When to Run Asset Liquidator
Five situations where the app-dashboard number lies hard and the math matters.
Run Asset Liquidator at these five moments — the real hourly is usually half the advertised one.
Most gig drivers think in terms of the in-app weekly total. The car ages in the background. These five situations are where the difference between the app number and the real number changes your decision.
Quick answer
Run Asset Liquidator at these five moments — the real hourly is usually half the advertised one.
Key points
- ▸ Starting gig work. Run the math on your first five shifts, across urban and freeway mixes. The real-hourly range tells you whether the gig is viable at all on your car.
- ▸ Considering a car upgrade. Upgrading for gig work raises the per-mile cost. Re-run with the projected new vehicle's real depreciation (often higher than IRS rate on new cars). Many upgrades kill the math.
- ▸ Rural/freeway shifts. The IRS rate is an average; rural shifts with long dead miles can exceed it. Track actual miles including deadhead; real hourly often drops below minimum wage.
- ▸ End-of-week tally. App says $600. Miles logged 800. Real profit $600 − $536 = $64 for 25 hours. Decision: is 25 hours at $2.56 real-hourly worth it vs. other options?
- ▸ Deciding whether to keep driving. Quarterly, tally real hourly across all shifts. If it's under your floor for 2 quarters, either change the shift mix or stop.
Examples
- First five shiftsFive shifts: real hourly $8, $14, $22, $11, $6. Average $12.20 across 35 hours. Is your floor $15? Gig is sub-floor on this vehicle.
- Car upgrade checkCurrent car: $0.67/mi. New car (payment + depreciation + insurance) = $0.85/mi effective. Same miles, same gross — real hourly drops 27%.
- Rural reality$85 shift, 150 miles rural, 4 hours. True cost $100.50. Real profit −$15.50. You paid to drive. Urban shifts only from now.
When to use which tool
- Asset LiquidatorAt each of the five situations, with actual logged miles not estimates.Compare gig earnings with the estimated vehicle wear created by the miles driven.
- Burnout MonitorIf gig shifts are cutting sleep, combine — the real-hourly is even lower after cognitive degradation.Estimate when extra work hours stop being worth the fatigue cost from lost sleep.
- Time PovertyFor comparison against a regular-hours job's effective wage after commute.Real hourly wage after transit time (uncompensated labor) and transit cost eat into shift earnings.
Related
- Asset LiquidatorCompare gig earnings with the estimated vehicle wear created by the miles driven.
- Burnout MonitorEstimate when extra work hours stop being worth the fatigue cost from lost sleep.
- Time PovertyReal hourly wage after transit time (uncompensated labor) and transit cost eat into shift earnings.
- What Asset Liquidator CalculatesGig pay minus IRS-rate mileage cost — how much of your car you sold for tonight's money.
- Five Asset Liquidator MistakesErrors that keep gig drivers from seeing the real number.
Frequently asked questions
› What if I'd own the car anyway?
True — you'd own some car. But miles driven for gigs are incremental: they accelerate depreciation, maintenance, and tire replacement on the schedule. The IRS rate captures the incremental cost, not the sunk cost of ownership.
› What about bonus and surge pay?
Include them in gross. Surge raises the gross but usually also raises the miles (chasing dense areas). Net impact on real hourly is usually small.
› How should I use a decision framework in real life? How-to
Use a decision framework to expose the tradeoff, not to outsource the decision. Write down the inputs, compare the output with your constraints, then ask what would change the answer. The strongest use is scenario testing: base case, conservative case, and failure case.
› Is this financial, legal, or tax advice? Trust & accuracy
No, this is not legal, financial, tax, medical, or professional advice unless the page explicitly says that use case is supported. It organizes assumptions so you can inspect them. Verify high-stakes choices with qualified people who can review facts, contracts, regulations, and downside risk.
› What assumption matters most in a decision model? Edge case
The most important assumption is usually the one you are least certain about and most emotionally attached to. Change that input first. If the recommendation flips after a small change, the decision is fragile and needs more evidence before you treat the model as useful.