Is being paid for work mileage a money maker?

[pete c]

Have been considering changing jobs lately. Would like to get a field technician type job. Some of these positions come with a company car. Some just pay mileage.

My question is, how much of a money maker can this be? Most companies pay a fixed rate/mile. I suppose this means that the guy driving his Escalade takes a bath. The one driving a TDI probably does pretty well, especially if he really rings up the miles.

If I did it, I would like to use my '09 Sonata, 4 cylinder 5 speed. It has 80K on the dial and still runs very well. I see no reason why this paid for car wouldn't have another coupla hundred thousand left in it, with a little maintenance. Especially if these miles come quickly and are largely highway.

Does anyone here have real world experience with this? How much can you make?

[sheepdog 44]

Those rates are based on the corporate average fuel economy, which is 27-29 mpg? Even driving a truck will pay for gas with minimal for the mileage used on the vehicle.

It is definitely worth it. Especially if your being paid for the hours you drive + mileage. If you have a car with a decent amount of miles, then your not losing money to car depreciation. That's the biggest thing, how much would your car sell with an extra tens of thousands of miles. I bought my car at the very bottom of its used car sale value so no depreciation.

I take any chance i can get to travel. I got paid once to drive to the Boston area a couple hundred miles. I did it at 55mph on the highway and got 68mpg round trip. So i pocket 80% or more in mileage expenses.

[user removed]

If they are willing to pay you what the govt allows you to deduct.

regards
Mech

[Diesel_Dave]

Just keep in mind that you need to consider total cost--not just fuel cost. It's tempting to say, "Well, I'm being paid X per mile, and it only costs me Y per mile in fuel, so I'm making a profit of X-Y." Just remember you also have to factor in things like routine maintenance costs, increased wear and tear, increased likelihood of an accident, etc.

[mcrews]

It's a winning proposition in a paid for car. I don't remember (I'm self employed ) but I believe it is taxable???

[Cobb]

The only way to rake it in is to rig the books.

Many jobs that pay miles, pay less in drive pay. For example I wanted to go into pest control. They pay x for an hour for a service call and y an hour to drive their truck or y+per mile to drive your vehicle.

In the end it paid more to do service calls, than drive to service calls.

Now for newspaper delivery it can help to own a eco car, but you need to be able to haul 400+ news papers and deliver them in a short time frame.

The nice thing about papers, you can cheat and deliver for several brands at the same time and get paid 2-3 times.

[Joggernot]

Government rate is at least 51¢/mile. Corporate normally doesn't pay but 27¢/mile. Corporate is paying the gas only because you'd have your normal vehicle expenses anyway. At 27¢ you don't make much over fuel unless you have excellent mileage.

[mcrews]

Each year, the IRS announces standard rates that define how much per mile can be reimbursed tax -free or taken as a tax deduction. These rates vary annually because the cost of operating motor vehicles changes over time. The IRS allows tax-exempt reimbursements for several driving purposes. As of the time of publication, the rate for business use of vehicles was 51 cents per mile. The standard rate for moving or medical transportation mileage was 19 cents per mile and for driving related to charity work it was 14 cents per mile. Taxpayers who have qualifying mileage that is not reimbursed can use the standard rates to the amount figure their tax deduction, or they can keep track of actual operating costs.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Diesel_Dave

Just keep in mind that you need to consider total cost--not just fuel cost. It's tempting to say, "Well, I'm being paid X per mile, and it only costs me Y per mile in fuel, so I'm making a profit of X-Y." Just remember you also have to factor in things like routine maintenance costs, increased wear and tear, increased likelihood of an accident, etc.

Dave is right. The proposition of paying for mileage only is a losing one, certainly not a money maker.

For many decades my father worked as a field tech for companies that always provided him with a company car. They were always leased cars that were issued brand new. You'd be surprised at the amount of wear & tear that a vehicle receives, even when new. And besides, things can go wrong mechanically, too. We never regretted having use of a car that was someone else's problem.

[Cobb]

If you are looking for a free lunch, get a side job that you can advertise or find clients from your day job. Working at a bank Ive seen many people who say work for Merry Maids cleaning service. THey learn the ropes, notice cost of supplies, work they put into the local franchise and what little their check is. They also build relationships with the customers. Before you know it they are on their own cleaning for the clients that use to be merry maid customers.

I see other young men sell prepaid legal on the side.

I guess you could try your hand at a taxi service if you want to get paid to drive, but I looked into that and the insurance was 2 grand for 6 months. Thats 334 bucks a month right off the top not to mention your vehicle over head, taxes and your check.

All in all once you start to make 17 or more bucks an hour with benefits its really hard to beat that on your own vs working for the man.