I want a car!! Any advice??

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
U

uncfarmasea

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2010
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Hey everyone,
I am a PY4 graduating in May (finally!). I have signed with CVS for a full-time pharmacist job (I know there's haters on here, but I've been with them for 6 years and I love it:love:) and have already received the sign-on bonus and all that. I really want a VEHICLE!!! Many people have said buying a new car right out of school is crazy financially, but to me, it's a right-of-passage. Yes, I'll have school loans to pay off, but the vehicle and the student loans are the only big things right now. Anyone have any advice??? New vs. Used, pay off school loans and buy a house instead, etc etc. Thanks!!

PS: Getting married in October, and if I have something nice and new, she'll want one too ;) lol Would it be really crazy to have two car payments while we're renting and trying to save up for a downpayment on a house, all while paying school loans??
Members don't see this ad.
 
For the love of God do not by a brand new car. One of the worst financial purchases you can make is buying a new car. You lose thousands of dollars in value the minute you drive it off the lot.

Find something 'new' with under 10,000k miles.
 
uncfarmasea said:
Hey everyone,
I am a PY4 graduating in May (finally!). I have signed with CVS for a full-time pharmacist job (I know there's haters on here, but I've been with them for 6 years and I love it:love:) and have already received the sign-on bonus and all that. I really want a VEHICLE!!! Many people have said buying a new car right out of school is crazy financially, but to me, it's a right-of-passage. Yes, I'll have school loans to pay off, but the vehicle and the student loans are the only big things right now. Anyone have any advice??? New vs. Used, pay off school loans and buy a house instead, etc etc. Thanks!!

PS: Getting married in October, and if I have something nice and new, she'll want one too ;) lol Would it be really crazy to have two car payments while we're renting and trying to save up for a downpayment on a house, all while paying school loans??
Click to expand...

How much are you willing to pay monthly?
How much are you willing to pay down?
What are the most important things in a car for you? Performance, luxury, fuel economy?
Are you a speed demon?
Will you ever have any interest in racing on a track?

Answer these questions.

What I think you should do? As a preliminary choice, I'd tell you to go with a Certified Pre-Owned BMW 335i or 335xi (all wheel drive if you live in a place where it snows)
 
Members don't see this ad :)
phathead said:
For the love of God do not by a brand new car. One of the worst financial purchases you can make is buying a new car. You lose thousands of dollars in value the minute you drive it off the lot.

Find something 'new' with under 10,000k miles.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I would lease a car instead. If you are smart you would put your money into purchasing a storage unit business.
 
It all depends on what kind of price range we are talking. Are you going to drop 40-50k on a new Bimmer or are you thinking Toyota Corolla?
 
Don't listen to all the craps that people above dump at you. You have worked hard, and you deserve the best. This is my dream car, and I hope you'd love it too: http://www.lexus.com/models/SC/
 
Nissan GTR = semi-realistically priced supercar
 
coffee4drug said:
Don't listen to all the craps that people above dump at you. You have worked hard, and you deserve the best. This is my dream car, and I hope you'd love it too: http://www.lexus.com/models/SC/
Click to expand...

Ugly ass car IMO.

This is much better.

audi-s5-k500-by-mtm-4_460x0w.jpg
 
uncfarmasea said:
Hey everyone,
I am a PY4 graduating in May (finally!). I have signed with CVS for a full-time pharmacist job (I know there's haters on here, but I've been with them for 6 years and I love it:love:) and have already received the sign-on bonus and all that. I really want a VEHICLE!!! Many people have said buying a new car right out of school is crazy financially, but to me, it's a right-of-passage. Yes, I'll have school loans to pay off, but the vehicle and the student loans are the only big things right now. Anyone have any advice??? New vs. Used, pay off school loans and buy a house instead, etc etc. Thanks!!

PS: Getting married in October, and if I have something nice and new, she'll want one too ;) lol Would it be really crazy to have two car payments while we're renting and trying to save up for a downpayment on a house, all while paying school loans??
Click to expand...


I am not the pharmacist, but my wife is so I will inject here on her behalf. You can still have a great car and have a toyota corolla payment. We bought a 3 yr old Acura TL with around 30k miles for $16,000. Drives like a charm. Only thing wrong with it was a 4 inch dent in the fender from what looked like someone hitting it while parking. Cost $700 to fix. Rest of the car checked out perfectly. No one wanted a semi-luxury car with the imperfection in the fender. It was our gain. So, for $16,700, we got a nearly new car. We have put close to 100,000 miles on the car now with only minimal maintenance needed.

If you are willing to shop around, you can easily find something like this in a make that you are interested in. Have the best of both worlds without breaking your account while allowing you to pay the bills off.
 
I have an Audi A4 convertible that I bought with 35,000 miles and it is FUN to drive. Plus it is all wheel drive which is a must for me.

My second choice would be to drive a Subaru Impreza WRX. Also AWD.

But that is what I would drive.
 
Thanks for the answers! I know a car depreciates, but any car will do that no matter if it is used or new. I was thinking a price range of 25K to 40K max. There's a ton of vehicles to choose from in that range, new or used. If I'm planning on driving it long-term (8-10+ years), is it still bad to buy brand new? Sure it'll depreciate, but I won't be looking to resale.

I like all the suggestions, you all named a lot of the cars I was looking at! I'm thinking: Lexus IS350, Beemer 3 series, Tahoe (I've wanted one of these since the new bodystyle came out!), or truck.

One other thing: how likely would I be to get financing while I'm finishing up school? Probably not very likely in these days haha. I do have a great credit score, however, so maybe that, the CVS offer letter, and a small downpayment will cover it.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
WVUPharm2007 said:
Don't buy an expensive car. It's a money pit. Pay off loans.
Click to expand...
+1. It won't feed you and hopefully shouldn't have to house you. I don't deserve a nice car any more than I deserve a nice house or expensive shoes. I can choose to spend my money on it, but I don't deserve it.

DH and I own both of our cars; not having a car payment (which I had before assumed was a way of life) is fantastic. Granted I only spend about 10 min/day in my car, so it's not a priority, but that extra $500-600/month we had in car payments is now being used to pay down our mortagage and my loans and pad our retirement accounts.
 
spacecowgirl said:
+1. It won't feed you and hopefully shouldn't have to house you. I don't deserve a nice car any more than I deserve a nice house or expensive shoes. I can choose to spend my money on it, but I don't deserve it.

DH and I own both of our cars; not having a car payment (which I had before assumed was a way of life) is fantastic. Granted I only spend about 10 min/day in my car, so it's not a priority, but that extra $500-600/month we had in car payments is now being used to pay down our mortagage and my loans and pad our retirement accounts.
Click to expand...

This. And if you're looking to buy new, try to find 0% financing or something relatively close. Also, if you AND your SO are looking to buy new, maybe look into buying one practical car and one luxury car and the two of you can alternate. My wife and I have a Mazda 3 and a Chrysler 300. Cars these days routinely make it to 200k miles or more if you take care of them and if you plan to drive it into the ground, this could mean huge money savings over a lease.
 
Go buy a house....are you getting married and living at your parents house?
 
Buy a house while the market is still in the shape that it is. And you can get an awesome interest rate.
 
I wouldn't buy an expensive car either, especially if your wife is going to want one, too. 25-40k sounds like a lot of money to me to spend on a car, but I guess it depends on the individual person's values. My husband and I bought both our cars used and we've still been driving them for ten years now. Man, we really need new cars!
 
Buy used. I remember seeing a graph of a car's value vs its age. It looked like an exponential decay graph. If I remember right, the sweet spot was about 3-4 years. That was were the depreciation decreased the most yet the car was still relatively new.

Use Kelley blue book and Edmunds to get a fair price for the car.

Be willing to walk away.
 
Are you going to be paying for all of this yourself? Or is your soon to be wife going to contribute as well.

Forget about saving any money for a down payment on a home when you're going to be paying student loans + 2 car payments + rent. Getting married in October? Weddings aren't cheap either.

A pharmacist doesn't make THAT much money....
 
coffee4drug said:
Don't listen to all the craps that people above dump at you. You have worked hard, and you deserve the best. This is my dream car, and I hope you'd love it too: http://www.lexus.com/models/SC/
Click to expand...

Except that fresh out of schools you have responsibilities (loans, family obligations and such) that come first. You can buy your fancy car later in life.

DYSF777 said:
Agreed. I would lease a car instead. If you are smart you would put your money into purchasing a storage unit business.
Click to expand...

Leasing can be as bad, or worse, than buying a brand new car.
 
I got an '07 Ford Taurus in 2009 for $8500...still under warranty until Sept 2012. That's a good deal right there.

I'm going to "splurge" on a $12k-$15k or so car when I move here soon and my wife needs a car. Not sure what I want...lookin' at '08-'09 Sable/Taurus, '06-'07 Lincoln MKZs, '05-'07 Lincoln Town Cars...all can be had at that price...all reliable and safe. Leaning towards the Town Car. Dude looks dignified driving one of those...and they are the smoothest, softest riding car out there.

In my mind, spending more than $20k on a device you spend 30 minutes a day in is just stupid. But, on the other hand, if more people wasted their money on unneeded expenses, the economy will begin to pick up again. So don't let me and my rationality stop you. Spend away.
 
uncfarmasea said:
Hey everyone,

PS: Getting married in October, and if I have something nice and new, she'll want one too ;) lol Would it be really crazy to have two car payments while we're renting and trying to save up for a downpayment on a house, all while paying school loans??
Click to expand...

Totally missed this part for some reason.

For what you just mentioned alone, I would not buy some big fancy new car, especially if you're going to end up buying two.

You don't know what the economy is going to do the next two years, so do you really want to piss away extra money on something right now? In reality, you should focus on getting out of renting and purchasing a home first.

When you rent you throw money away monthly. The housing market is great to get into right now, you could get a very nice house with a very responsible price with a low interest rate. The savings alone on that could net you several tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

You are no longer a student, but an adult. You have to start thinking like an adult. It's best to get financially set and then splurge, rather than splurging immediately and digging yourself a hole.
 
phathead said:
Leasing can be as bad, or worse, than buying a brand new car.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I leased my VW CC. Only allowed 45,000 miles on the lease in 3 years, I'm already at 40,000 miles and I still have like 15 months to go on it.

Either way, I already modified the hell out of it, plans for more modifications, so I'm gonna buy it out at the end of the lease.
 
Sparda29 said:
Yeah, I leased my VW CC. Only allowed 45,000 miles on the lease in 3 years, I'm already at 40,000 miles and I still have like 15 months to go on it.

Either way, I already modified the hell out of it, plans for more modifications, so I'm gonna buy it out at the end of the lease.
Click to expand...

The thing that success about that, is you're gonna end up paying about 1.5x minimum of the cars original value when you factor in depreciation.

Leasing for the vast majority of people is a surprisingly terrible decision. They push it so hard because all most people see the low payment and flock there in droves.

That being said... pics of the VW? :p
 
phathead said:
When you rent you throw money away monthly. The housing market is great to get into right now, you could get a very nice house with a very responsible price with a low interest rate. The savings alone on that could net you several tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
Click to expand...
I always feel compelled to disagree with this when I see someone say this. Renting is NOT throwing money away. When you own, you pay property taxes, PMI (if you don't put down 20%) and homeowner's insurance - all things that aren't any sort of investment. Even with the rates being as low as they are, check out a rent vs buy calculator, it takes a long damn time before you come out ahead with buying unless you live in an area with really high rent. I just checked with my house's purchase price vs rent in my area and over 30 years, I would save 50K by renting.

Buy because you want to own something, not because it's such a great investment. Like residency, home ownership is shoved down our throats. It's really a sort of forced savings program that you get to live in. If you buy a house for 200K and take the full 30 years to pay it off at 5%, it becomes a 386K house. So your house has to appreciate 193% (minus all the money spent on PMI, homeowner's insurance, repairs, and taxes) in order to make money on it. Assuming taxes are 1% of the value, that's at least 60K (not adjusting for increase in value) and another 25K on insurance over 30 years (again, not adjusting for increasing value). Now you're up to 471K plus whatever PMI costs plus 1 or 2 HVAC systems a few roofs and lots of other repairs.

You can make some money by owning but it won't be a lot when you consider all of the other costs but you have to:
1) live in the house for a long time, in 10 years, you'll have paid down 17K on your principle of 200K but you'll have paid 49K in interest!
1a) pay off your mortgage early
2) buy low
3) sell high

I love my house but I don't think it's the great financial decision people make it out to be. If I were renting instead of having bought and put the cost difference into a mutual fund with a 6% average return, in 30 years I'd have 1 million bucks. Whoa.

tmyk.gif
 
Call me crazy but I don't plan on buying a new vehicle until I can afford it. No loans, no co-signers, nothing like that. I hate making monthly payments on anything so I'm going to wait until I have the full amount in my account and make one payment to the dealership and get the hell out of there with my new vehicle. I still drive the truck that I used in high school and college and I don't plan on giving her up until her expenses get way to much for a truck her age.
 
spacecowgirl said:
I always feel compelled to disagree with this when I see someone say this. Renting is NOT throwing money away. When you own, you pay property taxes, PMI (if you don't put down 20%) and homeowner's insurance - all things that aren't any sort of investment. Even with the rates being as low as they are, check out a rent vs buy calculator, it takes a long damn time before you come out ahead with buying unless you live in an area with really high rent. I just checked with my house's purchase price vs rent in my area and over 30 years, I would save 50K by renting.

Buy because you want to own something, not because it's such a great investment. Like residency, home ownership is shoved down our throats. It's really a sort of forced savings program that you get to live in. If you buy a house for 200K and take the full 30 years to pay it off at 5%, it becomes a 386K house. So your house has to appreciate 193% (minus all the money spent on PMI, homeowner's insurance, repairs, and taxes) in order to make money on it. Assuming taxes are 1% of the value, that's at least 60K (not adjusting for increase in value) and another 25K on insurance over 30 years (again, not adjusting for increasing value). Now you're up to 471K plus whatever PMI costs plus 1 or 2 HVAC systems a few roofs and lots of other repairs.

You can make some money by owning but it won't be a lot when you consider all of the other costs but you have to:
1) live in the house for a long time, in 10 years, you'll have paid down 17K on your principle of 200K but you'll have paid 49K in interest!
1a) pay off your mortgage early
2) buy low
3) sell high

I love my house but I don't think it's the great financial decision people make it out to be. If I were renting instead of having bought and put the cost difference into a mutual fund with a 6% average return, in 30 years I'd have 1 million bucks. Whoa.

tmyk.gif
Click to expand...

Right, but if you're looking at putting $40,000+ into a car while paying rent vs actually purchasing a home and developing equity, the home wins.

My point is that right now is a great time to buy a house. If you look around, you can find some massive deals that you can turn into appreciable profit in a few years time once the market picks up.

Case in point, my buddy bought his house four years ago now at $165k. Prior to the market collapsing, the house was appraised at $300+ (a greatly inflated value of course) and it's located in a prime spot in the city. Last year it was reappraised at a shade over $200k.

He essentially picked up $35k in equity already just because he bought it at a great time. He was smart and bought a house that requires only minor cosmetic work (new carpeting and such) and the only planned on being there for 10 years max.

So if you do it right, you can make a killing. I agree, this is not for everyone but the OP already mentioned wanting to go this route which is why I offered my advice on it.
 
spacecowgirl said:
I always feel compelled to disagree with this when I see someone say this. Renting is NOT throwing money away. When you own, you pay property taxes, PMI (if you don't put down 20%) and homeowner's insurance - all things that aren't any sort of investment. Even with the rates being as low as they are, check out a rent vs buy calculator, it takes a long damn time before you come out ahead with buying unless you live in an area with really high rent. I just checked with my house's purchase price vs rent in my area and over 30 years, I would save 50K by renting.

Buy because you want to own something, not because it's such a great investment. Like residency, home ownership is shoved down our throats. It's really a sort of forced savings program that you get to live in. If you buy a house for 200K and take the full 30 years to pay it off at 5%, it becomes a 386K house. So your house has to appreciate 193% (minus all the money spent on PMI, homeowner's insurance, repairs, and taxes) in order to make money on it. Assuming taxes are 1% of the value, that's at least 60K (not adjusting for increase in value) and another 25K on insurance over 30 years (again, not adjusting for increasing value). Now you're up to 471K plus whatever PMI costs plus 1 or 2 HVAC systems a few roofs and lots of other repairs.

You can make some money by owning but it won't be a lot when you consider all of the other costs but you have to:
1) live in the house for a long time, in 10 years, you'll have paid down 17K on your principle of 200K but you'll have paid 49K in interest!
1a) pay off your mortgage early
2) buy low
3) sell high

I love my house but I don't think it's the great financial decision people make it out to be. If I were renting instead of having bought and put the cost difference into a mutual fund with a 6% average return, in 30 years I'd have 1 million bucks. Whoa.

tmyk.gif
Click to expand...

couldn't have said it better myself....now buying rental properties is a different story...

ideally, walk to work or public transit...ef the car, but if you must, wait til the 2012 jeep grand cherokee comes out and pick up a used 2011...its made with primarily mercedes parts plus arguably one of the most off-road capable/luxury vehicles on the market
 
Last edited:
A few things:

A) I'm 24 years old... The last thing I want to drive around is a Lincoln Town Car, a Mercury Sable (I think they're made by Mercury), or a Taurus

B) I get 0% APR through the supplier discount (CVS uses general motors for their company cars)

C) The wedding is paid for already

D) My fiance (25yo) will make good money too, and our gross income will be ~160K annually, and thats after me putting 10% into a company-matched 401K (been contributing since May)

E) We can rent a 2-3BR/2BA home in our hometown (where I signed with and where we both want to move back to) for dirt cheap: < $1000 including water and power.

Add those up and factor in we've been living like college students (aka cheap) for many years and plan on continuing (minus the car) to do so to save for a downpayment. What's wrong with a little splurge? ;)
 
phathead said:
The thing that success about that, is you're gonna end up paying about 1.5x minimum of the cars original value when you factor in depreciation.

Leasing for the vast majority of people is a surprisingly terrible decision. They push it so hard because all most people see the low payment and flock there in droves.

That being said... pics of the VW? :p
Click to expand...

The total out of pocket expense when we signed was $1500, and the monthly payment is $320. The paper in the car states that the buy out is gonna be around $13K, MSRP was $26K.

Asides from that, I've put in about $2500 into the car for sports modifications.

-APR Cold Air Intake
-APR Downpipe
-APR Stage 2+ ECU Flash (Yes, it includes remapping the turbo. This wasn't a cheap "chip".)
-H&R Coilovers
-Summer Tyres (Dunlop Z1s) and Winter Tyres (Dunlop 3dwintersports)

cc4.jpg


cc1.jpg


cc2.jpg


cc3.jpg
 
uncfarmasea said:
A few things:

A) I'm 24 years old... The last thing I want to drive around is a Lincoln Town Car, a Mercury Sable (I think they're made by Mercury), or a Taurus
Click to expand...

I'm 27...and I still think that the Town Car is ****ing awesome. A true pimp car. If you were to choose what car a random pimp were to drive...Lincoln Town Car has to be high on that list. It just has to be.

...and the new Taurus is glorious.
ford-taurus-sho-2010.jpg
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I'm 27...and I still think that the Town Car is ****ing awesome. A true pimp car. If you were to choose what car a random pimp were to drive...Lincoln Town Car has to be high on that list. It just has to be.


Maybe in West Virginia. Then again, a lot of things are different there... :laugh:
Click to expand...
 
uncfarmasea said:
WVUPharm2007 said:
I'm 27...and I still think that the Town Car is ****ing awesome. A true pimp car. If you were to choose what car a random pimp were to drive...Lincoln Town Car has to be high on that list. It just has to be.


Maybe in West Virginia. Then again, a lot of things are different there... :laugh:
Click to expand...

Coming from a dude in North Carolina?

Please. Spare me.

I think I've decided on a Lincoln MKZ for myself. If I can find one for a decent price. About $12k for an '07 or so...nice little car. I don't buy foreign cars though, so my options are different. Mostly because I'm not an ******* that wants the country to fail. **** Germany, Japan, Korea, and wherever the hell else you commie pinkos buy your cars from.
Click to expand...
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
uncfarmasea said:
Coming from a dude in North Carolina?

Please. Spare me.

I think I've decided on a Lincoln MKZ for myself. If I can find one for a decent price. About $12k for an '07 or so...nice little car. I don't buy foreign cars though, so my options are different. Mostly because I'm not an ******* that wants the country to fail. **** Germany, Japan, Korea, and wherever the hell else you commie pinkos buy your cars from.
Click to expand...

Aren't Lincolns made in Mexico?
Click to expand...
 
Looks like everyone else has some really great points, listen to what mikey, navy dds, and spacecowgirl said, their advice will save you serious cash over the years, also don't forget that you insurance and property tax will be hundreds to thousands cheaper per year as well with used cars. From a guy who's flipped 30+ cars over the past 7-8 years my personal pick for you would be a Lexus GS or LS 2001 or newer, particularly a GS300, just check the reviews on msn, yahoo, Edmonds, etc. Nothing matches the reliability, sportiness, build quality, and fuel efficiency of this car; what could give you 400k miles of use on a USED car, 25-30 mpg, luxury, admiration from others, and the legendary 2jz-ge inline 6 engine, all for around 10-15 grand or so. I personally own 8 cars as of right now and the ones I count on for daily drivers are Lexus products.

J
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
chubsley2000 said:
The one I looked at the other day was made in Wixom, Michigan.

I try to buy Union-made American cars, to be specific. Canadian is also acceptable being that we are pretty much the same country, anyway. It should be on this list. I don't know if the MKZ is built in the US...it might not be. I thought it was. If not...well, guess I won't get it.
Click to expand...

It's interesting how two products with the same name can be made in completely different countries...well at least as a pharmacist, most or all of the drugs you dispense will be 100% made in America
Click to expand...
 
chubsley2000 said:
WVUPharm2007 said:
It's interesting how two products with the same name can be made in completely different countries...well at least as a pharmacist, most or all of the drugs you dispense will be 100% made in America
Click to expand...

Not really. Most of the raw materials are from China and India. Hell, a lot of packaged generics are made overseas, too. Like Dr. Reddy's. Brands like Takeda Pharmaceuticals, too.

Not much I can do about that.

It's not a patriotic or xenophobic thing...its a self-preservation thing. If everyone in this damned country only bought American made cars from American owned companies, our economy would be soooooo much stronger.
Click to expand...
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
chubsley2000 said:
Not really. Most of the raw materials are from China and India. Hell, a lot of packaged generics are made overseas, too. Like Dr. Reddy's. Brands like Takeda Pharmaceuticals, too.

Not much I can do about that.

It's not a patriotic or xenophobic thing...its a self-preservation thing. If everyone in this damned country only bought American made cars from American owned companies, our economy would be soooooo much stronger.
Click to expand...

Oh wow, didn't know that. Now I'm looking around my room wondering what was probably made in America and what wasn't. Even the music I'm listening to was probably recorded using German software
Click to expand...
 
When the auto companies were going under a few years ago, some friends of mine tried to point out that the American people had voted for this by not buying American cars.

How do you think the quality of a Ford compares to the quality of a Honda, Mikey?

I personally liked my Saturn since just about anything that went wrong with it, I could fix myself, and it almost never cost more than $50. Of course, those days are dying anyway. You need a permission to even access the computer on a smart car. :rolleyes:
 
pharm B said:
When the auto companies were going under a few years ago, some friends of mine tried to point out that the American people had voted for this by not buying American cars.

How do you think the quality of a Ford compares to the quality of a Honda, Mikey?

I personally liked my Saturn since just about anything that went wrong with it, I could fix myself, and it almost never cost more than $50. Of course, those days are dying anyway. You need a permission to even access the computer on a smart car. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

7.3l Ford Diesel, now that is quality. That baby will be running long after a handful of Prius vehicles have been scrapped and their batteries resting in a toxic waste dump.
 
pharm B said:
How do you think the quality of a Ford compares to the quality of a Honda, Mikey?
Click to expand...

According to the most recent industry studies, if not similar, better. The most dependable car in the country last year was the Fusion Hybrid. It looks nice, too.

Ford has always made a dependable car. The only Ford I've ever had die on me was a Taurus with over 170k miles on it...and it was due to an oil pump failure. I've owned one GM in my life. And we know how that went. To hell with Chevy.

So all that taken together...buying Ford and Ford only is a no brainer.
 
forget all the cars you guys mentioned....i'm in the market for a car upgrade....trying to decide between a used 750li, a8, or s550...the three flagships of large luxury sedans....looking to spend somewhere between 30-40k...any opinions???
 
CuriousPharmD said:
forget all the cars you guys mentioned....i'm in the market for a car upgrade....trying to decide between a used 750li, a8, or s550...the three flagships of large luxury sedans....looking to spend somewhere between 30-40k...any opinions???
Click to expand...


If someone gave me that much cash and made me buy a car with it...

I'd get this.

Of course, I have taste. I wouldn't be caught dead driving any of the above cars.

A 2010 Taurus SHO is twice the car any of those are...about the same price...
 
spacecowgirl said:
I always feel compelled to disagree with this when I see someone say this. Renting is NOT throwing money away. When you own, you pay property taxes, PMI (if you don't put down 20%) and homeowner's insurance - all things that aren't any sort of investment. Even with the rates being as low as they are, check out a rent vs buy calculator, it takes a long damn time before you come out ahead with buying unless you live in an area with really high rent. I just checked with my house's purchase price vs rent in my area and over 30 years, I would save 50K by renting.

Buy because you want to own something, not because it's such a great investment. Like residency, home ownership is shoved down our throats. It's really a sort of forced savings program that you get to live in. If you buy a house for 200K and take the full 30 years to pay it off at 5%, it becomes a 386K house. So your house has to appreciate 193% (minus all the money spent on PMI, homeowner's insurance, repairs, and taxes) in order to make money on it. Assuming taxes are 1% of the value, that's at least 60K (not adjusting for increase in value) and another 25K on insurance over 30 years (again, not adjusting for increasing value). Now you're up to 471K plus whatever PMI costs plus 1 or 2 HVAC systems a few roofs and lots of other repairs.

You can make some money by owning but it won't be a lot when you consider all of the other costs but you have to:
1) live in the house for a long time, in 10 years, you'll have paid down 17K on your principle of 200K but you'll have paid 49K in interest!
1a) pay off your mortgage early
2) buy low
3) sell high

I love my house but I don't think it's the great financial decision people make it out to be. If I were renting instead of having bought and put the cost difference into a mutual fund with a 6% average return, in 30 years I'd have 1 million bucks. Whoa.

tmyk.gif
Click to expand...

I agree with all of this, but I have been renting for a looong time and it's starting to get depressing. It's not like we're going to be able to buy a house anytime soon anyway (not graduating just yet, then hoping for 1-2 years residency, then job??). I always thought it was important to buy a house at a young age so you could get it paid off before you retire and then have that monthly bill eliminated. Guess I'm going to try to buy by 40 and then pay it off in 25 years. Hopefully I can work until I'm 65 lol.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
chubsley2000 said:
The one I looked at the other day was made in Wixom, Michigan.

I try to buy Union-made American cars, to be specific. Canadian is also acceptable being that we are pretty much the same country, anyway. It should be on this list. I don't know if the MKZ is built in the US...it might not be. I thought it was. If not...well, guess I won't get it.
Click to expand...

What year was the car? I live two miles from this plant and it was closed 3 years ago. :(

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wixom_Assembly_Plant
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

BidingMyTime
"America's Frontline Doctors" (anti-vaxxers) want to sue pharmacists
Replies
6
Views
1K
RxPreceptor
RxPreceptor
Old Timer
Help Wanted Pharmacy Student
Replies
3
Views
664
mentos
mentos
VA77
PrePharmers - You want to win $200?
Replies
1
Views
942
Gombrich12
G
P
What do you want future MDs to know?
Replies
22
Views
2K
297point1
297point1
J
New Zealand pharmacist wanting to work in USA
Replies
8
Views
2K
nickw2401
N
Top