Car Shot Up By Gang Members - HELP!
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Get comfy, grab some tea. This will take a minute.
I'm a rideshare driver in Chicago. Of course, being the bustling metropolis that it is, Chicago has Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Postmates...you name it, I work it.
Uber, of course, is the largest of all these services. Run by CEO Travis Kalanick, the company has a valuation of billions. What it also has is a Trump-supporting CEO and a predatory, opaque lease-to-own car program that I want to get out of.
Uber'a Xchange Leasing program seems like a great deal: apply, get approved, plop down as little as $250, and drive away with a car with unlimited personal miles. Payments come from your Uber driving. Simple, right?
Not so fast.
When you get a normal car lease or purchase, you can see your payment history on your lender's website. There's an 800 number to call for help. There's HELP and easy-to-find info about your account.
Not so with my Uber lease. We have no way to see a running account. No dedicated phone number. Mysterious fees. It's like leasing from a fog bank. I didn't even know I could send a direct payment until two or three months after I got the lease!
Also, since Uber has drastically increased driver recruitment, this has resulted in fewer rides of lower quality, which makes it harder to pay your weekly note. I'm lucky - mine is only $120 a week - but Xchange Leasing purposefully targets people with bad or no credit, who then end up with car notes of $160 or more a week. Monthly bills of $800 or more are woefully common.
I also really can't stomach putting money in the pockets of a CEO like Kalanick. As a black woman who is a staunch sister and ally to others, how can I pay someone who had to be shamed into funding efforts to help stranded refugees and immigrants after Trump's disastrous and racist executive order? Especially when this guy's workforce consists of those selfsame refugees and immigrants?! Is he kidding us?!
I will NOT work for companies that support hate, but I do every time I drive. I need to get another car (not only for rideshare, but for my catering work as well), but that requires a down payment. Therein lies the problem...I'm gonna need some help getting that kind of cash together. I didn't even think of doing this...my friends did. So, I figured I'd try it.
I want to buy a decent used car from Enterprise or something. Nothing flashy, but something that still qualifies on the Lyft platform. $2500 is a very decent down payment. From there, my monthly payments would be realistic and sensible. Plus, it'd be a LOT less of a time and financial burden. That's all I want.
I love my girl Mrs. Peebles (sounds like a peevish English housekeeper from a Jane Austen novel), but I gotta leave this lease behind. Frankly, I feel stupid that I feel into this dumb lease in the first place. I used to be a personal finance writer, for God's sake. But, we all make stupid choices in life, and no one could have foreseen that Uber's CEO would turn out to be a huge schmoe.
Anyway, if you can throw a lady a few bucks, it would be highly appreciated. I want to drop any connection whatsoever to Uber. I want them to GO. Thanks for your help!
#deleteUber
I'm a rideshare driver in Chicago. Of course, being the bustling metropolis that it is, Chicago has Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Postmates...you name it, I work it.
Uber, of course, is the largest of all these services. Run by CEO Travis Kalanick, the company has a valuation of billions. What it also has is a Trump-supporting CEO and a predatory, opaque lease-to-own car program that I want to get out of.
Uber'a Xchange Leasing program seems like a great deal: apply, get approved, plop down as little as $250, and drive away with a car with unlimited personal miles. Payments come from your Uber driving. Simple, right?
Not so fast.
When you get a normal car lease or purchase, you can see your payment history on your lender's website. There's an 800 number to call for help. There's HELP and easy-to-find info about your account.
Not so with my Uber lease. We have no way to see a running account. No dedicated phone number. Mysterious fees. It's like leasing from a fog bank. I didn't even know I could send a direct payment until two or three months after I got the lease!
Also, since Uber has drastically increased driver recruitment, this has resulted in fewer rides of lower quality, which makes it harder to pay your weekly note. I'm lucky - mine is only $120 a week - but Xchange Leasing purposefully targets people with bad or no credit, who then end up with car notes of $160 or more a week. Monthly bills of $800 or more are woefully common.
I also really can't stomach putting money in the pockets of a CEO like Kalanick. As a black woman who is a staunch sister and ally to others, how can I pay someone who had to be shamed into funding efforts to help stranded refugees and immigrants after Trump's disastrous and racist executive order? Especially when this guy's workforce consists of those selfsame refugees and immigrants?! Is he kidding us?!
I will NOT work for companies that support hate, but I do every time I drive. I need to get another car (not only for rideshare, but for my catering work as well), but that requires a down payment. Therein lies the problem...I'm gonna need some help getting that kind of cash together. I didn't even think of doing this...my friends did. So, I figured I'd try it.
I want to buy a decent used car from Enterprise or something. Nothing flashy, but something that still qualifies on the Lyft platform. $2500 is a very decent down payment. From there, my monthly payments would be realistic and sensible. Plus, it'd be a LOT less of a time and financial burden. That's all I want.
I love my girl Mrs. Peebles (sounds like a peevish English housekeeper from a Jane Austen novel), but I gotta leave this lease behind. Frankly, I feel stupid that I feel into this dumb lease in the first place. I used to be a personal finance writer, for God's sake. But, we all make stupid choices in life, and no one could have foreseen that Uber's CEO would turn out to be a huge schmoe.
Anyway, if you can throw a lady a few bucks, it would be highly appreciated. I want to drop any connection whatsoever to Uber. I want them to GO. Thanks for your help!
#deleteUber
Organizer
Gini Lynn Ponder
Organizer
Chicago, IL