Cars during med school

[patch_o]

I have a quesiton about what car to have during med school. The car i have currently got me through undergrad, but I don't know how much longer it will run. I was wondering what you guys found to be the best think to do. Buy a newer one? or just Keep it until it dies? Thanks

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[LJDHC05]

I have a quesiton about what car to have during med school. The car i have currently got me through undergrad, but I don't know how much longer it will run. I was wondering what you guys found to be the best think to do. Buy a newer one? or just Keep it until it dies? Thanks

You could probably get a decently new (2001-2002) Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla for under 10 grand and finance it over 5 years to make it fairly affordable on your loans.

 

[crys20]

I guess you have to look at how much flexibility you have in your school's budget. Mine is pretty generous, and if I wasn't living in a 1 BR apt that was pretty nice, I'm sure I would be able to afford a reasonable car payment. Something else might have to go; you might have to get a roommate or something but I would think it would be doable if you're school's budget was decent...Some places I applied, it seemed so tight.

I'm in a similar situation w/ cars...Except mine I drove all through HS, and all through college...I bought the thing in 2000 w/ 124K miles on it for $3500 and it's STILL running. I think at this point I'm just going to run it until it dies, then deal with finding something else then.

A loan I have utilized in the past which may help is called the Sallie Mae Tuition Answer. It is quick, painless (except the interest rate), and easy and the check will come directly to you in a matter of days. You could always take out like 7K or something to buy something used, or just a couple thousand to make your payments for a while. That's probably what I'll have to do when push comes to shove.

 

[Army_Doc]

I have a quesiton about what car to have during med school. The car i have currently got me through undergrad, but I don't know how much longer it will run. I was wondering what you guys found to be the best think to do. Buy a newer one? or just Keep it until it dies? Thanks

Keep it till it dies. Why bother with new car payments if you already have something that gets you from one place to another? Plus, with a new (or newer) car you usually have higher insurance, and you're paying interest on top of the car price itself. Sure its not too sexy to drive around in a beat up car, but hey, you can buy a BMW when you're a doctor.

BTW, i drive a car with 150,000 miles...so i practice what i preach. Just keep changing the oil every 3-4k miles and you'll be fine. For peace of mind, get AAA (plus service = 90 bucks a year).

 

[Beau Geste]

Find out what's wrong with it and fix it if you can. $500-1000 is a lot cheaper than a new car, unless your car is only worth 500-$1000.

 

[cbgray]

Or you could be like me and go car-less! Aww yeah baby, you know I'll be sportin' the Schwinn Cruiser all up in it...

But seriously, keep your car. Not making payments is a luxury. Save some cheddar and if you want, you can upgrade for your clinical years (when you'll probably need it a whole lot more).

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Be a bada** - get a motorcycle.

 

[Pewl]

Heh I'm sportin' my Turbo Eclipse GS-T from undergrad. I've had it for 5 years and plan to use it for at least 4 more! I'm driving cross country with it!

 

[MuDPhuDShane]

I have a 96' Maxima with 155k miles--got me through undergrad and still runs well, but the AC compressor just went kaput (of course, in the dead of summer). A new compressor will cost more than the car itself (isn't that sad?), so I'll likely be upgrading soon.

 

[samenewme]

I have a 96' Maxima with 155k miles--got me through undergrad and still runs well, but the AC compressor just went kaput (of course, in the dead of summer). A new compressor will cost more than the car itself (isn't that sad?), so I'll likely be upgrading soon.

Did you try calling salvage yards to see if you can pick up a used compressor cheaper? It might be worth it.

 

[RxnMan]

Keep it till it dies. Why bother with new car payments if you already have something that gets you from one place to another?...

Exactly. Why incur an expense that you don't need to take on? Especially when you're living on loans.

...Sure its not too sexy to drive around in a beat up car...

I'm sure that being a near-doc will more than make up for the car!

 

[rup47]

Im driving a 5 speed 2000 hyundai elantra

it only cost me 3500 2 years ago, I plan on keeping it through med school.

 

[BlinkyCat]

Or you could be like me and go car-less! Aww yeah baby, you know I'll be sportin' the Schwinn Cruiser all up in it...

But seriously, keep your car. Not making payments is a luxury. Save some cheddar and if you want, you can upgrade for your clinical years (when you'll probably need it a whole lot more).

Are you really going to go without a car? How are you going to get groceries, run errands? Just wondering... I don't have a car either and was wondering how other people work around it.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Are you really going to go without a car? How are you going to get groceries, run errands? Just wondering... I don't have a car either and was wondering how other people work around it.

In my area you can rely on public transportation, especially the first two years. After that it's hard. You could also look into a carpool if you live near others and have similar schedules. You can make it work.

I got a 2001 Chevy Prizm last year after driving a 1991 Chevy Corsica until the muffler fell off. My parents put the muffler back on but were afraid to let me drive 300+ miles in it, so I get a car payment.

 

[jocg27]

Are you really going to go without a car? How are you going to get groceries, run errands? Just wondering... I don't have a car either and was wondering how other people work around it.

This is very location dependent...some places, you probably can't survive with out a car...Other places it's really not worth the trouble and actually kind of stupid to have a car. You can walk or take public trans anywhere you need, you'll pay as much for parking as people in other cities might pay for renting their apartment, and how much longer do you suppose we have before gas gets up to $4/gal?

 

[cbgray]

Are you really going to go without a car? How are you going to get groceries, run errands? Just wondering... I don't have a car either and was wondering how other people work around it.

Yeah buddy...Dallas doesn't scare me! My apartment is close to school, and right across the street from El Supermercado I'll probably get one of those discounted bus passes and call it good.

Of course, the real question is how long this strategy will actually last

 

[sentrosi]

Yeah buddy...Dallas doesn't scare me! My apartment is close to school, and right across the street from El Supermercado I'll probably get one of those discounted bus passes and call it good.

Of course, the real question is how long this strategy will actually last

Probably until 3-4 year. Might have to go to rotations at hospitals not covered by public transport.

 

[BAM!]

This is very location dependent...some places, you probably can't survive with out a car...Other places it's really not worth the trouble and actually kind of stupid to have a car. You can walk or take public trans anywhere you need, you'll pay as much for parking as people in other cities might pay for renting their apartment, and how much longer do you suppose we have before gas gets up to $4/gal?

$4/gal is nothing. Just wait till we have to pay $8/gal like the rest of the world when our next president pulls us out of the middle east in 4 years.

 

[MossPoh]

Run whatever car you have till death...if you change the oil, rotate the tires often (that is a big one for saving money), and just learn other basic car matience stuff a car can run for quite sometime....My friend has a car that the odometer froze on about 250,000 miles 4 years ago and he still drives it. You can get a car to get you places pretty cheap if you have to. If you don't have a friend that is a mechanic, you can usually hire one for a bit of cash to check out the cars you are interested in. I rather spend 100 or 200 dollars for a day with a mechanic making sure it is not a lemon than a thousand dollars and the car being in the shop for a week.

 

[DarkFark]

$4/gal is nothing. Just wait till we have to pay $8/gal like the rest of the world when our next president pulls us out of the middle east in 4 years.

If gas ever got that high, people would stop buying it because ethanol/biodiesel/etc. can undercut that price.

And this is a whole other can of worms that probably shouldn't be opened, but gas prices were pretty stable before our current president went into the middle east.

 

[MuDPhuDShane]

Did you try calling salvage yards to see if you can pick up a used compressor cheaper? It might be worth it.

Haven't yet... What I didn't mention is that it has some other minor problems as well. For instance, in the winter, when you turn the heater on, the whole car begins to smell like gas; not so comforting...