Drive and Earn: Top Ways To Monetize Your Car

You can use your car to generate additional income by partnering with various platforms to provide services like transporting groceries, packages or passengers. This can be great for those looking for additional income outside of their regular job or in addition to other freelancing pursuits, as these platforms typically let car owners and drivers choose their own working hours.

Keep reading to learn different ways to make money with your car.

On This Page

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  Can I Make Money With My Car?

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  1. Ridesharing Services

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  2. Food Delivery

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  3. Car Advertisements

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  4. Rent Out Your Car

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  5. Carpool Services

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  6. Courier Services

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  7. Mobile Mechanic Services

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  8. Specialty Events

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  FAQs

Can I Make Money With My Car?

Your car can be an excellent way to earn some extra money in a gig economy where individuals can fill the gaps left by services and corporations, such as bringing the elderly their grocery delivery or using your pick-up truck for your mobile mechanic or towing service. Keep in mind that not all vehicle models will be eligible or advisable for trying to earn money with, either because they are too old or expensive to drive. Below, we’ll cover a few ways to make money with your car.

1. Ridesharing Services

Ridesharing services, like Uber, allow drivers to connect directly with passengers through the Uber app to coordinate trips to a desired location. Rides can range from acting as airport shuttle service to driving someone to and from the grocery store. Rideshare drivers can typically screen passengers and their destinations to choose whether the ride feels worth it.

These services can be profitable, depending on your area and the frequency of customers. For example, on average, an Uber driver can earn $19 monthly in the U.S., but the pay can vary based on a location’s fare rate, ongoing promotions and tips from passengers.^[1][2] However, this may not account for fees, with Uber typically taking up to 30% as their cut for rideshares.^[3]

Another ridesharing service, HopSkipDrive, allows parents to hire drivers as caregivers to pick up and drop off their children at locations, whether it's school or softball practice. Drivers are limited to a handful of major cities where the platform is available, and the program requires drivers to be at least 23 years old and have a minimum of five years of caregiving experience — two of those years must be caring for children — to become a driver.^[4][5] Drivers can make $51 an hour on average, but this can vary based on local rates and other factors.^[6]

2. Food Delivery

Food delivery services, like Grubhub, UberEats or Postmark, allow you to deliver food directly from the restaurant to the customer. Depending on the service, delivery drivers can select a block of time during which they want to be available or mark it for open availability.

The pay for food delivery service companies varies based on market, mileage, tips and other factors.^[7] For example, food delivery drivers make around $20 per hour on average delivering food through Grubhub.^[8] In addition, you may be even be entitled to a guaranteed rate, which is what Grubhub offers to their drivers in Seattle, New York City and California.

Outside of delivering food from restaurants, services like Instacart or Shipt use drivers to deliver groceries and household essentials. The process works similarly to standard food delivery, with average pay reaching around $19 an hour.^[9] As with all services, this could vary depending on the number of delivery orders and your location.

3. Car Advertisements

If you don’t mind turning your car into a billboard on wheels, you might consider working with a car advertising company like Wrapify or Carvertise. You get paid to “wrap” your vehicle in a removable skin or decal sporting various advertisements. Pay for these services can be lucrative, given the minimal effort. For example, depending on your chosen advertisement size, Wrapify will pay an estimated $181 to $452 monthly.

Keep in mind that some companies, such as Wrapify, only pay for miles driven during specific windows in designated areas, so it might not be as flexible as other income options.^[10] If you run your own local business, an advertisement on your car could even help you save on marketing expenses.

However, keep in mind that some ridesharing services will not allow you to drive for them if your commercial graphics or wraps exceed a certain size.

4. Rent Out Your Car

Instead of driving other people or their purchases around, you could let them use your car instead. Rental platforms like Turo or HyreCar allow you to rent your car out to others for travel, as a replacement while their car is being repaired and more. This “passive income” can be a boon to your wallet, especially if you don’t need to use your car often or have multiple. For example, Turo advertises that drivers who take a 70% revenue split earn an average of $634 a month.^[11]

Keep in mind that with services like Turo, your insurance coverage is combined with your cut. With their program, you can take different revenue splits between 60% and 90%, with higher revenue splits featuring larger deductibles and fewer benefits as part of their mandatory protection plan.^[12]

5. Carpool Services

While there aren’t many U.S.-based platforms offering carpooling services, sharing your car with others when you’re already heading to the same destination could help put money in your pocket if you split the bill on gas. While you’re unlikely to get paid directly, sharing the cost of gas or even pooling money to get a vehicle back up and running after an accident could add up in savings over time. Consider discussing carpooling with coworkers and local commuters.

6. Courier Services

Courier services work to deliver packages directly from a warehouse or distribution center to their recipients, as opposed to going through the postal service, FedEx or other primary delivery service, expediting the delivery process for the consumer. For example, Amazon Flex focuses on delivering Amazon.com products, groceries from Amazon Fresh and other store deliveries. Like other delivery services, drivers typically choose time blocks to commit to deliveries.^[13]

One of the benefits of Amazon Flex as a service is that in all states other than New York, commercial auto insurance is included for free as a driver. Most drivers earn between $18 to $25 an hour, but rates will vary by location. Additionally, drivers can also accept tips, which could boost revenue.^[14]

7. Mobile Mechanic Services

If you already have a way with cars, you might be able to make extra income with mobile mechanic services. Platforms like Wrench or YourMechanic can help you book clients, allowing you to discuss services and quotes. On average, mobile mechanics make around $32 per hour.^[15] These rates may change based on location, and a platform used to book may also take a cut of any income.

While you may need to provide your own tools, and it may take some time to build client relationships, the flexible hours and reduced overhead of working out of your car can make for a lucrative side hustle. If you have the right vehicle, such as a pickup truck with a hitch, you might even be able to assist with towing a stalled vehicle.

8. Specialty Events

Whether it’s for a birthday party or prom, you might find yourself as a chauffeur for specialty events. Additionally, if you have an older model or classic car, you might be able to loan it for a local event that could offer payment for its appearance. Keep an eye out in your community for any instances where a car might be needed to see if you can make some extra income.