[25rides7daysaweek]

Then you better buy a classic muscle car or a 911 Turbo, put it in climate-controlled storage, and let it appreciate because every other car depreciates.

That aside, picking up a well-sorted older Model S with free lifetime supercharging and broadband connectivity is a smart move. These cars are proven to run over half a million miles, and there is nothing else like them.

Quicker off the line than premium German luxury-performance sedans, packed with extremely well-thought-out features, and designed to make daily life effortless. I have owned sports cars that this thing leaves in the dust, yet it costs less per mile to operate than a Camry or Accord while being incredibly comfortable and stunning to look at.

For a luxury performance car, it is one of the best value buys out there.

When an electric car can go 500 miles, I can charge it in my driveway
and it costs under $30k I'll be looking.
My corolla has gone 220k miles and depreciated 10k in 4 years. I'm 62 years old and will retire soon so no more sports cars for me.

 

[Seamus]

From what I can tell, and of course please correct me if I'm wrong, the way Uber and Lyft's surge pricing works is:

1. The app's algorithm determines the expected demand for any given area based on historical data, and/or
2. reacts to unexpected, sudden increases in ride requests for that area, and
3. compares that to the number of available drivers in the area

If there's a shortage of drivers, a surge happens. In my experience, you can sometimes predict a surge in an area that you are very familiar with by knowing when the busy times are and observing a shortage of drivers in the area based on the pattern and content of the direct and trip-radar pings that you see coming over the app.

I noticed this recently in my regular driving area when we had a big snowstorm about a month ago on a weeknight. I went out Uber driving and I could immediately tell that most of the other Uber drivers had elected to stay home because the pings were coming at me from all over the place. Because of the tremendous surge pricing, I was able to make almost $200 in 4 1/2 hours, all with short rides (six miles or less, including pickup).

Around 10 p.m., the surges died out, so I went home. About 10:15, as I was getting ready to go to bed, I looked at the app and in my area was $35 surge. I'm fairly certain what had happened. My area has a large concentration of restaurants that close at 10 p.m. Because the app was expecting a surge in service industry workers finishing work and going home, and because there were no longer any drivers in the area because I had clocked-out, it had suddenly caused a major surge zone to happen.

If true, I think it's possible to create your own surges. If you see a shortage of drivers in an area that you know is about to get busier, you may be able to create a surge by driving to the area and logging-off the app for about 10 minutes or so. Keep watching the app, then log back in after the surge zone materializes. I have not been able to test this theory yet, but I'm wondering if anyone here has tried it?

In the early days, up until around 2019, drivers could easily create surges if they were organized. In some geographies, drivers used Zello app channels to organize and control these. Also back then you could do a much better job of predicting when and where surges would appear. Five Guys standing in a parking lot together could create great surges on Friday and Saturday nights. There were a lot less drivers back then now it would be impossible to organize drivers to even stand in a straight line let alone coordinate surge creation.

Yes @Disgusted Driver, for a short time there was a glitch in their app where if you knew the method you could give yourself a multiplier surge! I used it while it was available and gave myself great multiplier surges, made a lot of money for that brief time. People on this forum who could be trusted were DM’d instructions on how to do this, keeping it off the public forum. Unfortunately, all it took was one idiot in California to post this information publicly on our forum, and the very next day it was gone, so don’t ever think Uber doesn’t scan the forum.

Now, it’s impossible today to create surges with any real success. The AI has gotten way too good!

 

[GlockandRoll]

When an electric car can go 500 miles, I can charge it in my driveway
and it costs under $30k I'll be looking.
My corolla has gone 220k miles and depreciated 10k in 4 years. I'm 62 years old and will retire soon so no more sports cars for me.

What is the point? How often do you actually drive 500 miles without stopping? I am in my late 40s, and after 250 to 300 miles, I need a break. The difference is, when I stop, I get to step out of a silky smooth, quiet, 4,800-pound Model S with air suspension, feeling relaxed instead of stiff and worn out from rattling around in a Corolla for five hours.

And let’s talk about that depreciation fantasy. Your car lost more than $10K, but you are not accounting for real inflation under Obiden’s administration, which is closer to 40% thanks to the collapse of the dollar’s buying power. Everyone loves bragging about resale value, but they never factor in how much weaker the dollar is now. A new Corolla used to start at $17K, now it is over $24K. That is not because Corollas suddenly became luxury cars. It is because your money buys less.

Meanwhile, you can buy a brand-new Tesla Model 3 Long Range with 340 miles of range for $34K, and if you actually drive it, the fuel savings alone over 10 years practically pay for the car, making it almost free.

And when I need to stop, I can put 100 miles of range in my car in 15 to 20 minutes, which is just enough time to grab a covfefe, use the can, and stretch my legs. If I want to kill more time, I can sit back and watch a movie in theater mode with a sound system better than most home theaters.

Teslas make other cars feel dumb. But you have to spend time with one to truly understand that. I do not even think about range anymore. I just supercharge for free, or I plug in at home and wake up every morning to a full "tank", pre-conditioned to the exact temperature I want.

 

[Lyfting684]

100%. When they pull that shit. You shut the app off. Why take them kinda like for free.

Exactly. When the Uber app should be surging but it isnt, that is when you switch over to Lyft. If neither are surging you should shut off the apps.

 

[Disgusted Driver]

And let’s talk about that depreciation fantasy. Your car lost more than $10K, but you are not accounting for real inflation under Obiden’s administration, which is closer to 40% thanks to the collapse of the dollar’s buying power. Everyone loves bragging about resale value, but they never factor in how much weaker the dollar is now. A new Corolla used to start at $17K, now it is over $24K. That is not because Corollas suddenly became luxury cars. It is because your money buys less.

Corolla LE Sedan 2009: 18,968
Corolla LE Sedan 2025: 22,325
I'm not getting your Obiden inflation BS. Facts over political rhetoric please.

Also, a sane person might argue that inflation is a trailing indicator, it's a reaction to what happened previously. Running up a additional 7 trillion dollar deficit prior to Biden taking office certainly had something to do with inflation peaking in 2021 and 2022.

Furthermore, someone driving 55K miles a year for 4 years and losing $2500 average per year is pretty remarkable.
How much did the original owner of your Tesla Model S lose to depreciation? You got a great deal on it so I imagine they lost quite a bit.

 

[Disgusted Driver]

Yes @Disgusted Driver, for a short time there was a glitch in their app where if you knew the method you could give yourself a multiplier surge! I used it while it was available and gave myself great multiplier surges, made a lot of money for that brief time. People on this forum who could be trusted were DM’d instructions on how to do this, keeping it off the public forum. Unfortunately, all it took was one idiot in California to post this information publicly on our forum, and the very next day it was gone, so don’t ever think Uber doesn’t scan the forum.

Sigh, it's unfortunate that I was not deemed trustworthy

 

[Magic Dancer]

I don’t even bother with surges anymore. They’re a complete joke. Saturday morning, I saw surges over $30 just a few miles away. I jumped in my car, got there fast, and took two rides. One for $7 and another for $6. Then I went home and watched a movie, fuming the whole time. The bait and switch is infuriating. Thankfully, I only do this to supplement my income because if this were my full-time gig, I’d lose my damn mind.
View attachment 759141

Do not chase surges. Do not accept a ride that pays less than $10.

 

[Magic Dancer]

I don’t even bother with surges anymore. They’re a complete joke. Saturday morning, I saw surges over $30 just a few miles away. I jumped in my car, got there fast, and took two rides. One for $7 and another for $6. Then I went home and watched a movie, fuming the whole time. The bait and switch is infuriating. Thankfully, I only do this to supplement my income because if this were my full-time gig, I’d lose my damn mind.
View attachment 759141

Don't chase surges. Don't accept rides that pay under $10

 

[Seamus]

Sigh, it's unfortunate that I was not deemed trustworthy

😆 I was given the information under the promise I wouldn’t share it with anyone otherwise I would have sent it to you as you are indeed trustworthy!

 

[Toocutetofail]

Sigh, it's unfortunate that I was not deemed trustworthy

I'M TRUSTWORTHY!!! @_______________ DM'D it to me.

 

[25rides7daysaweek]

I'M TRUSTWORTHY!!! @_______________ DM'D it to me.

I'm still looking for that second guy to show up in assless chaps dressed as chp on Halloween for @Toocutetofail house!!!

 

[Toocutetofail]

I'm still looking for that second guy to show up in assless chaps dressed as chp on Halloween for @Toocutetofail house!!!

I'm scared.


Also me at home...