Pics of toys!

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Hey everyone, im just curious what kind of toys you have financed or bought. Specifically, boats and cars. Any pics would be awesome! I know this might be considered a dumb thread, but I think it'd be neat to see the benefits you've reaped from all your hard work!

Homebrew Porsche:



A-Team van:

My thoughts on "toys" (cars at least):

http://whitecoatinvestor.com/drive-a-beater-get-rich/

Stupid thread idea. Noted...

Originally Posted by ActiveDutyMD

My thoughts on "toys" (cars at least):

http://whitecoatinvestor.com/drive-a-beater-get-rich/

Just be sure it is a reliable beater. It doesn't pay to miss work repeatedly, get stranded somewhere, or repeatedly pay for repairs when you can buy new for $15k as a physician/resident.

Originally Posted by ActiveDutyMD

My thoughts on "toys" (cars at least):

http://whitecoatinvestor.com/drive-a-beater-get-rich/

I never understood why attendings drive beaters. Old cars don't have the newest safety technology, brakes and tires are worn out, bad engines etc. When you regularly drive down the highway at night or in snow or rain at 70+ mph, why would you want a car that might break down in middle of the highway. My first car was a beater like the ones described in the article. My dad wouldn't let me drive it in highways cause it was unsafe. (seat-belts didn't work properly). Also the money you have to pay to get new tires, breaks, filters, batteries, technician fees, etc add up. Safety and convenience is worth the extra money.

There is a large grey line, or band if you will, between the sub-$3k beaters and luxury SUVs/sports cars. In that band are plenty of 4-6 year old compact cars that can be bought for $5-8k and should still be highly reliable, relatively maintenance free, and possess virtually all modern safety equipment such as air bags and ABS. Slightly above that are the close to new or even new compact cars for $10-15k. Even in the high end category you can get something that is approaching 6-10 years old and it was way ahead of its time with safety gear, but is now a fraction of the cost and probably still in fantastic condition.

It depends on how hard you want to look to get what you want and how much of your budget you are willing to spend on the "fun" of a car outside of the utilitarian aspects. Clearly ActiveDutyMD leans more towards the utilitarian side of things while I also know people that are way more on the "fun" side of things and simply must drive a Porsche, Land Rover, or whatever.

I urge anyone who is looking to buy something more than utilitarian to first establish their investing plan with their goals. That sets the baseline budget to know just how much money is left for recreational pursuits. With a solid budget in place you can then decide how much money you are willing to put towards that "fun" car vice just a utilitarian one.

I bought this new in 2004 during my previous career. It was bought to last for as long as it could. It has been slowly farkled over time, is paid off, cheap to insure, I don't care about dings as it just adds character, highly reliable, cheap on gas, and I can do nearly all of the routine service myself. It won't carry my dogs, but I date chicks who like dogs and want to hike with me.

I think purchasing something as a toy is really dumb... from a financial point of view.... if that toy can be resold with a good re-sale value, or can be chartered out to recoup the costs, then that is not a toy but an investment.

I personally chose a car that was very safe, solid - so that 1) i can make it to work in bad conditions 2) if i get struck I will likely survive...

Originally Posted by Cooperd0g

..... "Living the life..."

"Picture of a farkled out R1150GS doing what it's supposed to be doing"

Cooperd0g... I'm with you. I like toys because they make me happy and let me do what I want to do. I'm going to be working because I enjoy the work in the ED more than engineering (past career), but more importantly so I can take trips and go do fun stuff with my money. As long as I'm covering my bills/savings, I'm gonna go have some fun.

When I can I'll be getting a boat because being on the lake in the summer with friends is amazing. When I can I'll be buying another motorcycle because curvy roads in the spring/summer/fall make me grin. In the winter I'll be snowboarding and tele skiing because it brings a sense of meaning to my life that nothing else seems to be able to do. But first things first, I need a mode of transportation that will get me places when the snow is more than 4" deep like my current car. It's a beast and it has 300,000+ miles on it, but it's no 4wd. I'm living a mile and a half from the hospital and I've already fixed up one of my old mountain bikes to commute on. The more days on the bike the more I can save up for some new(er) wheels.

Toys make some of us smile. It's not all about who has the biggest stash of dubloons at the end or who has the best financial plan. While I'd like to keep most of my money, being happy and not stressing every minute where each penny is going and if I should have invested it here or there is important too. It's more than just a toy, or a hunk of metal and fiberglass with a big motor. It's a way to get away from medicine and have a normal life outside the hospital. For me, that's priceless.

Originally Posted by Tenesma

I personally chose a car that was very safe, solid - so that 1) i can make it to work in bad conditions 2) if i get struck I will likely survive...

How do you make it to work in bad conditions if you don't have a benz with wipers on its front lights or a lexus with parallel parking ability or a jag with heated seats?

Originally Posted by Dumb

How do you make it to work in bad conditions if you don't have a benz with wipers on its front lights or a lexus with parallel parking ability or a jag with heated seats?

Lol, true that. Somewhat disappointed with the thread direction , I came here to see pics of jag's with heated seats

I have a mk6 GTI in candy white, pics up shortly

My first car as an attending:

2011 BMW 335d



Titanium Grey Metallic w/ Grey Dakota Leather + convenience package, cold weather package, M-sport package, premium package, navigation, satellite radio, Harman Kardon surround sound, BMW apps, and smartphone integration

MSRP $57,950

Engine 3-liter, 24-valve, double-overhead cam, twin-turbocharged, in-line six-cylinder diesel engine
Power 265 hp @ 4,200 rpm ; 425 ft-lbs torque!
Transmission 6-spd auto w/OD
0-60 5.9 seconds
Drivetrain rear-wheel
MPG 23 City / 36 HWY

Originally Posted by RadOncAnon

My first car as an attending:

2011 BMW 335d



Titanium Grey Metallic w/ Grey Dakota Leather + convenience package, cold weather package, M-sport package, premium package, navigation, satellite radio, Harman Kardon surround sound, BMW apps, and smartphone integration

MSRP $57,950

Engine 3-liter, 24-valve, double-overhead cam, twin-turbocharged, in-line six-cylinder diesel engine
Power 265 hp @ 4,200 rpm ; 425 ft-lbs torque!
Transmission 6-spd auto w/OD
0-60 5.9 seconds
Drivetrain rear-wheel
MPG 23 City / 36 HWY

Sweet ride. I love cars with tight handling and lots of power. I had a 2004 GTO last year but i sold it for a more economical ride.

2012 Black/black Mercedes S350 BlueTEC 4MATIC. Love the diesel Should have waited another year though, because apparently the 2013's can drive themselves up to 25 mph.

I'll upload pics as soon as I can.

Originally Posted by Cooperd0g

There is a large grey line, or band if you will, between the sub-$3k beaters and luxury SUVs/sports cars. In that band are plenty of 4-6 year old compact cars that can be bought for $5-8k and should still be highly reliable, relatively maintenance free, and possess virtually all modern safety equipment such as air bags and ABS. Slightly above that are the close to new or even new compact cars for $10-15k. Even in the high end category you can get something that is approaching 6-10 years old and it was way ahead of its time with safety gear, but is now a fraction of the cost and probably still in fantastic condition.

Exactly. For the most part a $5-10K car is just as safe and reliable as one costing 5-10 times as much.

My "toys" are time off. I take a week's vacation every month. This month was in Southern Utah canyoneering, running a marathon, and playing in my boat on Lake Powell. Last month was a climbing trip in Idaho. Month before that was a week long familiy reunion. Next month is a trip to Southern California and Arizona. In December people are coming to stay at my place and go skiing. I'm still working on what to do in January.

Yea, I drive a car that's only worth $5K (don't worry, my 10 year old Durango is plenty safe and reliable, although a bit of a guzzler), but I still have a very nice lifestyle. If I wanted to I could take the $80K+ I'm putting into savings this year and buy a porsche, but I value being able to cut back or retire after 20 years of working a lot more.

You can do anything you want, but not everything you want. Your spending can always outpace your ability to earn.

That's a ton of time off. Awesome.
Does the $80K/year into savings include retirement or is that a separate bucket?

Originally Posted by Stroganoff

That's a ton of time off. Awesome.
Does the $80K/year into savings include retirement or is that a separate bucket?

Let's see:

$50K for 401K (retirement)
$15K for defined benefit plan (retirement)
$10K for Roth IRAs (retirement)
$6250 for HSA (a stealth IRA)- mostly retirement

Looks like the $80K is all for retirement.

I also put another $10K toward kid's college. No wonder I don't have much cash laying around....

But all those investments save me something like $25K in taxes.