[soupergloo]

long story short, I need to replace the engine on my GTI and I'll be out of a car for 2 weeks.

Am I able to rent a car and keep driving until I get my car back?

 

[soupergloo]

Question though.... Did you burn out your engine driving for uber ?

I didn't, the oil changing place I was taking my car to wasn't changing my oil or my oil filter .. the oil in my car is burnt right now and I just got it changed 2 months ago.

 

[soupergloo]

Only available through ubers partnership with enterprise in SF and its costly. (There's a different one through Hertz which is better but not in SF)

https://www.enterprise.com/en/business-car-rental/uber.html

Lyft's comparable program also not available here

Two weeks is probably too short to make XChange worthwhile.

do you know how to do it? I know it's costly, but I want to get my 80 rides done this week and next to get the free $1,000 incentive.

 

[soupergloo]

Not the rental you got from your insurance or on your own only uber 's rental would be the way to go , It's 210$ or so but compared to your GT fuel consumption you will safe 60 to 120$ on gas

good point! do you know how to actually do it? the enterprise link says only Oakland is the available location to pick up from and it says they have no cars available.

 

[soupergloo]

Was the oil changing place a "Jiffy Lube"? What is the name of the oil changing place and where is it located so we can avoid it.
If you kept your receipt from the last "oil change" and documentation from your mechanic who states that you need a new engine because of no oil or burnt oil in the engine, you should be able to sue the oil changing place that ripped you off.

it wasn't Jiffy Lube, I've heard really bad things about that place .. it's called "Oil Changers" which is also a chain. I specifically went to the one on Skyline consistently. my bf had also gotten his oil changed there and went to change his oil at home yesterday and found they weren't using synthetic oil on his car, weren't replacing the oil filter and didn't replace the drain plug gasket so his car was leaking oil.

 

[soupergloo]

Oh damn look at other companies that will give you a car or expand the search to sac and further.

I wouldn't advise you to use your xchange lease option unless you are planning to use it for like 6 months once you return it they never allow you to do it again

How many miles do yo have on he car ?

yeah I wasn't leaning towards that route because I don't want to commit to their program for 30 days. to go through Enterprise, I can only rent from Enterprise in Oakland

my GTI has 82,000 miles on it

 

[soupergloo]

Shady. Put a mark on your oil filter in the future with a permanent marker to see if they change it.

well the mechanic replacing my engine is giving me a warranty on the engine as long as I bring my car back to him every 3 months for him to check on it and change the oil, so I agreed.

what sucks is my mechanic is in Napa and I live in SF.

 

[soupergloo]

Dont they show u the oil stick after changing the oil to prove that its clean?

yeah, but I don't know by looking at it if it's synthetic or not and it's going to look clean if they replace the oil, but not after I drive it for a while with an old oil filter.

 

[soupergloo]

Can you get on your bfs insurance?

get on his insurance .. to drive his car?

 

[soupergloo]

Some cars have paper filters that get replaced instead of the actual aluminum filter body. Impossible to know if they changed filters.

Wow. soupergloo, will you open ligation with Oil Changers? And Skyline in which city?

idk a lot about cars, but my bf does and I have a really good, reliable mechanic .. they can't tell me exactly what caused my engine to fail until they get it out, but they know it has to do with the oil that's in my car. Oil Changers is the only place that has touched the oil on this car. I'm going to stop by their Skyline office tomorrow to talk to someone (that probably won't get me very far) and then I'm getting a lawyer.

I think its city is technically Pacifica.

 

[soupergloo]

Yes. You don't need to be on the registration, just on the insurance.

You'll have to schedule between each other to get 80 rides each, but its only two weeks and most insurance agents will get you setup tiday

he doesn't drive Uber full time, and he works in Half Moon Bay, so he needs his car.

I can't drive it any way, it's a stick and he doesn't trust me to drive it to teach me

 

[soupergloo]

Was it a reputable place or some mexicans or russian doing having a shop on the side?

well it's a chain, and I would think a place that solely does oil changes would do them correctly, but they just have a bunch a kids working there straight out of high school for minimum wage.

 

[soupergloo]

Oh wow I guess Enterprise in Oakland got inundated with Uber drivers if they ran out of rentals, but it was also Pride Weekend which means that tourists would return the cars this week.

3950 Broadway, Oakland, CA (510) 597-7800. This phone number has a message that may give you 888 phone number for Uber-Enterprise prospective clients. If you manage to get an appointment, the closest Bart Station is MacAthur. Good luck!

I think it's pretty hopeless, I called Enterprise and they are out of cars in Oakland until the middle of July .. seems really strange that every Oakland location is emptied out, but I wasn't going to argue with the operator.

 

[soupergloo]

I would be inclined to agree with you on this one, but she's leaving $1k on the table just from that 80 rides per week guarantee.

and I just had to spend 5k on a new engine , so as much as I'd like to take a break, I'd love to start making some money asap.

 

[soupergloo]

Start a new thread and offer to rent a car from a fellow uber driver who may not be driving much over the next few days. Vehicle is already uber approved, just get uber to add it to your profile. Probably tell the renter to add you onto his/her insurance. That's how I started.

as much as I'd like it to be that easy, no one would do that for me.

I certainly wouldn't add a stranger to my insurance policy.

 

[soupergloo]

Dime a dozen - http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/lbg/5649833219.html

wait what?! will Uber actually let me do that?

 

[soupergloo]

When I started with Uber I found a car rental from a guy on Craigslist vehicle was already approved with uber so getting approved was done in 5 minutes in person on Vermont Street.
I think you can still have a few different cars on your profile .when you login you just need to choose which one you're going to drive that day

you're a life saver! I'll give it a shot

 

[soupergloo]

censoredbytheFCC unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way.

I ended up renting a car from hyrecar to drive Uber until mine is good to go again

 

[soupergloo]

Nice! What are you paying?

$40 a day plus insurance for a 2012 Honda Fit .. it's a lot more than I'd pay for that car considering the owner gave it to me filthy (I had to go get it washed before I could do any rides in it), and the car definitely needs oil, but I needed a car ASAP, she was the first to get back to me and one of the few that was located in SF.

I can't wait to get my VW back

 

[soupergloo]

Are you still looking for a car for short term runs?
It's on a facebook group :

thanks! I got a car through hyrecar, but I need to give this one back by next Wednesday, and I'll need to get another until the engine is done in mine.

I don't have Facebook though ..