instacart may be an easy way to earn extra cash. Instacart shoppers visit area grocery stores and purchase items to deliver to customers. As an Instacart shopper, you can set your own hours and work when you want. The average Instacart shopper earns $13.85 an hour, according to Indeed. To be an Instacart shopper, you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, pass a background check and be able to lift 40 pounds.
10. Shipt
Shipt is a grocery delivery service that focuses primarily on fresh produce and perishible items. Drivers use cooler bags to deliver hand-selected grocery goods to their customers in major cities across the United States. As with other delivery services, one of the main draws of Shipt is that you can set your own hours. Some Shipt shoppers can earn up to $22 hourly with the app. In order to deliver for Shipt, you must have a car that is a 1997 or newer and have auto insurance and a valid drivers license. Get started with Shipt.
11. Amazon Flex
Amazon Flex drivers use their cars to deliver orders from Amazon Prime, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Restaurants. Drivers are paid between $18 and $25 per hour, and are paid twice weekly. If you are delivering packages for Amazon.com, you will need a midsize, four-door sedan.
If you have a larger car like an SUV or pickup truck, you can earn more money by delivering more packages. For PrimeNow, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Restaurants, the size of the car doesn’t matter, because those packages are small enough to fit in the backseat of a regular car.
12. Turo
Car sharing is a popular way to make money with your car. With the Turo platform, you rent your car out during the month and earn cash from drivers. Drivers love Turo because they can skip the rental counters with the long lines and hassles of traditional car rental agencies.
The amount you can earn renting out your car depends on how many days a month you rent, the type of car you have and your car’s location. Car owners in big cities like Los Angeles, New York and Miami can earn up to $800 a month renting their cars. If you have luxury vehicles, you can earn even more. Some of the most popular cars on the site are the Tesla models, BMWs and Maserati, which can drivers pay up to $200 for the privilege of driving.
13. Getaround
Getaround is a car sharing service that allows car owners to earn cash by letting other drivers rent their cars. Drivers drivers keep 60% of the rental fees, and the company keeps 40%. Getaround provides a comprehensive auto insurance policy and roadside assistance.
One of the best benefits of Getaround is that owners don’t have to worry about being present to exchange keys with the drivers. Drivers can use the company’s app to simply unlock the cars and go. Getaround owners are paid once per month by PayPal. Getaround says that their most active owners can earn up to $10,000 per year. Get started with Getaround.
14. Outdoorsy
If you own an RV, you can earn money by renting it out to travelers who want to see the open road. Outdoorsy RV owners can rest assured that their vehicles are in good hands. Every driver is background checked, and the company offers up to $1 million in insurance for the RV.
Owners set their own rates, and the company takes a small percentage of each rental. Some owners with deluxe RVs can charge up to $300 per night. Other owners rent out their RVs for long rentals of up to six months at a time. Many owners find that renting out their RVs on Outdoorsy allows them to cover all of their costs of ownership including gas, maintenance and vehicle payments.
15. RV Share
Many RVs sit unused in driveways across the country and are only used for occasional trips. If you have an RV you’re not driving right now, you can rent it out on RV Share and earn cash. Owners of Class C motorhomes can earn up to $250 per rental day, while owners of Class A motorhomes earn $300 or more daily.
You can also rent travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers and pop up trailers to earn extra money. RV Share is popular with families who are taking long road trips, so summer is the most profitable time for most RV owners.
16. HyreCar
Another way to make money with your car is by renting it out on HyreCar. HyreCar allows owners to rent out their cars to people who want to make money driving for services like Uber and Lyft. One of the main benefits of renting out your car to other drivers is that you don’t have to actively drive in order to make money.
You simply hand over the keys and start earning. In addition, you can command higher rental fees since your customers are using your car to earn money. HyreCar owners set their own prices and earn a commission on each rental. Get started with HyreCar.
17. Free Car Media
Make money driving a rolling billboard with Free Car Media. This service wraps your car in a company’s advertisement, which motorists will see as you drive. Earn a flat fee each month doing what you normally do. With car wrap advertising, you tell the company your normal route and they match you with an advertiser who wants to advertise along that route.
There are a few stipulations about what businesses you can visit with your wrapped car (usually no adult entertainment venues or stores), but overall, you’re just driving like normal. Drivers can make up to $500 a month fully wrapping their cars.
18. Wrapify
Wrapify connects advertisers to drivers with an easy platform that allows you to get paid for driving. After a brief application process, you can sign up for available jobs on the app. You simply drop off your car at a pre-determined location, and the company wraps your car in advertising for free.
You can choose how much you want your car wrapped. Choose from a partial wrap that includes only a decal on the door panel to a full wrap that encompasses the entire car. Most drivers earn $200-$300 per month for wrapping their car.
19. Task Rabbit
If you have a larger vehicle and you want to make money with your car by delivering large items, sign up for Task Rabbit and get to work. Using Task Rabbit, you can sign up to deliver large furniture items or appliances for people who are in need of delivery services. Taskers can set their own rates for their service, and the company takes 15% of each sale. You can work as much or as little as you like by signing up for jobs when you’re ready. Many Taskers earn a full-time living with the site.
20. Roadie
If you like getting paid to take road trips, then Roadie is the app that will bring in the cash. Roadie is a delivery service that connects drivers with people who need packages transported over long distances. With this app, you can get paid for driving Aunt Sarah’s gifts from her home in Missouri to her niece in Utah.
If long-distance rides aren’t your thing, you can earn cash by making local deliveries. Drivers can earn up to $50 for local trips and up to $650 for long distance rides. Roadie drivers use the company’s app to track their progress along to route and to confirm that the pickup and delivery were carried out to the client’s specifications. Many Roadie drivers use the service to cover the costs of their monthly car ownership, while others use the platform to fund road trips.
Conclusion:
When it comes to ways to make money with your car, there are many platforms available to bring in extra cash. Whether you’re delivering furniture or cupcakes, renting out your car or getting paid for delivering dinner, there are great ways that you can make money with your car today!
