Category Archives: Uber Review

Uber Car Requirements, Uber Review

Carchex Review -Extended Warranty for Uber Drivers

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This post is a Carchex Review. For those actively searching for Extended Warranty Programs for their Uber Vehicle(s), there is a new program by Carchex for Uber drivers called the “Protect My Uber” plan.  Just so you know, Carchex has been in business since 1999 and has exclusive agreements with companies like Edmunds and Carfax.com. So, from all indications Carchex is a reputable business. They also have an A+ rating by the better business bureau (see here).

I spoke with Joe Campanella (the EVP of Business Development) about Carchex, and got some interesting information.  I was also able to dig up some information about Carchex that can prove helpful in reviewing the business.

For those who don’t understand the difference between Insurance and Car Warranties – One statement that stuck out to me when I spoke with Joe was this “Insurance covers accident repair costs, but extended warranties cover unexpected auto repairs”.  Read more below to see what I was able to find out about the Carchex plan for Uber drivers –

 

Availability of the “Protect My Uber” Plan

The “Protect My Uber” plan is currently available in 34 states in the U.S (AK, AK, CO, DE, D.C., FL, HI, ID, IN, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WV, WY), but should be available nationwide soon. They currently have no plans to rollout internationally, but that might change.  Their plan is also only available to Uber Partners with cars no older than 15 years and with less than 150,000 miles.

 

Benefits of the “Protect My Uber” Plan

  1. Compared to Standard Extended Warranty Plans – Standard Vehicle Protection Plans have an exclusion for livery, taxi and shuttle services which voids the Vehicle Protection Plan. This is not the case with the Carchex “Protect My Uber” Plan
  1. Tax Deductions – Expenses put towards your monthly extended warranty costs can be taken as tax deductions. (For more on Uber and Taxes, see our post here).
  1.  Unexpected Car Repair Costs – The plan created by Carchex for Uber drivers protects drivers from unexpected repairs and mechanical breakdowns, which insurance doesn’t cover. Insurance covers accident repair costs, but extended warranties cover repairs which are sometimes routine for a car/vehicle. As an uber driver or Uber business owner, predicting your costs is the smart thing to do if you want to be profitable.
  1. Pre-Paid Maintenance – The Carchex Pre-Paid maintenance program allows an Uber driver to receive the following maintenance services every 6,000 miles during the term of their Vehicle Protection Plan – Oil change and filter; tire rotation; lubricate front suspension, steering linkage and ball joints; multipoint inspection including hoses, belts, tires, etc.  Note, the Tire and wheel protection costs $15 a month, and the Pre-paid maintenance (Oil & Filter etc.) cost $9 a month.
  1.  Free Trial –Per Joe Campanella (their EVP of Business Development)-“If for any reason you need to cancel before 30 days, you get a full refund”.
  1. Month-To-Month –Payment for the plan is month to month with 0% financing options available through Carchex.
  1. Cancelling your Plan – Carchex offers plan cancellations, and pro-rated refunds. By pro-rated refunds, it means if for example you decide to cancel after 3 months, of a 12 month program, you get the equivalent of 9 months back refunded to you.
  1. Signup Process – Go here to signup.  Note -You only need your car’s VIN, exact miles and your street address to activate your protection plan with Carchex.
  1. Claims Process –If you need to file a claim, follow the steps below
    • Step 1 – Take the vehicle to any licensed repair facility
    • Step 2 – Have your car diagnosed and repair the vehicle
    • Step 3 – Carchex will then pay for the parts, labor, taxes and the diagnostics directly to the repair facility.

 

Cost of the “Protect My Uber” Plan

The “Protect My Uber” currently costs between $100 to $150 per month, depending on the add-ons to the plan a driver selects.

 

Cons of the Program

Some of the things I don’t particularly like about the program are the following –

      • Deductibles – You have to pay a deductible when you take your car in. (Granted, the deductibles range from $100 to $500 – depending on your plan). I don’t like deductibles. Per Joe, “the average deductible is around $100”.
      • Maintenance Items not Included – Some maintenance items are not included in this plan – for example windshield wipers.

 

Opinion
Our Carchex Review: for a brand new car, you probably don’t need an extended vehicle protection plan, (most cars generally don’t start having issues until they have about 60,000 miles or greater on them). For cars that have between 60,000 miles to 150,000 miles on them, getting the “protect my uber plan” might not be a bad idea (if your numbers make sense –download our financial calculator to determine if your numbers make sense).

Ultimately, making money is about increasing revenue (getting as many drivers and/or rides per car as possible within a set time) and managing or predicting your costs effectively. Your car maintenance/repair cost is a big part of your costs as an uber partner (driver and/or owner), and effectively managing this cost is important if you plan to make any real profit with your Uber Business.

The way i see it, if you have  older vehicle(s)  (60,000 miles or more), register for the “Protect Your Uber Plan” and if before 30 days you see it doesn’t make sense you cancel and lose nothing.

 

To Signup
To Sign up for the Carchex “protect my uber plan” go here.

 

 

 

Other Interesting Uber Related Posts
For our blog posts on some of Uber’s Services, see the links below:

 

For other popular posts you might be interested
in, check the links below:

 

 

Carchex Review
Become An Uber Driver, Uber Review

Uber Rider Behavior [A Data Analysis]

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A Data Analysis of Uber Rider Behavior

 

 

With great use comes great data, I say! This article was largely written by William Jade of UberEstimate.org.  As an Uber passenger and partner, I often wonder what other people are doing on the Uber platform, and if I am just an anomaly. Well, William was willing to share some of his wonderful and interesting data with us. Note- the article is a synopsis of sampled data from both the UberMeter app and UberEstimate.org site. Anonymized data from 17,000 unique users was collected over a period of roughly 3 months. Please read and enjoy some of William’s findings below!

 

Uber User Statistics

UberEstimate.org has been able to provide better insight into the behavior of American Uber riders, through monitoring various queries made by the thousands of users on their application. These statistics provide more details about how people use Uber, where Uber is more popular and the different popular routes that are taken with Uber trips.

Per their data, Uber received an 890% maximum surge within the past three months. Their UberXL service has seen the highest surge rate, followed closely by the UberX service. It was also reported that the average cost of an Uber trip is $19.60, with the average distance travelled per Uber trip being 20.26 miles.

 

Common Uber Destinations

The collected data also provides evidence of the most popular destinations Uber trips drive to, with Los Angeles International Airport and New York City being among the top destinations for Uber riders. San Francisco International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport is also among the top five destinations. Other popular destinations include:

  • O’Hare International Airport
  • Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport
  • Orlando International Airport
  • One Prudential Plaza in Chicago
  • Miami Beach in Florida

 

Common Uber Routes

Data has also provided significant insight into the most popular routes Uber is used for. These routes are used to get from point A to point B by millions of active Uber users. The most popular recorded route is from LaGuardia to Manhattan, with a route from Fort Lauderdale to Miami and from Las Vegas to McCarran Airport closely being the second and third most popular routes. Many other popular routes have also been recorded to include:

  • LAX to Disneyland
  • Newark to Manhattan
  • SFO to Palo Alto
  • LAX to UCLA
  • SeaTac Airport to Seattle

 

Conclusion (For General Uber Enthusiasts)
Through the analysis of the data collected and provided by Uber Estimate, it becomes clear that the company is very popular in the United States. The international expansions by Uber have created many opportunities in other countries such as the United Kingdom and even countries such as Asia and India. With time, Uber will continue to grow and will continue to expand into new regions, thus assisting with the economy and unemployment rate in many countries.

 

Conclusion (For Uber Partners)

Per the data received from William, what I can say is if you are an Uber partner looking to make good money, it might not be a bad idea to invest in an UberXL vehicle. Getting your airport permit might also not be a bad idea (if you need one in your city for airport pickups). The proof is in the data pudding!

 

About UberEstimate.org

UberEstimate.org is a service that allows for estimating the cost of an Uber ride. For more information about UberEstimate.org and to use their service, go to their site here .

Also, to receive professionally vetted information that will assist you in running a profitable Uber business download our Uber kit at the top right of this page.

 

Other Interesting Uber Related Links:

For our blog posts on some of Uber’s Services, see the links below:

For other popular posts you might be interested in, check the links below:

 

uber rider
Uber Review

All About Uber’s Family Profile Feature

Kunle Bowale & Ola John Leave a comment

 

When you run a business as big as Uber, you have to ensure that whatever you do is always targeted at making your users satisfied. As any business grows, its development begins to depend on what the users think should be added. A company can never anticipate every possible user need, so at some point the users have to be part of the improvement – this is why feedback is a very vital part of any business. One of such features that Uber has credited users for inspiring is the new Uber Family profile feature. With this feature, users can now group their family under one profile – making it easier for Uber users in a family to pay for a ride using the same payment account.

As stated on Uber’s newsroom: “One feature passengers have frequently requested is an easy way to pay for family and friends. That’s why we are excited to announce Family Profiles, a new feature we’re launching in Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix that lets up to 10 riders safely and easily share one payment

method.” This is a feature that Uber is introducing to make the app more fitting and useful for Uber users and their needs.

 

How it Works?

To use the feature, there has to be one organizer who will set it up. After that, they must follow the steps below:

  1.   Make sure you have the latest version of the Uber app.
  2.   Go to Menu and choose Settings.
  3.   Scroll down to “Add a Family Profile” and select the contacts you would like to add.
  4.   As soon as the Family Profile rider accepts the invitation, they can begin requesting rides from their own phone using the Family Profile as their payment method.
  5.   The cost of the trip will automatically be billed to the Family Profile and the organizer will receive a receipt for every ride.

 

What This Means

This new feature would give room for a central financial management for families in the Uber world. What I mean is that this makes it easier for you to add ride charges to the family budget. You no longer have to hand out cash or be compelled to order via your phone when your kid needs to take a ride that’s on you. It could also help family members understand each other’s movement. Parents who set up the account are now aware of family member’s commute and safety where necessary. Uber has also made this feature more useful by letting users decide who is family. This means that you can add coworkers, friends and so on. It is a really good feature that will surely make Uber-ing easier and safer for users.

For people (Uber Drivers and Uber Passengers) that wish to utilize this new feature(Uber family Profile Feature).   Start by downloading the Uber app  on your personal phones . If you have no idea where or how to get the application, don’t worry—it isn’t all that complicated. All you need to know is that you can only use an Android ,IOS or  Windows phone.

If you have never used Uber, and want to become an Uber Passenger today, signup using this link: uberkit.net/ridersignup

 

 

Other Interesting Uber Related Posts

For our blog posts on some of Uber’s Services, see the links below:

For other popular posts you might be interested in, check the links below:

 

uber family
Uber Partner, Uber Review

Three Takeaways for ‘Ubering’ –An Uber Review

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So, as part of increasing the diversity of our audience, we at Uberkit.net have decided to allow outside content that should be interesting to our core demographic or people that would love to read an independent Uber Review. We received an article from Amy Fisher of padillacrt.com which we thought was an interesting story from an Uber passenger. The story details her experience ‘Ubering’ and some key valuable lessons for entrepreneurs. Let us know what you think:

 

When I told people we were heading to Los Angeles for a long weekend and not renting a car, they all thought we were crazy. But L.A. is a car city, they all explained. Everyone drives in L.A. my friends from the Valley said….everyone! But, we were determined to have an Uber-experiment. Despite having never even used Uber, this was going to be our jumping-in point – we had no other back-up transportation so it was “go Uber or go home.”We discovered a lot on our Uber-venture, and when I looked back, I realized that there were some great lessons learned – ones that can also apply to our role as communications professionals.

 

Lesson #1: Have a specific destination in mind and share it

One of the great things about Uber is that you GPS your starting point for pick-up but you can also pinpoint your exact destination (and in fact you should always do this). This is helpful because it avoids wasted time and energy trying to explain to your driver where you want to go, having to program the Uber GPS, etc. It sets expectations for all involved and streamlines the journey.

[Just like Uber, for an entrepreneur or manager, setting a destination or vision for your employees is critical to making sure everyone is on the same page and increasing your chances of fulfilling your company’s objectives].

 

Lesson #2: Behave yourself; your reputation is on the line.

Uber riders know we get to rate our drivers. Drivers that fall below a certain customer rating threshold can have their contracts revoked. But what most people forget is that Uber drivers also rate their passengers. So if you roll drunkenly into your Uber, toss up dinner and pass out before reaching your destination, you may find that future rides are harder to secure. In other words, be nice and behave yourself -your reputation depends on it.

 

Society is moving toward a more community-ranked environment. We get to like, up-vote, tag, share, rank, star and more. Today, brands (and even individuals) have less control over their own reputations because of the power of the community voice. Companies like Target and BP that have experienced community backlash have spent millions trying to restore their reputations. While not all corporate crises are avoidable, it’s easier to maintain a good reputation than to fix a rotten one.

 

Lesson #3: Know your customer’s needs – and find a new way to exceed them

Let’s face it, we take taxis because they have been the only option. But we all knew the system could be better – less smelly, for a start. I’ll admit, I was skeptical of getting in a stranger’s car the first time I ‘Uber’d’. But then I realized that when I get in a taxi, no one really knows where I’m going or who I’m with. With Uber, the “system” has data on your driver, pick-up and drop-off locations, route and timeline. While being tracked can seem a bit like ‘big brother’ it’s actually a positive when you’re in a big city and relying on strangers for transport. The value of this exceeds any question about sharing that data.
Beyond that, Uber has taken the traditional taxi experience and made it so much better. They didn’t disrupt the system; they created one that was more effective, and more user-friendly. They eliminated the things riders hate about taxis such as the hassle to get one, the sketchy vehicles, the uncertainty of the driver’s route knowledge, the payment issues and even the cost. Uber made every one of these things better.

 

As [entrepreneurs], we need to use this as an example for ourselves and the brands we represent. We need to focus on better understanding the end goal and revising existing and broken processes to make it better. We need to figure out how we can support our company’s purpose and make it easier to achieve it. There are other brands out there that are taking Uber’s lead. Let’s get on board so we can all make it to our destination.

 

 

 

Other Interesting Uber Related Posts

For our blog posts on some of Uber’s Services, see the links below:

For other popular posts you might be interested in, check the links below:

Uber Review