Car for medical school and beyond?
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Fair enough. I just have never once considered a timing belt change, been suggested one by a mechanic, had anyone in my family change their timing belt, etc. It has never ever been something that anyone considered for any of the old cars I have owned. I had 1 timing chain go out, but it was a cheap fix and no other issues.
Definitely a bike... better mileage, cheaper price, more reliable, good for traffic, fun to ride
Motorcycles are awesome, but dangerous. After being hit by cars a couple times while bicycling in neighborhoods, I don't trust fellow drivers too much. Definitely wouldn't trust em enough to be riding a motorcycle on a highway.
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Fair enough. I just have never once considered a timing belt change, been suggested one by a mechanic, had anyone in my family change their timing belt, etc. It has never ever been something that anyone considered for any of the old cars I have owned. I had 1 timing chain go out, but it was a cheap fix and no other issues.
Like I said earlier, it really depends on whether or not your car has an interference engine. In these vehicles you're tempting fate if you're not replacing the belt and tensioner every 60k.
It's a mistake me and acceptmeplease I'm assuming have made.
Oh yea.. My '05 hyundai tucson didn't like the valves slamming the pistons at all.
Yeah, you definitely have to keep your eye out. My friend actually had a car hit her as they changed lanes recently (she was lane splitting in heavy traffic, which is legal but not entirely safe, admittedly). It was kind of hilarious, because she was moving faster than them and so her frame slider just caught behind their bumper and ripped the entire front of their cheapo car off! The whole front bumper, headlights, etc...the whole setup just fell off their car, and her bike was untouched. Certainly not how most accidents go, it was kind of hilarious to have the tables turned and no one hurt!
Before you buy any used car, seek out a good mechanic in the vicinity. During the test drive, especially if you're going to buy the car after you drive around, bring the car to the shop and get a full inspection. We discovered my car didn't have its original rear bumper even though the Carfax came back clean. If the person won't let you do this, then don't buy the car. You don't want to get a used car that seems like it rides well only to discover something's wrong with it a few months down the road.
I will dissent and say the Mazda 3 is the best car I have ever driven, hands down. The hatch handles well, has a great interior style, and is generally fun to drive. Older models (2005) will need a connector for an MP3 player, but if you want to perform surgery you'll be able to install it. 😀 The downside is its not AWD. You'd need the Mazda CRX-5, which is a weird sort of SUV. The Mazda's entire chassis fell apart, but that was my fault and not the car's. I recently got a 2014 Subaru Impreza. I dislike my Subaru because the interior is stupid and the CVT (continuously variable transmission) makes acceleration painful. However, it is an AWD hatch, so there you do.
I will dissent and say the Mazda 3 is the best car I have ever driven, hands down. The hatch handles well, has a great interior style, and is generally fun to drive. Older models (2005) will need a connector for an MP3 player, but if you want to perform surgery you'll be able to install it. 😀 The downside is its not AWD. You'd need the Mazda CRX-5, which is a weird sort of SUV. The Mazda's entire chassis fell apart, but that was my fault and not the car's. I recently got a 2014 Subaru Impreza. I dislike my Subaru because the interior is stupid and the CVT (continuously variable transmission) makes acceleration painful. However, it is an AWD hatch, so there you do.
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That and dealing with inclement weather would be a pain.
One word for you: Toyota
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I'm not particularly fond of my 2010 Yaris. The cheap hub caps keep breaking and flying off. It does what I need it to, but living on a dirt road, I would much rather have a Tacoma.
You should get a Nissan GTR.
I would probably go Italian, easy to work on, plenty of knowledgeable mechanics. If not Italian, definitely get a car with a rotary engine.
In all seriousness, I'd get a 3 y/o Toyota, Nissan, Honda, car fresh off a lease. Change the oil and do the scheduled maintenance. You should be fine.
In all seriousness, I'd get a 3 y/o Toyota, Nissan, Honda, car fresh off a lease. Change the oil and do the scheduled maintenance. You should be fine.
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I've never had a problem with parking mine with all the other bikes at a university or parking it in the garage at the apartment. But i guess it depends a lot on where you go to school...
Either the Camaro, BOSS mustang, Stingray, or a modified M3. Hell, I'm going to enjoy my weekends at the track.
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VW certainly not. BMW is a bitch to maintain...expensive parts, never in stock, and they make you use special tools instead of standard ones...really jacks up the maintainence costs. Mazdas have just always seemed meh to me.
And yes, the Yaris is a hunk of junk. No need to go Tacoma, just never buy the bottom-of-the-line model for ANY car company if you're going for longevity.
VW gets a bad rep from the 70s and 80s. But their cars are now just as reliable, if not more, than the current lineup from Toyota and Honda. I agree....don't go BMW unless you've got money. They are reliable, but very expensive when they do break down. Same with most luxury brands like Mercedes, Porsche, Jag etc. In general, Mazdas are okay. The Miata is excellent though, and verryyyy cheap to maintain. The RX-7s are sick but get crappy mileage and are expensive to fix up.
Fair enough. I just have never once considered a timing belt change, been suggested one by a mechanic, had anyone in my family change their timing belt, etc. It has never ever been something that anyone considered for any of the old cars I have owned. I had 1 timing chain go out, but it was a cheap fix and no other issues.
If it was a cheap fix, then you must be talking about a serpentine belt. Fixing a timing belt is highly expensive, could run up to 500 dollars or more.
If it were a serpentine belt I would have fixed it myself (and have in the past). It was a timing chain.
$500 is not that much for a car repair. It's really not. Most suspension work will run you 600-800. It's the exchange you make buying...instead of several hundred every month for a new car, you end up dropping several hundred every year or so when something comes up - and dealing with the inconvenience of it. I just never understood the exchange because, let's be real here, new cars break down, require maintainence, and eventually need routine replacement pretty routinely as well...PLUS full insurance coverage vs liability. I will never buy a brand new car.
I drive a corolla, it's pretty reliable but I'd recommend one for the resale value.
I've seen the 4runner go for cheap and my friend says its a reliable car.
lol at BMW. Once I'm an attending, I'll be getting the Porsche 911 😉
Car parts are only a big deal if you are buying American or a really old model on any other maker. My advice? Go to the dealer right before the 2015 models come in (October, November, December) and towards the end of the month. Your best bet is Black Friday ( do not recommend) and the day after Christmas (Dec.26th), car dealerships usually have ~6-7% off MSRP on these dates. Go in at the end of the model year, or on those days, and buy a 1 year used car. At the end of the model year the dealership really wants to push the still-new cars that belonged to the past model year off the lot, and the 1-year used cars even more. If you come armed with knowledge (Kelley Blue Book, Good inspection of the car, competitor numbers, etc.) you should be able to negotiate down A LOT. We followed this strategy for the last car my family bought and we talked down about $7,000 off MSRP, although it was a Chevrolet and American auto dealers always have more room to negotiate than foreign dealers.
Bottom line? Brand new Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach
My serious recommendation? Used Toyota Camry or Corolla, avoid Honda, avoid Kia unless it's the Soul, and I've never heard anyone complain much about Nissan although I dont really like their models.
A 2004 Camry much like the one above lasted my family ten years without ever spending a day in the shop. Now that's reliable.
Very, very, happy to see that I'm not the only one on here that is familiar with the 918 Weissach. Graduation present to myself is going to be a 911 Carrera 4S, gunmetal. Although, the new targas are exceptional. Also a fan of the 959. I'll never own the spyder though, sadly :/
@darklabel where will you be living during medical school? The Midwest? West coast or east coast city? The south? Out in the sticks somewhere? If you're anywhere in the midwest, Ohio/PA/Northeast (excluding NYC) something with 4 wheel drive, is going to be your best option because of the snow. I would go with an American made SUV - you can probably get a used Jeep or Explorer for under 20K. Let me know where you're heading..
I totally forgot about where he lived. Here in Texas we have amazing roads so that doesn't really matter. The northeast definitely needs all wheel drive.
We might never be able to afford the 918 on a doctor's salary (or anyone's salary, really) but there's always the lottery. There's always the lottery.
The northeast does not need all wheel drive. Unless you literally live in an unplowed, hilly area or want to go skiing a lot without snow chains, you don't need all wheel drive. Most people who get it never benefit from anything except the greatly increased maintainance costs.
You only need all wheel drive in the northeast if you live in a particularly rural and/or hilly area. If you live in the city or crowded suburbs you're better off with something small, fuel-efficient, and easy to park.
Lambo down Miami Beach then. What's another 500K in debt when you're going to med school?
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Good to hear, I've only been in the not-so well paved parts of town it seems. Well, and Boston and NYC but those are big cities and you'll never encounter random terrain there - just construction until the end of time.
Hey now, construction doesn't happen ALL the time. We have four full seasons here: almost winter, winter, oh-god-why-is-it-still-winter, and road construction. 😉
I still want to move there so bad, I'll trade the South for some freezing weather any day. We've been getting a taste of it though, class has been cancelled 4 times already due to icy road conditions and one of those days it actually (barely) snowed! We haven't had a full week of class since the first week in Jan.
4WD won't help you with the potholes and construction anyway. It's useful if you will actually be off-road, or if you need to go uphill in the snow. That's pretty much it.
This thread is interesting. I have a 2000 Pontiac Bonneville and it has had a lot of problems. My boyfriend has had the same Honda since 1998 and it works great. I'll probably buy a (used) Honda next time. Any Honda models that are not as recommended as the others?
get outta here with that italian nonsense!
Spyder 918
SLS
XKRR
V8 Vantage
DB9
Vanquish
R8
Saleen S7 (omgerdzzzzz)
ewww SLS just screams spoiled teenage girl to me (Maybe just Paris Hilton)?
Audi R8 stick is probably my dream car for down the road. Porsche 911 or Cayman S are top contenders though. The Aston Martin Vanquish looks cool but it seems kind of boring to me.
Go drive one, see if that changes your opinion ;-)
P.S. there is nothing about 622 HP that says "spoiled teenage girl", you cray. lol
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Attaboy/Attagirl.
Check this out - you might not have to wait until you're an Attending.
https://www.porschedriving.com
Have you driven a Vanquish? I'd be super jealous.
Pish posh, I just don't like Mercedes
Not a Vanquish. I've driven a right-hand-drive DB5 (old school son) and a right-hand-drive Vantage.
I myself am not a big fan of Mercedes either, but the SLS is a cut above the rest of the Mercedes-Benz lineup, so it makes the list of dream cars.
I'd go for the Arnage T.
I don't mess around with that maybach nonsense.
On my wedding day, however, there better damn well be a 1959 RR Silver Cloud to chauffer my bride and I around.
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What Honda does your bf have?
My friend has a Civic and its been pretty reliable for him thus far.
No.
Why not? Considering that you like the 918...
Is that the BMW i8? I know this one is, and I am in love... a futuristic car, but NOW! I love the ads for it:
I was skeptical about futuristic cars ruining the car driving experience but damn, the car looks great.
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