Draiver

What is Draiver?

Draiver is an automobile transportation company that enlists freelancers to drive cars that need to be delivered to renters, car dealers and others.

(This post may contain affiliate links. You can read our full affiliate policy here.)

Draiver review:

Moving cars for rental companies and car dealerships was a lucrative side hustle historically. So we expected to like this app, particularly since it promises to pay all the drivers expenses.

But never have we seen a driving job that came with so many caveats and warning signs. Some drivers appear to make decent money here. But that’s only true if they’re highly selective about the jobs they take and are meticulous about following the rules for reporting expenses.

How it works

Draiver enlists freelance drivers to move vehicles for car rental companies, auto dealerships and others. The site can enlist you to drive the car that’s being moved or to drive a so-called chase car. Chase cars take the original driver back to where he or she started.

Theoretically, you get both the stated job price, plus expenses, such as gasoline and tolls. In cases where you’re transporting a car without a chase car, you’re also reimbursed for your transportation back to where you started. Drivers are paid once a week via direct deposit.

However, there is no minimum hourly pay and this site’s terms have multiple red flags.

Red flags

For instance, if you get in an accident or a car is damaged while it’s in your care, your pay can be withheld while Draiver investigates who was at fault. If you are deemed to be at fault, you can be held responsible for up to $5,000 in damages.

When the site has you ride share with multiple drivers, it says “you have the option to obtain transportation at your own cost,”  if there’s not enough room to transport everyone safely.

Using your own car on a Draiver assignment? You must have a $1 million commercial liability policy.

Penalties

If you fail to upload allowable trip expenses before closing the trip as “complete” in the app, you’ll get fined ($5). Lose an expense card, you get fined ($25). And if there’s a license plate in your possession that needs to be replaced for any reason, you get fined ($100).

Additionally, Draiver apparently charges drivers a fee on each assignment, but only discloses these fees at the time of the trip.

And, while the site promises to pay drivers once weekly, it has a disclaimer in its terms that says drivers are paid after Draiver is paid by its customers. Draiver disclaims responsibility for driver pay if the client doesn’t pay Draiver.

Finally, the pay is per assignment, not per hour. So, if an assignment takes far more than the allotted time, you earn a relative pittance.

Recommendations:

If you want driving options but don’t have your own car, check out Alto.

If you have your own car, you’re likely to earn more with Uber.

Those who can pass a background check should also consider Kango and HopSkipDrive, which involve driving kids to and from school and activities.

Want to try Draiver?

Here’s a direct link to the Draiver site, where you can sign up.

What their drivers say (from Indeed)

“The only good thing about Draiver is the ability to work when you want to. They insist on you calling support when there is a problem but their support is non existent. They will leave you stranded on the road in the middle of the night and not even bat an eye. Everything about the company is a BIG dark secret. No viable place to go for help as the management won’t answer their phones or texts, and will only speak to you when they are in trouble and need you. You WILL be removed from driving teams without even being told, or told why.”

(from Apple App Store)

“My experience as a driver over many trips is that at the end of the day your hourly pay ends up being around $12. There is always a delay. More often times 2 hours waisted either as a chase driver or not. The meet up place seems to be always far from everyone, making it another hour (each way). You have to drive to the place or wait for somebody else to show up. The trips aren’t consistent. Customer support is basically third party from overseas.”

“There’s nothing more infuriating than coming across an invoice, where it’s says that it’s going to cost a company thousands of dollars to move vehicles and you only get a fraction of that. For example: Why is that the subcontractor gets $2,700 and you only get $300 for a job that took over 20 hours to complete? When you do the math, you’re only getting 10 percent and you’re the one that has to deal most of the risks.”

“I’m using this app for a few years now and it’s very reliable money. Not much for a full-time job but very good for the part-time.”

“Sometimes trip details can get a bit complicated so you have to pay close attention to all the tasks you have to complete. But otherwise this is a great side gig for just about anyone with a drivers license and clean driving record.”

From Google Play

“The company could be a little more organized, but from what I’m told it could just be my specific area. The jobs have allowed me to travel all over the US, and get flown home, all while being paid! The app leaves a few things to be desired. When entering in vehicle info during pickup/dropoff, if you have to navigate away off of the app for any reason before you submit that step, your entered mileage, license plate #, & fuel level get wiped.”

“Works well for me for the most part. I can plan other things around it and still make money.”

“Didn’t even bother to register, misleading advertising saying you will be reimbursed for gas, tolls and taxi, but then when you read the updated (as of March 2 2020) terms and conditions, it says pay for trip related transactions is at the sole discretion of the customer. Does that affect being left without a way home?”

Low pay

“This app is a joke. I’ve gotten requests for trips that are 14 hrs in length for little over $100. I’ll spend more in gas and wear and tear on my vehicle than I would make with this. 1hr driving should be a minimum $15-$20 as I can make more than that with Uber/Lyft. plus they want me to have a large vehicle to hold 6 riders. That’s an Uber XL ride and 1hr is more like $40-$50. Just a ripoff.”

“When Draiver use to be called DriverDo the money was good and district manager was awesome. Ever since they changed the name to Draiver it has been going down hill. Pay is a joke for the hours you drive. Customer service is non existent, and when you do get them they are rude. They never get problem resolved.”

“They aren’t responsible if the customer doesn’t pay, and you will get paid after they do, whenever that might be.”

“As a CDL driver, I was interested in picking up some extra cash. The first load that was sent to me was A. Impossible for me to get to on time (in the middle of Philadelphia during rush hour), and B. illegal to run in 2 different ways, over weight 53,000lb box truck through CT, and outside of the hours of operation (estimated 11.5 hours for 637 miles). With a grand total pay of $200.”