For a lot of us, a reliable vehicle is a must have, and it can be an asset too if you are looking for ways to make extra money. In today’s gig economy, there is a growing list of ways to make money with your car, and suprisingly, not all of them involve driving!
Quick facts:
- Food delivery continues to be one of the most popular and easiest options if you want to make money with your car.
- Your options include food delivery, package delivery, rideshare, peer-to-peer car rental, mobile advertising, and more.
- No matter which you choose, you will need to consider additional costs, like wear and tear on your car, insurance, and fuel.
Table of Contents
How to Make Money With Your Car in 2024
1. Deliver for DoorDash
DoorDash currently dominates the market, controlling nearly 65% of the market share. Because of this massive growth, DoorDash still needs new drivers, and drivers enjoy the flexibility.
Dashers (what DoorDash drivers are called) can schedule themselves to drive whenever they want, there are no minimums or limits to the number of hours they can drive a week, and you can get paid weekly or daily.
We recently spoke to a reader who drives for DoorDash, and here are her tips to make the most out of this side hustle:
- Make yourself available during busy hours, and the busiest times are during dinner hours and weekend evenings.
- Bring a friend or spouse along for the drive to keep things fun.
- Track your miles ASAP with an app like Everlance so you can write off your mileage and expenses at tax time.
DoorDash is one of the best food delivery services out there if you want to make money with your car because they also offer drivers promotions to earn more, including Peak Pay (you earn extra per order to drive during busy times) and Challenges (DoorDash gives you additional pay to complete a certain number of deliveries in a set amount of time).
2. Lyft
For women out there who are looking for a safe side hustle, rideshare giant Lyft recently launched a Women+ Connect initiative specifically to help women and nonbinary riders and drivers feel safe and in control of their ride experience*.
When you turn on Lyft’s Women+ Connect feature, the app prioritizes your chances of being matched with another female or nonbinary rider. And you get all of the benefits of driving with Lyft: keep 70% or more of passenger payments after fees, bonuses, cash out at any time, and flexibility of choosing your own hours.
Lyft is offering new drivers (of any gender) can earn a $400 bonus by giving 40 rides in 7 days. Terms apply.
If you’re interested, Lyft drivers must meet the following requirements:
- You’re at least 25 years old
- You own an iPhone or Android smartphone
- You have a clean driving record and auto insurance
- You have an eligible 4-door vehicle (car year varies by region)
- Consent to a criminal background check and review of your driving record
*This is not a safety feature and cannot guarantee safety, but it can help women and non-binary users have more choice.
Rides for women by women
New drivers (of any gender) can earn a $400 bonus with 40 rides in 7 days. Terms apply.
3. Deliver Groceries
The convenience of having someone shop for and deliver your groceries is one of the reasons this is an excellent way to make money with your car.
There are a variety of companies that specialize in grocery delivery, but our top pick is DoorDash. Until recently, DoorDash specialized in takeout only, but now that they’re in the grocery delivery game, it’s more convenient for customers to order everything from one place.
DoorDash shoppers are paid per batch, every order differs in pay and depends on the size and difficulty of the order. Shoppers always keep 100% of their tips.
4. Rent Out Your Car
Learning how to make money with your car doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to be driving it. You can make somewhat passive income renting your car out on a peer-to-peer rental platform like HyreCar.
HyreCar is a platform where people who want to make money with their car rent their vehicles to rideshare and food delivery drivers. And HyreCar says you can make over $700/month which equals more than $8,000 annually!
The drivers renting your car have all completed criminal background and driving history checks. You can have peace of mind knowing these are safe drivers, and HyreCar also takes a deposit before renting out your car.
5. Advertise on Your Car
If you’re someone who already drives a lot, you can make money driving your car wrapped in advertisements. Yep, this is a legit way to make money with your car!
What people like about this idea is how easy it is to make money driving. Carvertise is one popular company, and here’s how it works:
- Apply for Carvertise (you’ll need a 2008 model car or newer with a factory paint job).
- Carvertise will see if they can match you with a campaign – this depends on where you live and what advertisers are interested in, and you can turn down campaigns if you’re not interested.
- Once you’ve been matched with a campaign, Carvertise sets you up with a professional auto wrapper to get your car wrapped.
- The installer takes the wrap off when the campaign is over.
- You get paid once a month via direct deposit for the duration of the campaign.
Carvertise pays drivers up to $300/month to have their car wrapped. You’re paid per campaign, and you can make $450-$1,500 total per campaign.
6. Make Money Driving Kids Around
For working parents, one of their largest struggles is childcare, and that doesn’t stop when they start school because your children still need rides to and from school.
That’s where this side job comes in, and there are a couple of different companies you can work with:
- Care.com offers a wide range of services for independent childcare providers, and you can sign up and offer nanny driving services. Families browse listings on the platform and contact you if they’re interested.
- HopSkipDrive partners with families, school districts, private and charter schools, and counties to provide safe transportation for kids. You might be driving kids to and from school, providing extra transportation support for kids with special needs, or transporting youth in foster care.
Both platforms have a stringent vetting process that ensures families can trust you with their children. This involves a background check and requirements for previous childcare experience.
Nanny Drivers on Care.com average $15.75/hour and it’s available across the U.S. HopSkipDrive is limited to California, parts of Colorado, the D.C. area, Arizona, Texas, and Washington state.
7. Help People Move Stuff
If you have a truck or van, you can make good money helping people move large items. These could be assisting people who are moving homes, buying a new appliance, picking up furniture, etc. Most people simply don’t have a vehicle that’s large enough to do it on their own.
This is probably obvious, but you’ll have to be able to lift heavy things if you want to help people move.
TaskRabbit is a popular platform if you’re interested, and you’ll need to be at least 18 years old, go through a background check, and pay a one-time $25 registration fee to create a profile and list your services.
Movers on TaskRabbit list their services in the range of $25-$30/hour.
You can set your own prices and list the kinds of services you offer – TaskRabbit is for way more than just moving. Taskers can list services like assembling Ikea furniture, mounting TVs, baby proofing, cleaning, etc.
8. Deliver for Amazon Flex
Amazon Flex is a service that outsources delivery drivers for Prime Now and some of their other delivery services, like AmazonFresh. Here’s how it works:
- Download the Amazon Flex app and apply to drive (you need to be at least 21 years old, have a reliable vehicle, go through a background check, and have a smartphone with an iOS 10 or Android 4.4 or newer).
- Once you’re approved, you use the app to schedule blocks of time, usually between 3-6 hours.
- You use the app to get delivery directions, scan packages when you load them in your vehicle, and deliver them.
- Get paid – Amazon Flex pays out twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays
Amazon says drivers make anywhere from $18-$25/hour. Driving a larger vehicle will help you earn more because you’ll be able to carry more packages. And if you deliver for Amazon Fresh, you’ll be able to earn tips.
Amazon Flex jobs aren’t as widely available as some of these other companies that pay you to drive, because they are only actively recruiting in cities where drivers are needed. In some ways, this is good because they’re only allowing people to sign up if there’s a need.
You can check the Amazon Flex site to see where they’re actively recruiting, but Amazon recommends downloading the app anyway. They will alert you when openings are available in your area.
The Final Word on How To Make Money With Your Car
Your car is an asset if you want to make extra money. There’s something out there for everyone, but we believe that on-demand delivery is one of the best options because it’s flexible and pays $15-$25/hour with companies like:
- DoorDash: Deliver restaurant takeout and convenience store items. Schedule your hours in advance or Dash Now when the app is busy. DoorDash allows you to bring someone with you while delivering, which can make this a really fun way to make money with your car.
- Shipt: This Target-owned grocery delivery service pays drivers for every order they deliver, and you keep 100% of your tips.
FAQs
Our definitive list of how to make money driving offers 10 legit options.
Food Delivery and rideshare drivers are considered independent contractors, meaning you have to pay self-employment taxes. You can learn more in our article: How to Handle Taxes for Your Side Hustle.
No, the ideas on this list of ways to money with your car are 100% legit and legal. You may want to check with your car insurance company first, and there is special insurance you can get if you make money driving.
Yes, there are over a dozen apps where you can make money driving your car! Food delivery apps DoorDash and Shipt are our top recommendations.
DoorDash disclaimer:
- Earning more on certain types of orders (ex. alcohol): Earn more per order as compared to restaurant orders. Actual earnings may differ and depend on factors like number of deliveries you accept and complete, time of day, location, and any costs. Hourly pay is calculated using average Dasher payouts while on a delivery (from the time you accept an order until the time you drop it off) over a 90-day period and includes compensation from tips, peak pay, and other incentives.
- Get paid instantly (DasherDirect): Subject to approval
- Cash out daily (Fast Pay): Fees apply
- Start dashing today: Subject to background check and availability
- Dash anytime: Subject to availability