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I don't know - just doesn't appeal to me. Most BMW's don't appeal to me - wouldn't mind an M5 though.
Car for medical school and beyond?
Started by darklabel
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I don't know - just doesn't appeal to me. Most BMW's don't appeal to me - wouldn't mind an M5 though.
@darklabel are you still open for suggestions?
My brother is 19 and he pays about 500 a month for his car. He drives a 2013 Honda Accord. I think you can get a Honda Accord from 2012 and pay about 4oo for it.
My brother is 19 and he pays about 500 a month for his car. He drives a 2013 Honda Accord. I think you can get a Honda Accord from 2012 and pay about 4oo for it.
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That is a total ripoff.
I've paid $330/month for much more car than a 2012 Accord.
That's whazzzup.
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deleted407021
For many of us who won't be purchasing a new vehicle until probably mid residency in >8 years, we can most likely expect a wide range of electric and/or a few self driving cars. Not sure about the latter, even though they are certainly much safer and efficient, the idea of having little control over the speeding vehicle I'm riding in is unsettling.
My '07 Corolla has never given me any issues. Only needed basic maintenance, so far. My mom still drives a '98 Camry and it only recently started to crap out. The first car I drove into the ground was '91 Ford Escort. It ran really well for the six years I had it, then the transmission just died. The car lasted 14 years between two owners, no real issues except for the transmission crapping out at the end. I don't know if you'll be able to find yourself a lightly used Escort, though. No pun intended.
My dad (and I - it got passed onto me) drove a Honda CRV until it had 200,000 miles. Then sold it for $6,000. It never ever had any problems in that time, and I'm sure it's still going strong. My whole family drives Hondas (Accord, 3 civics, and a Pilot) and it is extremely rare if one has to go to the shop. About a year ago I got a '13 civic and hoping that'll get me through the end of undergrad/med school/life until I can pay for life. I don't doubt that it'll stay kickin til then and be able to be sold. So naturally, I recommend any Honda.
Me too. I had a 2006 blue coupe. It had so many recalls, including a paint recall 6 yrs later because UV ate through it. I took great care of it, yet the seats fell apart, the fabric disintegrated, the plastic parts broke, the display burnt out, and the fenders fell off. Runs great at 60k miles, but looks like a turd. It cost 20k. I now have a 2012 VW GTI that I paid 25k for. That extra 5k bought twice the car, IMO.
I loathe electric cars. They're just a way for people to pat themselves on the back for being green when in reality, they're just trading one nonrenewable resource (fossil fuel) for another (lithium). On top of that, pretty much all of the electricity used to power these cars STILL comes from fossil fuels...they're just tucked conveniently farther upstream on the power grid so that people don't have to think about them, much as live, mooing cows are tucked away where we don't have to think of them in the grocery store. I don't call myself a vegetarian because someone else kills the cow for me, and I wouldn't consider myself 'green' just because I never physically place fossil fuels in my car.
Also, they make cars you don't have to drive...they're called buses and trains. Self-driving private cars would be cool (and I could get more work done!), but in the end we'd probably be better off making it easier for people to use public transit than we are making self-driving cars.
Well it really depends where you live. If you live in California or another sunny state, you can install solar panels on your rooftop and use them to charge your electric car. Nothing is truly 100% green, but it still is more economical and "greener" than burning gas. My parents house is 100% run on solar electricity, and the panels produce enough surplus that they are thinking of getting a Tesla as it would be essentially free to drive....plus it's an awesome sports car.
60 month term? Also what is the APR that you got from the finance company.
I have both a car and a motorcycle.
Not sure where you live, but if it's somewhere with all 4 seasons, and you need to get around in winter, don't go for the bike.
After all said and done, motorcycle won't save you too much money unless you ride it everywhere all 365 days a year, and don't keep a car as a back up. In order to ride it year-round, you'll need right geography (no winter), and gear (helmet - at least $100, jacket and pants - roughly $150 - $200 each, gloves - $50, boots - $100, rain jacket and rain pants - $100), tires much more frequently than in a car (about $100 each tire about every 10K, 15K or 20K miles, depending how conservatively you ride, and what kind of bike it is), more frequent maintenance, and you won't have time for it when you're in med school or residency.
Find a friend or family member who can look/listen at a used car and tell you if it's in a good shape. Then have him/her help you get a used unmolested car from Craigslist for around $4,000 - $6,000. That should last you at least till your residency, and most likely throughout the residency, if you take care of it. New car would cost $10K more, and a used clean one for $4,000 or $6,000 should never cost you that much in repairs. Worst case scenario, you might have to throw a transmission or an engine into it (roughly $1,500 each).
I would stay away from European cars, and aim for Honda or Toyota. My 1990 Camry had 278,000 miles, when I sold it, and it was still driving fine (just didn't have air conditioning 🙂
Not sure where you live, but if it's somewhere with all 4 seasons, and you need to get around in winter, don't go for the bike.
After all said and done, motorcycle won't save you too much money unless you ride it everywhere all 365 days a year, and don't keep a car as a back up. In order to ride it year-round, you'll need right geography (no winter), and gear (helmet - at least $100, jacket and pants - roughly $150 - $200 each, gloves - $50, boots - $100, rain jacket and rain pants - $100), tires much more frequently than in a car (about $100 each tire about every 10K, 15K or 20K miles, depending how conservatively you ride, and what kind of bike it is), more frequent maintenance, and you won't have time for it when you're in med school or residency.
Find a friend or family member who can look/listen at a used car and tell you if it's in a good shape. Then have him/her help you get a used unmolested car from Craigslist for around $4,000 - $6,000. That should last you at least till your residency, and most likely throughout the residency, if you take care of it. New car would cost $10K more, and a used clean one for $4,000 or $6,000 should never cost you that much in repairs. Worst case scenario, you might have to throw a transmission or an engine into it (roughly $1,500 each).
I would stay away from European cars, and aim for Honda or Toyota. My 1990 Camry had 278,000 miles, when I sold it, and it was still driving fine (just didn't have air conditioning 🙂
Yeah, Im going to look into getting a Toyota or Honda. Usually the ones that have given me problems in the past have been American cars.
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D
deleted407021
As the cost of completely renewable energy sources falls and the cost of traditional fuel sources rises due to scarcity, the two will eventually meet in the middle and from that point on, "green" alternatives will be the most cost efficient option. That is still some time in the future, but it is clear that fossil fuels are becoming harder to find as time goes on, with the occasional well or vein found here or there. Electric vehicles are simply the next step in human transportation, as the internal combustion engine replaced the horse drawn carriage. Automated vehicles are the next after that, at least in densely populated areas. (I'm staying rural, so I'll stick with my human controlled vehicle). I know what you mean when you refer to people using a thing like an electric or semi electric car as a way to make themselves feel like they have done something worthy of public admiration, but they will have the effect of purshing the implementation of the technology into the mainstream. The first cars were for the elite and progressive, but Mr. Ford came along and made the technology available for the middle class and in a few decades, the buggy was totally obsolete. Here's as good link with Myth vs. Realities for E vehicles: http://content.sierraclub.org/evguide/myths-vs-reality
My only concern now is that they make them look nice instead of like something Mr. Bean would drive.
How did you manage to sell a CRV with 200,000 miles on it for that much?
Excellent question that I don't know the answer to. We were not expecting that much at all, but instead expected people to bargain. Low and behold, someone came by a week later and paid the full price. So I guess the answer is the buyer was just not the brightest bulb out there...
Yeah, I have an Accord that has been in my family since my parents bought it new in 1991. That thing is somehow still going strong 23 years later.
If you have half a clue you should be able to pay 6000 cash to a private seller on craigslist and get a car that will last you ten years. Setting foot on a dealership lot is a suckers bet and "warranties" are a joke. Find a decent car and a good neibor hood mechanic and you're set.
I don't know. lol You would have to ask him.
I guess that buyer was really________!
We agree that someday we will switch away from fossil fuels - it would be silly to disagree, because after all, we will some day run out. We also agree that increasing costs of fossil fuels will drive this change. Unfortunately, the government artificially sustains low prices for these otherwise declining industries, making this switch far in the future. This is a far bigger change than the adoption of hybrid vehicles, because in order for electric vehicles to be green, our entire power grid would have to switch to renewable energy..otherwise the juice in the wall outlet is really no different from the gasoline at the pump. Furthermore, even assuming we do eventually switch over, I still have serious concerns regarding the longterm availability of resources such as lithium for producing batteries. Most sources essentially say "don't worry, we can make a billion batteries before we run out!" or "we have enough lithium to last until 2100!" I say "how is that any different than fossil fuel availability at the dawn of the automobile?" How does switching from one nonrenewable source to another one really help us?
Electric vehicles may be the 'next step in human transportation', but that doesn't make them a step forward. I see little there to be excited about (and a lot of unwarranted pretension to be UNexcited about).
Self-driving cars are, again, cool, but ultimately change little other than allowing people to utilize their commute time. I would actually see them more useful in rural areas (with long commutes/drives during which people could be productive, and too low population density to sustain/justify public transit) rather than urban (short physical distances, high traffic to complicate, no real time for productivity on the drive, public transportation a valid and justifiable option during which people could ALSO be productive).
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deleted407021
@mehc012 If you read the bits in the link I posted, you can see how electric vehicles, even when using the current grid infrastructure, are much "greener" than conventional automobiles. When the primary sources of electricity do eventually become renewable, the "green..ness" of the vehicles would be nearly complete save for the resource used to produce the batteries. Like you said, lithium is a finite resource, and listening to experts say that fears of it ever running out are unfounded makes one think of similar opinions held on the availability of oil well into the 20th century. However, the American Chemical Society states that lithium ion car batteries have a lifespan of 5-20 years, depending on environmental factors, with more efficient batteries being developed each year. There's a big difference between putting a non renewable resource in your car twice a week as opposed to maybe never or rarely doing so, as few people would keep a car for 10 or 15 years. These batteries are also very recyclable. Yes, lithium is a finite resource but when the consumer uses that resource so sparingly, it obviously becomes a highly feasible option. Complacency, however is a problem with modern energy production, with people and groups in power making so much money off what happens to be the biggest energy producer at the time that no progress is made toward what needs to replace the previous generation when it runs out. A change in how we let energy science progress will be imperative for the future. There may also be a huge abundance of lithium on the moon and on asteroids. Even warp vessels in the ideal world of Star Trek required the rare compound Dilithium to function. Every energy source has to come from something that will eventually run out. Even anti matter has to be manufactured. I suppose that humans would never use up all the hydrogen in the universe for fusion, but it will probably always need deuterium. We can't let fears of some power source eventually running out keep us from progressing. We do, however need to stop becoming complacent when something seems to work.
As far as automated vehicles go, they would be much more efficient in cities as they are much, much safer than human controlled cars, are more efficient and would allow future infrastructure to be less expensive (narrower lanes and intersections, etc). The benefit of this over mass transit is that those who choose to buy these vehicles get to have their own means of transportation. Not everyone who lives in cities wants to take the bus or tram.
As far as automated vehicles go, they would be much more efficient in cities as they are much, much safer than human controlled cars, are more efficient and would allow future infrastructure to be less expensive (narrower lanes and intersections, etc). The benefit of this over mass transit is that those who choose to buy these vehicles get to have their own means of transportation. Not everyone who lives in cities wants to take the bus or tram.
Perfectly happy with my '11 Hyundai Elantra. Paid off, high gas mileage, reverse camera, GPS, heated leather seats, sunroof, etc. Haven't had a single reliability issue with it yet in the 60k I've put on it, aside from the two recalls, but they were minor (ECM upgrade and trimming of some plastic around the seat belts to prevent injury when the side airbags deploy). Good car all around. It is -terrible- in the snow though, as a warning. I'm going to keep this one till I manage to run it into the ground, most likely.
hold up, hold up ,hold up. 😱. Porsche fan here. A 911 4s? How in the world you racking up the cash for that thing as a premed? Used or new?
Oh, I meant Medical School Graduation, haha.
I almost bought a 944 back in April though. Decided to do a safe buy and got a Jeep instead, lol.
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Extra Cellular Matrix?
300C in roids
I think Daimler-Chrysler was trying to emulate Bentley when they designed the 300.
I'm sure you can find a 2000ish SAAB for ~$3,000.
safest sedan possible, goes well over 200,000 miles, sexy swedish sedan, most intelligent drivers*, expensive than average parts but you can find a 2003 9-3 SAAB with no damage and around 70k mileage for around $3,000.
best used sedan possible
safest sedan possible, goes well over 200,000 miles, sexy swedish sedan, most intelligent drivers*, expensive than average parts but you can find a 2003 9-3 SAAB with no damage and around 70k mileage for around $3,000.
best used sedan possible
SAAB lost money on every single car sold due to their high quality material/unbreakable engine/safer than a tank sedan quality
competes with BMW 5's and merc E's
Looking at the new BMW 3-4 series myself. Probably the latter.
30mpg isnt bad either.
30mpg isnt bad either.
They're back. GM dropped like a sober prom date which forced SAAB to only sell parts until they got picked up by a Dutch powerhouse. They've already released info about their new 9-5's.
GTI is FWD, so it's not a snowmobile. I've survived the NE though with it fine though. However, it might be a good excuse to get an AWD Golf R haha.
Hello, beautiful 🙂
(the 1982 Stingray is my favorite vette - just look at those Marilyn Monroe hips on this thing)
(the 1982 Stingray is my favorite vette - just look at those Marilyn Monroe hips on this thing)
Impressive. What year and model?
What is with the love affair for 4wd on this board? There are few people who actually use the 4wd benefits...mostly it's just expensive repairs. And yes, I say this having lived in the northeast for years...it's just not the necessity people on here seem to anticipate it being.
AWD isn't 4WD. AWD is pretty nice for a sports car. It's also nice in not-so-great conditions. But I agree, 4WD is nearly never necessary. You only would ever need it during the peak of the worst winter storms in the NE. However, I've used my friend's 4wd occasionally for some trail rides...pretty fun.
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Fair enough...my main gist was simply that plain 'ol FWD is fine for NE, though! Personally, I don't think it's necessary even in the worst storms...just drive carefully. Then again, my family was from NE, so even though I grew up elsewhere, they still made sure to take me out to a parking lot on a (rare where we lived) snowy day and force me to skid, slide, and otherwise lose control of the car so I could practice regaining it calmly.
The best vehicle for med school and residency:
+Live a short walk from lecture or rounds
+Relocate at a moment's notice for cheap
+Skirt sky-high rents no matter where you match
+/-Attracts hippy chicks, musicians, and artists like flies to ****
+Feel like a rock star on tour all day erryday
+Save money to pay back those loans
+Insure your home car all in one plan
+Re-enact scenes from Spaceballs with your friends
-Repulsive to many of the opposite sex
-Not an option if you have kids
-Dat low gas mileage- You ain't movin' much, but when you do, be ready to pay
-Inevitable knocking on your door by the police at odd hours for parking illegally
+Live a short walk from lecture or rounds
+Relocate at a moment's notice for cheap
+Skirt sky-high rents no matter where you match
+/-Attracts hippy chicks, musicians, and artists like flies to ****
+Feel like a rock star on tour all day erryday
+Save money to pay back those loans
+Insure your home car all in one plan
+Re-enact scenes from Spaceballs with your friends
-Repulsive to many of the opposite sex
-Not an option if you have kids
-Dat low gas mileage- You ain't movin' much, but when you do, be ready to pay
-Inevitable knocking on your door by the police at odd hours for parking illegally
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-just get a pickup or something. put some stuff in the back for storage. (1) space (2) dependable (3) not too bad mpg (4) great in all conditions (5) tough
-wrangler for that dependability, (1) long last (2)not too bad of mpg for a military car (3) easy/cheap to fix ALL troubles (4) reliable engine (5) GREAT GREAT GREAT in ALL conditions (6) has a little bit of sexiness too.
-4runner (1) great mpg for an SUV (2) little expensive but wont depreciate in value like american SUV's (3) SUV. (4) great in all conditions; not like pickups or wranglers but better than everything else with that normal day driving ability (5) japanese, aka 200k miles, cheap to fix, resell value is great (6) toyota
-range rover (1) probably "best" offroad SUV...lets be real. you wont go offroading (2) looks very nice (3) too bad its very expensive (4) too bad it breaks down every 2years (5) who cares..you'll be a doctor $$$
-MERCEDES G550 (1) pure money (2) literally a tank (3) most preferred military vehicle in the world (4) pure class (5) Merc power and class into one durable SUV (6) most expensive car you'll probably ever buy that isn't an overpriced toy ($130k base price). (7) MERCEDES G-WAGON
imho... wrangler (UG)> 4runner>BMW m5, that tier>G-WAGON>pickup.
-wrangler for that dependability, (1) long last (2)not too bad of mpg for a military car (3) easy/cheap to fix ALL troubles (4) reliable engine (5) GREAT GREAT GREAT in ALL conditions (6) has a little bit of sexiness too.
-4runner (1) great mpg for an SUV (2) little expensive but wont depreciate in value like american SUV's (3) SUV. (4) great in all conditions; not like pickups or wranglers but better than everything else with that normal day driving ability (5) japanese, aka 200k miles, cheap to fix, resell value is great (6) toyota
-range rover (1) probably "best" offroad SUV...lets be real. you wont go offroading (2) looks very nice (3) too bad its very expensive (4) too bad it breaks down every 2years (5) who cares..you'll be a doctor $$$
-MERCEDES G550 (1) pure money (2) literally a tank (3) most preferred military vehicle in the world (4) pure class (5) Merc power and class into one durable SUV (6) most expensive car you'll probably ever buy that isn't an overpriced toy ($130k base price). (7) MERCEDES G-WAGON
imho... wrangler (UG)> 4runner>BMW m5, that tier>G-WAGON>pickup.
Station wagon. You can fit everything you own in the back. If you are stuck somewhere and don't want to drive home/are too tired, it's big enough to be a damn comfortable bed (I keep pillows and blankets in my car for that very reason, along with a full set of toiletries and work clothes). Short enough that you can use the top for storage. Better gas mileage than an SUV or pickup. You don't have to protect or secure anything you throw in the back. Big enough to fit a bicycle at a moment's notice. Enough seats for most people. It's not as much of a bitch to lift heavy things into the back as an SUV or pickup. Unless you literally work construction or need the heavy-duty suspension of a truck, there is no more useful car than a station wagon.
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