Dental Students: Do you have a car?

[DownFracture]

I currently have a car payment and will need a car when I start dental school next year... I was curious how many of you have a car, and if you do are you able to comfortably pay the monthly payments if its not paid off?

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[NAVY DDS 2010]

I currently have a car payment and will need a car when I start dental school next year... I was curious how many of you have a car, and if you do are you able to comfortably pay the monthly payments if its not paid off?

Most people at UTDB in Houston have vehicles. Now, do they carry car payments, I am not sure about that.

 

[DownFracture]

To those of you who have a car payment, are you able to comfortably pay it? I'm assuming you aren't able to increase your COA for your car so do you have to live under the school's projected budget in order to afford it?

 

[DrReo]

To those of you who have a car payment, are you able to comfortably pay it? I'm assuming you aren't able to increase your COA for your car so do you have to live under the school's projected budget in order to afford it?

You definitely could take more out, possibly. What will the monthly payment be? Some schools give 18k to live off of a year. If your rent is relatively cheap ($500-600) with roommates, you could swing a $200 dollar car payment. But then you're paying interest with interest. All depends on what school you're going to. You have a summer upcoming and could pay a majority of it off and you many need to do life style changes when in school.

 

[BioSeven]

Ugh. This is something that I'm concerned about too. My car has over 100,000 miles on it and I'm worried about it dying during dental school...

 

[DownFracture]

Ugh. This is something that I'm concerned about too. My car has over 100,000 miles on it and I'm worried about it dying during dental school...

Mine's at 90k and its a Jeep...so I know the repairs are coming. But the way it seems, it might be better to enter dental school with a paid off crappy car (because you can get extra loan money to repair your car) than it would be to try to get something more reliable and go into dental school with payments.

 

[DownFracture]

You definitely could take more out, possibly. What will the monthly payment be? Some schools give 18k to live off of a year. If your rent is relatively cheap ($500-600) with roommates, you could swing a $200 dollar car payment. But then you're paying interest with interest. All depends on what school you're going to. You have a summer upcoming and could pay a majority of it off and you many need to do life style changes when in school.

My monthly payment is right at $200...I will be living with my wife who will be earning her doctorate (not dental) at the same time. So I guess we can take out loans through her financial aid deal.

I just wanted to trade my car to get something nicer. My current car is a Jeep with 90k miles. It needs new tires, brakes, the shocks are shot, the AC needs repairing/replacing, and it has some sort of water leak (water puddles on the driver side floorboard. And I'm sure there will be other costly repairs down the road. I'm trying to figure out if it would be cheaper to get something more reliable/less mileage/better mpg than to keep the Jeep (which I still owe 6k on) and have to pay repair bills on it throughout school.

 

[Blue Panther]

My monthly payment is right at $200...I will be living with my wife who will be earning her doctorate (not dental) at the same time. So I guess we can take out loans through her financial aid deal.

I just wanted to trade my car to get something nicer. My current car is a Jeep with 90k miles. It needs new tires, brakes, the shocks are shot, the AC needs repairing/replacing, and it has some sort of water leak (water puddles on the driver side floorboard. And I'm sure there will be other costly repairs down the road. I'm trying to figure out if it would be cheaper to get something more reliable/less mileage/better mpg than to keep the Jeep (which I still owe 6k on) and have to pay repair bills on it throughout school.

This is not a car worth saving.

Lets pretend your current jeep does not even exists and you buy a Civic for $10,000. 10k will get you a very reliable Civic that might even last you after a 3 year residency.

Estimation: If you finance it for 5 years and with interest the total might come out to $12k over 5 years. Each year it is $2,400. Every school budget is different and the location where is it located. In my case, I can take out extra $2,400/YEAR and still be under the schools budget of $80k/year.

I do not know where you will be attending next year but if you are driving to school and city transportation is not reliable, the last thing you want in the morning of your exam is to have your car break down and be late or even miss the exam!

 

[DrReo]

This is not a car worth saving.

Lets pretend your current jeep does not even exists and you buy a Civic for $10,000. 10k will get you a very reliable Civic that might even last you after a 3 year residency.

Estimation: If you finance it for 5 years and with interest the total might come out to $12k over 5 years. Each year it is $2,400. Every school budget is different and the location where is it located. In my case, I can take out extra $2,400/YEAR and still be under the schools budget of $80k/year.

I do not know where you will be attending next year but if you are driving to school and city transportation is not reliable, the last thing you want in the morning of your exam is to have your car break down and be late or even miss the exam!

I'd watch out on the Honda Civics. Mine is a mid 2000's and it definitely is reliable, after I put a new transmission in after 45k... You don't need an AC in your car.

 

[SC2013]

I think a car is a definite must. Bumming a ride from friends is tough and hinders personal development and growth. Car payments are about $250/mo, which is like 3k a year. When I start practicing dentistry, that's going to be made in a week or two. I'd say that's definitely worth it for personal development.

Besides, it's a lot easier to go on dates =)