-
Is anyone a car guy?
Just curious.
And if so, anyone indulge in their interest beyond the standard physician type vehicles ( mid range bmw/audi/mb etc) ?
Curious because I notice many of our attendings keep it pretty simple ( hondas, subarus, maybe a lexus, etc ) when it comes to cars. As a car fanatic I am just curious to see if anyone out in practice has taken it up a notch?
And yes I know, cars are a terrible investment, etc etc..I’m still likely going to spend a bit more than I should on one..Delayed gratification and all that. -
122 Replies
-
A friend of mine had a cool old barn for working on cars. I tore down and rebuilt an Olds 350 rocket there and wanted to find a 4-4-2 to drop it in. Ended up just selling the motor because his fam sold the land the barn was on and it was torn down for anew home. I enjoy being able to wrench on a car. I usually save a lot of money by replacing my own brakes.
I’m kind of interested in a motor-cycle.-
I have both. The jap econobox as daily driver and a fun car for the weekends. I wish I had barn, all I have is a separate single car garage/shop where I do the work.
A friend of mine tracks cars and I am tempted to build myself a Miata for track use. Like I need another time waster…-
I know someone that threw a 5.0 Ford into a Miata. Apparently there’s a sub-culture of V8 Miatas. Even the “jap econobox” are getting pretty beefy. I think the 2018 Camry is supposed to be getting the bump to 300HP in V6 form.
-
Quote from DICOM_Dan
I know someone that threw a 5.0 Ford into a Miata. Apparently there’s a sub-culture of V8 Miatas. Even the “jap econobox” are getting pretty beefy. I think the 2018 Camry is supposed to be getting the bump to 300HP in V6 form.
Transplanting s LS1 is the other popular mod. You drop out of eligibility for the cup if you do that.
My econobox already can break traction in second gear 😉
-
I’m definitely familiar with the v8 miata subculture…I had a nissan 240 with a sr22 back in the day..
Any euro car guys? I took some time off and worked for a few years before medicine and had a 911 S for a while, which I miss dearly. I’ve got my eye on the GT 3 ( used obviously ) for when i’m done.
My old man recently got a 911 turbo S and it’s absolutely fantastic.-
I’ve become interested in the 24 hours of Lemons. Its a tongue in cheek racing series for cars with a value of $500 or less.
Otherwise, I do love cars but I just can’t bring myself to spent too much on them. I do dream of building a kit car some day though. -
Quote from rads312
Any euro car guys? I took some time off and worked for a few years before medicine and had a 911 S for a while, which I miss dearly. I’ve got my eye on the GT 3 ( used obviously ) for when i’m done.
My old man recently got a 911 turbo S and it’s absolutely fantastic.
I have a 964 S2 Targa. It was the vehicle that made me realize how many shallow women are out there.-
Never understood the Porsche lineup. It’s kind of like the Jeep Wrangler of sports cars. Is it a 1985, 1995, or 2005? They all kind of look the same. In the sports car realm for the $ seems like a corvette is the best option. If I recall my car and driver articles a z06 is sub 3 seconds to 60 mph and 130 mph quarter mile. That will run with many exotics.
-
The 911 is one of the best built sports cars of all time. Minimal changes from year to year because the company has mostly stayed true to the cars roots as a rear engine 6 cylinder sports car.
Corvettes are fantastic track and daily driving cars, just never been my cup of tea. You know what’s as fast as a corvette in a straight line? A tesla sedan.
-
Fw,
Super classy choice. One of my favorites alongside the 993 turbo.
-
Quote from rads312
The 911 is one of the best built sports cars of all time. Minimal changes from year to year because the company has mostly stayed true to the cars roots as a rear engine 6 cylinder sports car.
Corvettes are fantastic track and daily driving cars, just never been my cup of tea. You know what’s as fast as a corvette in a straight line? A tesla sedan.
True but Tesla sedans will hang around/beat most anything in a straight line for about a quarter mile. I’ve read about many Porsche problems in Jalopnik. One of the more recent ones I recall was they had to replace 800 motors in GT3s and had to pay owners for the shop time.
-
-
Quote from DICOM_Dan
Never understood the Porsche lineup. It’s kind of like the Jeep Wrangler of sports cars. Is it a 1985, 1995, or 2005?
Well thank god !
From 1971 to 1997 the underlying technology was pretty much the same. A VW beetle on steroids (mine actually uses VW beetle door knobs). Since then they have kept the shape the same but underneath they converge more and more with todays audi/VW offerings.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Guy I used to work with had a car dealer license and every month he’d pull into the doc parking lot with a different supercar with dealer plates on it. The red F430 really turned a lot of heads.
Another rad nearby has a collection that, while not causing Jay Leno to lose any sleep, is still pretty impressive. About 15-20 cars in two outbuildings on his property–I cannot imagine what his insurance must run. My fave of his is a Porsche 550 (aka James Dean deathmobile).
A couple of years ago I got the convertible bug and ended up with a Boxster GTS and had some mods done (headers w/o 2nd cat, ECU retune). Haven’t dyno’ed it but estimating about 350hp (stock is 315). Even as stock, it had zip and the mid-engine layout makes me feel like a much better driver than I am. Test drove some 911s, Miata, and M-B SLK. 911 is a fantastic platform, but way, WAY more than I needed and as a convertible, I liked the look of the Boxster more. The Miata was fun; the Boxster is “funner.” SLK was a longshot for me as my prior experience with MB wasn’t good.
Back in the day I knew a guy who was really into Jags and when I asked him about reliability and cost of ownership he laughed and said that if those are your criteria for a car, you’re shopping in the wrong store. LOL
-
Wow, didn’t know that there were docs out there with that kind of depth..that being said, It’s probably priority based. Personally i’d like to have a nice ‘weekend’ car and an ‘okay’ commuter car. While the extra money that we may (currently) make as attendings make for a great car collection, i’d rather over invest in retirement, real estate, etc…
Fy, Not sure that GT3 thing is true? 911’s are historically incredibly reliable – they aren’t audis or range rovers. The downside is that the upkeep is expensive..thousands for brakes and tires, hundreds for oil changes.
my dad always told me ‘if you can afford two, you can afford one” – always stuck in my head.
-
Here’s the article I was thinking of. I kind of recall some Ferrari’s catching fire too, the glue would light around the wheel wells when the brakes or exhaust got to hot.
[link=http://jalopnik.com/why-porsche-911-gt3-owners-are-still-super-pissed-off-1567011597]http://jalopnik.com/why-p…-pissed-off-1567011597[/link]
“So a few [link=http://jalopnik.com/porsche-will-replace-the-engines-in-every-single-911-gt-1545737774]Porsche 911 GT3[/link] models caught fire. Porsche agreed to replace nearly 800 engines at no cost to the owners to fix the problem. End of story, right? Not quite, as it turns out GT3 owners are still pissed off because they say Porsche isn’t treating everyone the same.”
Agree on the expensive, I couldn’t afford an oil change. When I was at Penn State I washed cars for a Dr to make a little extra cash. Ferrari dealer was trailering his car to Pittsburgh for routing maintenance, and trailering it back.-
Yeah, I remember when I read the redline on a GT3 was 9200 rpm that I would want to be around when the stress caused the engine to disintegrate. LOL
The car dealer rad I know got into it b/c his dad or FIL is a car dealer. He basically gets a cool car to drive for a few weeks, then flips them. Last I remember, the car he actually owned was an Acura MDX or similar.
The collector rad lives out in the country in a very modest house (land is cheap around where I am) and if you drove by, you’d have no idea he’s got 7 figures in autos in the ‘barns.’ He’s semi-retired, same wife, same house for 30+ years–it’s doable if you can avoid divorce court.
-
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
The car dealer rad I know got into it b/c his dad or FIL is a car dealer. He basically gets a cool car to drive for a few weeks, then flips them. Last I remember, the car he actually owned was an Acura MDX or similar.
The car dealer license makes a lot of sense if you like to change cars very often:
– you dont pay sales-tax on your ‘inventory’
– you have moveable license plates and are able to buy ‘fleet insurance’ rather than individual policies.
– if you make a couple of bucks of our ‘business’ in two out of 5 years, you can write off losses against ordinary income in the other three years.
-
-
-
Quote from rads312
Wow, didn’t know that there were docs out there with that kind of depth..that being said, It’s probably priority based. Personally i’d like to have a nice ‘weekend’ car and an ‘okay’ commuter car. While the extra money that we may (currently) make as attendings make for a great car collection, i’d rather over invest in retirement, real estate, etc…
My total holding cost for my six cars is probably less than what friends pay for their SUV + european sedan leases. Our three daily drives have about 600k miles on the meter, are written off and carry liability only insurance. The only new vehicles in my household are a tractor and a truck to tow it around. As I dont put many miles on the nicer cars, they dont wear out and cost me little maintenance. The daily-drivers just get fuel, oil and brakepads.
-
-
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
A couple of years ago I got the convertible bug and ended up with a Boxster GTS and had some mods done (headers w/o 2nd cat, ECU retune). Haven’t dyno’ed it but estimating about 350hp (stock is 315). Even as stock, it had zip and the mid-engine layout makes me feel like a much better driver than I am.
Test drove a Cayman S in 2005 and have been wanting to buy one ever since. Wife vetoed it and insisted on getting a 911 variant instead. I resisted for about 3 seconds and did what I was told to do 😉-
I have partners with a new Ferrari and another with an R8.
If I sold my car, it wouldn’t be enough to buy a nice road bicycle.
-
Quote from Flounce
I have partners with a new Ferrari and another with an R8.
If I sold my car, it wouldn’t be enough to buy a nice road bicycle.
I don’t think ownership of a new Ferrari or R8 makes someone a ‘car guy’. It shows that you have no problems parting with your money.
-
Quote from fw
Quote from Flounce
I have partners with a new Ferrari and another with an R8.
If I sold my car, it wouldn’t be enough to buy a nice road bicycle.
I don’t think ownership of a new Ferrari or R8 makes someone a ‘car guy’. It shows that you have no problems parting with your money.
I know there are exceptions to what partners in the upper echelon of radiology earnings make, but I never thought it would be enough to buy a ‘new ferrari’ – you’re looking at a minimum of 250k on a car. I’d imagine a minimum of 5 times that as yearly income for that to remotely be a realistic purchase.
-
Quote from rads312
I know there are exceptions to what partners in the upper echelon of radiology earnings make, but I never thought it would be enough to buy a ‘new ferrari’ – you’re looking at a minimum of 250k on a car. I’d imagine a minimum of 5 times that as yearly income for that to remotely be a realistic purchase.
Driving a 250k car doesn’t mean you put that money on the table. It just means that you have decent credit and that you can pay whatever note this requires.
The RT who restores a 70s Corvette in his garage is more of a ‘car guy’ than the partner who just orders a Porsche whenever a new version comes out.
-
Quote from fw
Quote from rads312
I know there are exceptions to what partners in the upper echelon of radiology earnings make, but I never thought it would be enough to buy a ‘new ferrari’ – you’re looking at a minimum of 250k on a car. I’d imagine a minimum of 5 times that as yearly income for that to remotely be a realistic purchase.
[b]Driving a 250k car doesn’t mean you put that money on the table. It just means that you have decent credit and that you can pay whatever note this requires.[/b]
The RT who restores a 70s Corvette in his garage is more of a ‘car guy’ than the partner who just orders a Porsche whenever a new version comes out.
Gotcha. Always thought people that bought cars in that price range were not dealing with loans / leases, but buying outright.-
Quote from rads312
Gotcha. Always thought people that bought cars in that price range were not dealing with loans / leases, but buying outright.
90% financed.
One of my first steady jobs in life was a clerical job for GMAC (microfilming and filing loan packages after they were paid in full). When I saw the loan applications from all of our local big shots I realized how little the car you drive indicates how much money you have.
-
Fascinating data coming out showing how auto loans are getting longer and longer term, now out to 7 or 8 years. This is allowing people to purchase more expensive vehicles than they can afford by keeping payments low. People driving cars with sticker prices around what they earn in a year, and will be paying a long note on a car depreciating like a rock. What a country.
-
Quote from General_Rad2016
Fascinating data coming out showing how auto loans are getting longer and longer term, now out to 7 or 8 years. This is allowing people to purchase more expensive vehicles than they can afford by keeping payments low. People driving cars with sticker prices around what they earn in a year, and will be paying a long note on a car depreciating like a rock. What a country.
Yup, the car loan bubble. With longer and longer terms the number of people upside down in their loans increases. So they build negative equity every time they trade cars. This will all come crushing down within the next 5 years.
-
Cars are costing more too. Look at pickup trucks, SUVs. You’d have no problem spending $60k-$80k on a 3/4 Ton Truck, Suburban, or Yukon. I see tons of Denali Yukons on the roads, and I can’t help but think ‘are there really that many people that can spend $80k on a SUV?’
Right now the used market is really good for anyone looking for a car. i figure so many people have bought new cars and are still buying that there are lots of good used cars. -
Quote from DICOM_Dan
Cars are costing more too. Look at pickup trucks, SUVs. You’d have no problem spending $60k-$80k on a 3/4 Ton Truck, Suburban, or Yukon. I see tons of Denali Yukons on the roads, and I can’t help but think ‘are there really that many people that can spend $80k on a SUV?’
Much of that is the desire for more and more creature comforts. Even the basic trim levels in todays pickups are equipped to a level that used to be part of high end SUVs. Nobody except for the federal government buys the ‘tradesman’ trim for their Ram pickup.
And no, there are not that many people who can spend 80k on a pickup. There are however enough people who can ‘afford’ a $1000/month car payment for the privilege of having a snazzy 3/4 ton pickup (they’ll never retire, but they have a nice pickup).
-
We loved our Suburban. Just traded it in 18 months ago. Comfortable, nicely equipped, handled nice. It was practically problem free for the eight years we owned it. Even the brakes would last me 40k – 45k on a vehicle that was that heavy. My only issue was that in tight parking lots it was a little trickier to handle.
-
Surprising to see Lexus drop pretty far down on the latest initial quality rankings of new cars – a list they have mostly dominated for decades. Seemingly the top spots have been taken over by the Korean brands. While initial quality does not necessarily equate to long-term reliability, it is a surprising trend. Personally, I still have my 9 yr old Lexus with over 150k miles and it is still a great, comfortable drive and fairly low cost of ownership for a Luxury car.
-
Quote from General_Rad2016
Surprising to see Lexus drop pretty far down on the latest initial quality rankings of new cars – a list they have mostly dominated for decades. Seemingly the top spots have been taken over by the Korean brands. While initial quality does not necessarily equate to long-term reliability, it is a surprising trend. Personally, I still have my 9 yr old Lexus with over 150k miles and it is still a great, comfortable drive and fairly low cost of ownership for a Luxury car.
Friend had a E350 Lexus. Went through 5 windshields (installed by different dealerships) until they got it right. Just too much flex in the superstructure.
-
Are you referring to superstructure as in the body/frame of the car? If so I highly doubt it was flexing too much. We actually got my mom a base Hyundai Accent and I’m surprised at how nice it actually is. Think we got it for like $14k a couple years ago. Comfortable, feels well built, drives nice, little efficient motor totally does the car fine.
Side note my Dad and the Mrs bought a NX200t it’s a pretty solid car as far I’ve seen. They pick it up and service it plus leave a loaner car. It’s a really nice thing when buying a Lexus apparently.
-
Quote from DICOM_Dan
Are you referring to superstructure as in the body/frame of the car? If so I highly doubt it was flexing too much.
Glass is funny. Does very well on tension, not so well on compression and just awful on flex. In the old days, windshields were plopped into the opening using a ‘rubber’ gasket. If the car flexed a bit, the windshield was able to move a bit. Nowadays, most windshields are held in place with ‘glue’ and depending on how the ‘glue’ is formulated, they may or may not have any room to move. In that generation Lexus, the car just flexed too much for the design of the windshield installation and they kept cracking. -
In my opinion, lexuses are great daily driver cars – they are reliable , and comfortable. That being said, For someone that is a passionate car guy, i’ve never ‘dreamed’ of having a lexus. I’ve had a few hand me down lexuses from my parents and they are great cars…but they just don’t inspire me very much.
To the attendings out there – i’m not asking for numbers or anything, but if this is a passion of yours, how realistic is purchasing a 911 , a 911 turbo, an r8, or beyond? -
The LC that I’ve been seeing on TV looks pretty inspiring. They also have/had an IS-F which made some of the best exhaust noises of any car.
[link]http://www.lexus.com/models/LC[/link] -
One Radiologist that I worked with would always have some of the nicest sports cars. Ferrari f-40 was one of his nicest cars.
I also remember that he was a professional hydroplane racer.
-
Quote from irayd8u
I also remember that he was a professional hydroplane racer.
Looks like the F40 was his cheap hobby.
-
My tastes run less exotic. I’ve also been looking for a good deal on a Ford Focus RS. I just wonder how hard it would be to give it a little lift to blast through snow drifts.
-
I am decidedly [i]not[/i] a “car guy”, but I did just get a new car.
After 9 years with my Jeep Wrangler I traded it in for a 2015 Audi Q7.
It was a compromise car between me and mrs_dergon. I wanted something full size for transporting people, gear, dogs to/from Canada and our boat. I wanted 4WD for the Cleveland winters.
She wanted something with a bit of luxury and German made so that we can use her personal German mechanic who’s shop is only a mile down the road. -
Brought home a new daily driver for the missus today. An Accord 2.0T in sport trim with manual transmission. Very sweet ride. I had to trailer it in from 5 states over because all the local dealers wanted MSRP+ for the one they had available. I sent a bid to 12 dealers and two came through with what I consider a normal discount (about 15-18% off MSRP).
-
Quote from fw
Brought home a new daily driver for the missus today. An Accord 2.0T in sport trim with manual transmission. Very sweet ride. I had to trailer it in from 5 states over because all the local dealers wanted MSRP+ for the one they had available. I sent a bid to 12 dealers and two came through with what I consider a normal discount (about 15-18% off MSRP).
I’ve had two accords both were awesome cars, and they kept tremendous resale value. The only problem I had was the 2005 the CD multi-changer went bad. It was out of warranty and they wanted $1000 to ship it back to fix. Not only that it had all the controls for the HVAC. So I would’ve been without AC or heat. I ended up calling Honda about how ridiculous that was. In order to fix a CD player I’d lose all center stack controls. They ended up shipping me a new one and did it for free.
-
Quote from dergon
She wanted something with a bit of luxury and German made so that we can use her personal German mechanic who’s shop is only a mile down the road.
Oh that guy is going to love you. ‘Audi ownership starts at the first check engine light’ 😉 -
Quote from dergon
I am decidedly [i]not[/i] a “car guy”, but I did just get a new car.
After 9 years with my Jeep Wrangler I traded it in for a 2015 Audi Q7.
It was a compromise car between me and mrs_dergon. I wanted something full size for transporting people, gear, dogs to/from Canada and our boat. I wanted 4WD for the Cleveland winters.
She wanted something with a bit of luxury and German made so that we can use her personal German mechanic who’s shop is only a mile down the road.
Is it true the 2nd best day of owning a Wrangler is the day you get rid of it. Is that the newer body style? I happened to sit in one at the auto show like 2-3 years ago and it was like sliding into a glove. I actually think that car might be Slovakian made and not German.
-
Quote from dergon
I am decidedly [i]not[/i] a “car guy”, but I did just get a new car.
After 9 years with my Jeep Wrangler I traded it in for a 2015 Audi Q7.
It was a compromise car between me and mrs_dergon. I wanted something full size for transporting people, gear, dogs to/from Canada and our boat. I wanted 4WD for the Cleveland winters.
She wanted something with a bit of luxury and German made so that we can use her personal German mechanic who’s shop is only a mile down the road.
Congrats, that’s a nice ride…You guys may be better off with that independent mechanic. While Audi care has been good, I just got gouged for my front brakes ($1200) at the dealership for a 2014 S5 -
Did it have special brakes? Like carbon/ceramic. $1200 is a lot for just fronts and they probably didn’t even grease the glide pins and boots.
-
Quote from DICOM_Dan
Did it have special brakes? Like carbon/ceramic. $1200 is a lot for just fronts and they probably didn’t even grease the glide pins and boots.
Not quite sure (I know, I should be). If I recall, labor costs were very high. Needless to say I am now searching for an independent mechanic. Only benefit of the dealership is the loaner car. -
Quote from jd4540
Quote from dergon
I am decidedly [i]not[/i] a “car guy”, but I did just get a new car.
After 9 years with my Jeep Wrangler I traded it in for a 2015 Audi Q7.
It was a compromise car between me and mrs_dergon. I wanted something full size for transporting people, gear, dogs to/from Canada and our boat. I wanted 4WD for the Cleveland winters.
She wanted something with a bit of luxury and German made so that we can use her personal German mechanic who’s shop is only a mile down the road.
Congrats, that’s a nice ride…You guys may be better off with that independent mechanic. While Audi care has been good, I just got gouged for my front brakes ($1200) at the dealership for a 2014 S5
Day-YUM!!! Did a cursory search for pads and rotors for S5 and, well…… $1200 seems steep! However, having been infected with the German car virus, I can vouch that M-B and Porsche dealers gouge just as much. M-B seems to design their buggies intentionally to make it almost impossible for a shade tree mechanic to work on them, e.g. a special tool is needed to replace a headlight bulb. At least on my Cayenne I could replace the engine/cabin air filters, spark plugs and change the transfer case fluid myself. Dreading brake job though. Has 390mm front rotors that are $250-300 each.
Does the Q7 have 21″ wheels? If so, get ready for new tires every 15-20K miles. I ended up going with 21″ summer tires and getting 19″ winter wheels/tires (Blizzak). Hadn’t had studless winter tires before; a lot nicer than studded! -
Studded tires are garbage unless your constantly driving on ice/snow like a winter rally driver.
Kind of a fun story. People in Oregon can now pump their own gas and boy do they suck at it.
[link=https://jalopnik.com/join-america-in-laughing-at-oregonians-freaking-out-abo-1821708958]https://jalopnik.com/join…ing-out-abo-1821708958[/link]
There’s fantastic photos floating around the net too.
-
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
Does the Q7 have 21″ wheels? If so, get ready for new tires every 15-20K miles. I ended up going with 21″ summer tires and getting 19″ winter wheels/tires (Blizzak). Hadn’t had studless winter tires before; a lot nicer than studded!
I’ve got all-season 19″ right now.
Once I need to do the first change I plan to switch to “summer tire” “winter tires” going forward.
Wife has a set of Blizzak’s on her SLK350 … it’s a little roadster and those tires make a huge difference in the snow. -
Detroit autoshow happening. New Ford Ranger, Bullit Mustang, Silverado, Ram.
Small diesels in light duty trucks started with the RAM. Looks like Ford and Chevy will do the same.
-
I thought at first this post was about fixing cars. You know, some people compare doctors to car mechanics because we both fix things, but I guess this analogy is ore applicable to surgeons than radiologists, unless you are in IR. Who here likes to fix their cars as a hobby?
-
Quote from denizen
Who here likes to fix their cars as a hobby?
I do. Haven’t done much of it lately, but I used to fix whatever needed fixing.
-
Quote from denizen
I thought at first this post was about fixing cars. You know, some people compare doctors to car mechanics because we both fix things, but I guess this analogy is ore applicable to surgeons than radiologists, unless you are in IR. Who here likes to fix their cars as a hobby?
I’ve always tried to work on my car as much as possible. Like my Jeep I did all the brakes, a lot of the oil changes, and other regular maintenance also. I enjoy taking stuff apart and putting back together. Plus I know I’ve done the work correctly. I feel like I go to the dealer and they can’t even inflate the tires to the right pressure when you ask them to.
The new ‘yota comes with like 2 years of maintenance so no worries on that for a little while but I still have the Hyundai I got my mom to work on. That one is easy though. Doesn’t get driven much so it’s mostly oil and grease. -
The ‘Felicity Ace’, a RoRo car carrier loaded with 1100 Porsches and Lamborghinis burned out and just sank off the Azores.
100eds of radiologists and neurosurgeons are inconsolable….
-
Quote from fw
The ‘Felicity Ace’, a RoRo car carrier loaded with 1100 Porsches and Lamborghinis burned out and just sank off the Azores.
100eds of radiologists and neurosurgeons are inconsolable….
Honestly. Even if you could buy one would you pay the large markup on something like a Porsche right now? I just have a hard time looking at cars and it’s like oh you want $X over MSRP. My brain is just like keep that BS.
Eventually I think the car market bombs. People were already getting underwater on car values and into non standard loans. The current markets are only going to make it worse. -
Quote from rads312
To the attendings out there – i’m not asking for numbers or anything, but if this is a passion of yours, how realistic is purchasing a 911 , a 911 turbo, an r8, or beyond?
Its just a question what else you want to give up for it.
– wife
– 1 child
– rent rather than own a house
– retire 5 years later.
There is no doubt that you could pay the rate and insurance on any of those cars, you are just going to trade something for it whether you know it or not. -
Quote from fw
Quote from rads312
To the attendings out there – i’m not asking for numbers or anything, but if this is a passion of yours, how realistic is purchasing a 911 , a 911 turbo, an r8, or beyond?
Its just a question what else you want to give up for it.
– wife
– 1 child
– rent rather than own a house
– retire 5 years later.There is no doubt that you could pay the rate and insurance on any of those cars, you are just going to trade something for it whether you know it or not.
Ack, I’m hoping having a 100k car ( a used GT3 is perfect for me thanks ) wouldn’t delay retirement for 5 years. I’d be willing to retire maybe a year later, but 5 seems like a lot!
All things in consideration , right? The only other problem is my watch obsession. -
Quote from rads312
Ack, I’m hoping having a 100k car ( a used GT3 is perfect for me thanks ) wouldn’t delay retirement for 5 years. I’d be willing to retire maybe a year later, but 5 seems like a lot!
I thought we are talking new supercar kind of money (250-500k). The 100k car won’t depreciate to 0, it’ll probably drop some more but eventually at least the P-cars tend to go back up (except for 4-cylinders, they just go down 😉 ). Still, lets say you blow 50k on depreciation until you get it out of your system, a couple of k on insurance every year and only one or two $5000 repairs. Put that money in a compound interest calculator and see where it would get you if you didn’t spend it. You’ll probably decide that it is worth it to you, but without doubt whatever you burn on a fun car today won’t be available when you decide to retire.
-
While I have personally never crossed into the 6-digits for a car, I have spent in the ~70k range, which I consider a pretty expensive ride, but clearly I could comfortably go into 6-digits if I so desired. If I did, however, I am not sure I would drive it to the community hospital I work at anyways – some docs take personal offense to extravagant displays of wealth I have learned. Radiology is a service business, and it is better for people to like you and send you more business. In a community hospital setting it is much smarter to lay low in terms of flash.
-
Quote from General_Rad2016
While I have personally never crossed into the 6-digits for a car, I have spent in the ~70k range, which I consider a pretty expensive ride, but clearly I could comfortably go into 6-digits if I so desired. If I did, however, I am not sure I would drive it to the community hospital I work at anyways – some docs take personal offense to extravagant displays of wealth I have learned. Radiology is a service business, and it is better for people to like you and send you more business. In a community hospital setting it is much smarter to lay low in terms of flash.
Ran into the ‘new’ spine surgeon from the hospital across town the other day. He was driving his new fire engine red GT3. Half life for neurosurgeons in that hospital is 2 years, I wonder what he’ll do with the car once they push him out later this year…. -
I’ll say it 100 times…Neurosurgeons deserve every penny they make. You couldn’t pay me enough money to do that job.
-
Quote from rads312
I’ll say it 100 times…Neurosurgeons deserve every penny they make. You couldn’t pay me enough money to do that job.
Dunno. Cut open, scratch out disk, insert cage, insert screws and rods, button up,. Repeat a couple of times each OR day. If too time consuming, send it to the university hospital. If your surgery didn’t work, send back to the pain clinic. Like any job, eventually it becomes routine, NS spine isn’t any more challenging than ENT or colorectal. -
Quote from fw
Quote from rads312
I’ll say it 100 times…Neurosurgeons deserve every penny they make. You couldn’t pay me enough money to do that job.
Dunno. Cut open, scratch out disk, insert cage, insert screws and rods, button up,. Repeat a couple of times each OR day. If too time consuming, send it to the university hospital. If your surgery didn’t work, send back to the pain clinic. Like any job, eventually it becomes routine, NS spine isn’t any more challenging than ENT or colorectal.
True but dealing with these patients in clinic on multiple occasions hearing the same old complaints must get old -
Quote from jd4540
True but dealing with these patients in clinic on multiple occasions hearing the same old complaints must get old
Thats what you have PAs for. It’s a neurosurgery office, not a pain clinic.
NS can suck as employee of a hospital or multispecialty group where you don’t have control over your practice. As one or two man specialty shop its one of the sweetest gigs in medicine. It’s a long hard slog to get there, but that’s not the patients that is a function of your A-hole colleagues.
-
While it’s nice to think about, I could probably never be talking into spending more than 100k for a car.
250k is just silliness. I love lambo’s and ferraris, etc, just didn’t ever seriously think about buying one.
” If I did, however, I am not sure I would drive it to the community hospital I work at anyways – some docs take personal offense to extravagant displays of wealth I have learned. Radiology is a service business, and it is better for people to like you and send you more business. In a community hospital setting it is much smarter to lay low in terms of flash”
Agreed 100%. My father works at a community hospital in a consult based specialty and said he literally noticed a drop in the number of referrals when he swapped his minivan for a 7 series. After that he kept a beater car to drive to work. He’s always told me it’s strange, but docs don’t like to see other docs getting too flashy. -
Quote from rads312
While it’s nice to think about, I could probably never be talking into spending more than 100k for a car.
Nowadays, a nice German SUV will easily set you back 100K. It doesn’t need a sport car to do that. Happened to me a few years back.
I know this thread is about car and its emotional appeal more than just a transportation mean. Because of that, some people will “get it”, while others don’t. My point is that as one progresses through different stages of professional and personal milestones, that attitude changes. Mine did. As a medical student and trainee, I drove one of the nicer sport car or German car, usually nicer than my attendings. Now that I make much more money, the existence of wife, kids, saving, retirement, investment, extended families, vacations…I have pushed that desire further down the list. I realized that it’s [b]I[/b] that changed the priority, not blaming on other factors. Just the other day, while still admiring the new E63 S, I dropped a similar amount of money on a bond fund while walking to my decade old car.
Sorry for a long tangential brain fart, if you can afford a nice sport car and loves it, go for it and enjoy it. Sooner or later that car lover guy is dead. I know mine is. I killed him. -
Quote from Hubcap
Quote from rads312
While it’s nice to think about, I could probably never be talking into spending more than 100k for a car.
Nowadays, a nice German SUV will easily set you back 100K. It doesn’t need a sport car to do that. Happened to me a few years back.
I know this thread is about car and its emotional appeal more than just a transportation mean. Because of that, some people will “get it”, while others don’t. My point is that as one progresses through different stages of professional and personal milestones, that attitude changes. Mine did. As a medical student and trainee, I drove one of the nicer sport car or German car, usually nicer than my attendings. Now that I make much more money, the existence of wife, kids, saving, retirement, investment, extended families, vacations…I have pushed that desire further down the list. I realized that it’s [b]I[/b] that changed the priority, not blaming on other factors. Just the other day, while still admiring the new E63 S, I dropped a similar amount of money on a bond fund while walking to my decade old car.Sorry for a long tangential brain fart, if you can afford a nice sport car and loves it, go for it and enjoy it. [b]Sooner or later that car lover guy is dead. I know mine is. I killed him. [/b]
I can respect that. priorities change with age…The bond fund will likely serve you better long term..that being said, decade old?! come on man. -
I plan to keep my current ride well past 10 yr if it doesn’t break down, almost at 9 years already with no sign of major trouble yet. After a while a car has little trade-in value and it just makes more sense to keep it and drive it until it costs more to maintain than it is worth.
-
Quote from rads312
Quote from fw
Quote from rads312
To the attendings out there – i’m not asking for numbers or anything, but if this is a passion of yours, how realistic is purchasing a 911 , a 911 turbo, an r8, or beyond?
Its just a question what else you want to give up for it.
– wife
– 1 child
– rent rather than own a house
– retire 5 years later.There is no doubt that you could pay the rate and insurance on any of those cars, you are just going to trade something for it whether you know it or not.
Ack, I’m hoping having a 100k car ( a used GT3 is perfect for me thanks ) wouldn’t delay retirement for 5 years. I’d be willing to retire maybe a year later, but 5 seems like a lot!
All things in consideration , right? The only other problem is my watch obsession.
Feel like you can get a sweet high performance car in the 70/80k like a pre-owned audi rs7, nissan GT-R, or even a Tesla…0-60 in the 3 sec range is fast enough for me -
Quote from rads312
….
To the attendings out there – i’m not asking for numbers or anything, but if this is a passion of yours, how realistic is purchasing a 911 , a 911 turbo, an r8, or beyond?
As I’m sure you’re aware, there’s a large price difference between a base 911 and a Turbo S. And in the “supercar” realm, a Turbo S is sort of considered ‘entry level.’ When you get to things like Ferrari, Lambo, Lotus, R8, etc. the big deal becomes mileage, less so than age. Once these get over 10K miles, the price starts dropping pretty quickly. So you get your dream car and then it sits in your garage b/c you don’t want to put too many miles on it. <sigh> And on all these cars, once they come off warranty, there’s another pretty big price drop (not that hard to figure out why). For these reason, a lightly used version is preferable, IMO.
That being said, if it’s your dream to have car like these, it’s doable. Personally, I’d make a plan to save for one, look for a lightly used model and take your time acquiring it. Alternatively, you’ll find plenty of financing options available, but at a higher cost of course. Remember to budget for routine maintainence ($$) and the unexpected repair ($$$ to $$$$^nth) but, as a doc, you’ll probably have the cash flow to cover it.
A nice ride is fun, but I’d take care of other obligations before pursuing it.
-
I miss my Toyota Tacoma.
-
I’ll add another car guy to the aunt minnie crowd. I probably spend more time on jalopnik than all other websites combined. Back in the day I had a carbureted 307 oldsmobile through med school.
Just had to buy a minivan to fit the latest family addition, but awaiting the day I can pick up a slightly used chevy SS and procharge it.. Just hoping they do not hold value like the G8 GXP. -
I’ve been looking for a 64 Ford Fairlane 289 K code for a while. Also have a real soft spot for BMW 2002tii. Both a blast to drive in diametrically opposed fashions.
-
Quote from uncleduke
I’ve been looking for a 64 Ford Fairlane 289 K code for a while. Also have a real soft spot for BMW 2002tii. Both a blast to drive in diametrically opposed fashions.
Uncle duke you are a man of varied but great taste! Just finishing supercharging the V8 on a stock 2008 mustang GT and last year finished straight 6 rebuild on a 97 boxster for cheap thrills on the track.
Too many kids for expensive cars! -
That a 4.6L?
-
yep 24 valve VCT – done the easy upgrades with cold air etc. Its fun but difficult to get the kids interested – V8s are dinosaurs to the youngsters which is probably a good thing.
-
There’s no replacement for displacement. the 4.6 was kind of a remnant of the truck motor. I drove a newer model with the coyote 5.0. Not sure what year they cut over to the newer motor but it’s a totally different animal. New small displacement turbo motors are looking like the wave of the future.
-
this is kind of cool. Honda is already able to do this with tranducers vibrating the bed of their truck to make it a sound system. Putting these into the interior of a car and vibrating the actual panel windshields etc… takes it to another level.
Speakers Might Be the Next Thing in Your Car to Go the Way of the 8-Track[/h1]
[link=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/business/car-audio-speakers.html]https://www.nytimes.com/2…ar-audio-speakers.html[/link] -
That is cool!
-
Well if this really is the Ford Bronco Id be disappointed considering some of the renders Ive seen people post. Looks like a wannabe Wrangler.
[link=https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a31295168/2021-ford-bronco-full-photo-leaked/]https://www.caranddriver….nco-full-photo-leaked/[/link]
-
Yeah, that kinda looks like s*it..
-
Got a chance to drive a GT3 with manual transmission the other day.
Sublime and exhilirating at the same time. 2nd gear can get to >80mph (9K redline). Goes through turns like it’s on rails. If I were more of a track guy, I’d be in one.
-
I dont get the draw of Porsche. Was curious and I looked this up on the google. A GT3 did the Nurburgring in 7:18 and a New Corvette with the z51 pack did it in 7:28. Thats with professional drivers. Not that I have the money but its hard for me to see the extra $100k for the Porsche.
-
Quote from DICOM_Dan
I dont get the draw of Porsche. Was curious and I looked this up on the google. A GT3 did the Nurburgring in 7:18 and a New Corvette with the z51 pack did it in 7:28. Thats with professional drivers. Not that I have the money but its hard for me to see the extra $100k for the Porsche.
I agree with you….. mostly.
I own a Boxster Spyder, so perhaps somewhat of a strange assertion. However, when I went looking for a “fun” car my only must-have was a convertible and then I decided I’d pick the one that put the biggest smile on my face. Test drove any convertible I could find…. Miata, Audi TT and A5, M-B SL and SLK, 911 Cabrio, even found a guy selling a Honda S-2000 and the Boxster did it for me. One that I haven’t been able to find is an M3 (E93); would love to try one out.
Anyway, the reason I say I agree with you is that I’m not a track guy and something like a GT3 would be wasted with me. My Boxster is for fun evening/weekend drives through the country around where I live and for that, it really is just about perfect. The 911 Cabrio I tried (GTS) was a fantastic car, but bigger and didn’t feel as nimble in the turns as the Boxster and I’ve always preferred the look of the Boxster over the 911 as a convertible. So the Boxster put a bigger smile on my face for about half the price of a 911…..
The GT3 was as much fun as I’ve ever had in a 911 though and, as said in my original post, if I were more of a track guy, I’d be in one.
The new (C8) Corvette is a real game changer. Even if loaded up with as many options as you can think of, it’s still below $100K. Not saying that isn’t serious money but from what I’ve read and seen (videos), it’s supercar performance for way, waaaaayyyyyy less than anything else with numbers like that. And to top it all off, it seems like GM has finally figured out how to put a decent interior in the thing.
-
C8 is cool but even the C7s and some of the older models were hard to beat performance for the $ spent. Id agree on the GM interior. Everything was very much the same and all get like it was from a 2003 impala. Although the new Tahoe/Suburban and GMC twins loom like theyve upped their game.
-
I actually think I might look at buying another car soon. Should be cheap to get financing. I own my Jeep GC. I’d like to keep it for a while and put miles on something else. I’m kind of torn on which way to go. Sportier, or cruiser. I’d like to get some good MPGs.
– Musang ecoboost look nice and affordable
– BMW 3 series look like the depreciation makes it affordable, not sure about the maintenance.
– VW GTI/Golf R
– Civic SI
– kind of like the Audi A5. Not sure about the maintenance cost here either.
– Cadilac XTS or sedan -
I am definitely *not* a car guy. So I can’t give you any guidance.
But if you have the money or want to finance for free, now is a great time.
My trainer just bought his third VW GTI and loves them. -
My thought exactly. I’m comfortable spending X amount of $ per month and the financing is cheap. I think my wallet’s bhole puckered up after reading that email today. I suspect there might be a program for autos coming down the pipe. cash for clunkers II or something.
At least we’re still employed though. -
VW is offering no payments x 6 months and 0% financing, FWIW.
WRX does a nice combo of gas mileage, sporty, and functional for $27k as compared to $40k for the Golf R. The current generation is a lot more grown up with better interior quality than earlier cars. -
Guy with my local car club sold his GT3 because it was too competent on the road. Had to take it to the track to have fun with it.
The new C8 weighs as much as a GTR (about 600 lbs heavier than the above poster’s Boxster). Lightness will always translate into better handling, acceleration, and braking. Horsepower only helps you in one direction and leads to higher cost consumables.
The low revving pushrod Chevy V8 that sounds the same at every RPM just doesn’t do it for me. C8 styling is over the top. And the cost cutting measures can be seen with all the stamped steel in the engine bay for those that don’t get the factory carbon fiber dress up kit. Double wishbone with factory height adjust for corner balancing and a mid engine V8 is interesting though. Initial reviews said it understeered badly on track, see ‘The Smoking Tire’ on youtube. -
the VW financing is a solid deal. If i could drive whatever I wanted I would probably get a Expedition Max from Ford but I couldn’t afford to plunk $60k down on a car and even if I could I would have a hard time wanting to plunk $60k down on a car. So most of those other cars appeal to me. You can get them new or CPO in the $20k-$30k range. The financing is cheap or free. I’m not sure what’s going to be happening here at work with $ since they started making cuts yesterday. So I’ll probably be holding off for a few months and see what happens.
-
ended up trading Jeep for a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. I needed to put a few thousand into the Jeep on new tires and 100K maintenance. So instead I just put it towards the trade. Got a pretty aggressive deal on one of the last 2020s they had on the lot. I’ve doubled my MPGs and my insurance is going to be $150/year. Toyota does first 2 years of maintenance.
-
Quote from fw
Quote from General_Rad2016
Fascinating data coming out showing how auto loans are getting longer and longer term, now out to 7 or 8 years. This is allowing people to purchase more expensive vehicles than they can afford by keeping payments low. People driving cars with sticker prices around what they earn in a year, and will be paying a long note on a car depreciating like a rock. What a country.
Yup, the car loan bubble. With longer and longer terms the number of people upside down in their loans increases. So they build negative equity every time they trade cars. This will all come crushing down within the next 5 years.
One of my favorite “Buffet-isms”: “You never know who’s swimming naked until the tide goes out.”
It was about 2009 that a house in my old neighborhood went into foreclosure. Old neighborhood was 5000+ sf newer homes and foreclosure was an optho and his nurse wife–still hard for me to believe, but there it is. Guess they had a penchant for skinny dipping, LOL. With more people than you think, having a bigger income just means they have a bigger shovel to dig themselves into a hole.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Quote from fw
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
A couple of years ago I got the convertible bug and ended up with a Boxster GTS and had some mods done (headers w/o 2nd cat, ECU retune). Haven’t dyno’ed it but estimating about 350hp (stock is 315). Even as stock, it had zip and the mid-engine layout makes me feel like a much better driver than I am.
Test drove a Cayman S in 2005 and have been wanting to buy one ever since. Wife vetoed it and insisted on getting a 911 variant instead. I resisted for about 3 seconds and did what I was told to do 😉
Was telling my neighbor just last night that one of the things I noticed about buying my convertible now that I’m a single guy was that there was only one negotiation (dealer) I needed to perform instead of two (dealer + spouse)….
There’s a GT4 in the doc lot and I still haven’t figured out who’s it is–guessing nsurg/ortho/cards. Beautiful car and the combo of a 911 engine in a mid engine layout is intriguing. Car mags love it, but given who pays their advertising, they love a lot of cars, LOL.
I thought about a Spyder (basically convertible version of GT4) when I got the convertible bug. GT4 and Spyder are bare bones, would really shine on a track and that’s just not what I wanted to do. Yeah, I know they shave the weight of a Spyder by removing the motor & assembly for the roof, making the roof single ply instead of double with insulation, making a radio and A/C optional(!), having interior door “handles” be nylon straps, etc. and stuff like that is really, *really* cool to a track guy. Me? I just wanted a nice comfy roadster that shines on a twisty country road and makes me feel like a better driver than I am.
-
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
Was telling my neighbor just last night that one of the things I noticed about buying my convertible now that I’m a single guy was that there was only one negotiation (dealer) I needed to perform instead of two (dealer + spouse)….
Oh, that spousal negotiation was a short one:
Me: You know, I would really like a Cayman S.
She: it doesn’t have back seats for the kids, that’s a no-go. I always wanted a 911. Why don’t you buy a 911 instead?
Me: Ok.
She: And it has to be a stick-shift and convertible.The thing is she already had her eyes on a specific car owned by a friend’s dad at the time. When he was ready to sell, the deal was done in a phonecall. He gave me a price and I mailed him a check.
-
Quote from fw
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
Was telling my neighbor just last night that one of the things I noticed about buying my convertible now that I’m a single guy was that there was only one negotiation (dealer) I needed to perform instead of two (dealer + spouse)….
Oh, that spousal negotiation was a short one:
Me: You know, I would really like a Cayman S.
She: it doesn’t have back seats for the kids, that’s a no-go. I always wanted a 911. Why don’t you buy a 911 instead?
Me: Ok.
She: And it has to be a stick-shift and convertible.The thing is she already had her eyes on a specific car owned by a friend’s dad at the time. When he was ready to sell, the deal was done in a phonecall. He gave me a price and I mailed him a check.
For your next anniversary, you should get a vanity plate for your wife:
SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed)
🙂
On second thought, no one should take advice on marital harmony from a divorced guy……
LOL
-
Although not entirely comfortable sharing this I think it’s okay to share it on the anonymity of the internet –
My old man got me a carrera S halfway through med school as a bday gift. It was an absolute blast…Was the best release for me. Whenever i was stressed out I would hit the track or just go for a drive. I sold it when I got married not long ago ( to help pay for ring, wedding cost, etc..)
Now that i’m halfway through residency, i’m really missing it, haha. I’ve honestly been contemplating leasing one and just moonlighting to pay for it. I know I know, dumb idea. Just dreaming.-
As far as neurosurg goes – I don’t know, getting called every night about random head bleeds, spinal cord stuff etc, it’s got to suck. I’m at a level 1 and we have 2 neurosurg guys that are both on call every other week each. Seems pretty rough.
Not even considering the hellhole neurosurg residency is for 7-8 years. goodbye to your 20s and early 30’s.-
Out in the community setting many NS just do spine work only. Some don’t ever see the inside of the hospital ER as they don’t take call, just having courtesy privileges and doing all their spine surgery in ASC they are investors in (think $$$).
While fairly tedious and dull work, I am convinced spine surgery out in a community setting is a very lucrative and good gig, and you can tell people at cocktail parties that you are a brain surgeon.-
Quote from General_Rad2016
Out in the community setting many NS just do spine work only. Some don’t ever see the inside of the hospital ER as they don’t take call, just having courtesy privileges and doing all their spine surgery in ASC they are investors in (think $$$).
While fairly tedious and dull work, I am convinced spine surgery out in a community setting is a very lucrative and good gig, and you can tell people at cocktail parties that you are a brain surgeon.
For NS, you still need a hospital to do many of your surgeries. Some are excluded from ASC coverage and its fairly common that you have to admit. They are not ophtho or derm in that regard. But there are hospitals and there are hospitals. Nobody forces you to take a job at a trauma center. If you are at ‘doctors hospital’ or a smaller community hospital, you are not going to see significant trauma or acute volume. The hospitals love to have a NS who brings cheap and cheerful spine cases because those are the cases where the revenue from the DRG exceeds their cost.
There is a reason NS is competitive.
-
-
Quote from rads312
As far as neurosurg goes – I don’t know, getting called every night about random head bleeds, spinal cord stuff etc, it’s got to suck. I’m at a level 1 and we have 2 neurosurg guys that are both on call every other week each. Seems pretty rough.
They have turned down plenty of other job offers to take this position. They are at a level 1 center because that is where they want to be.
Btw, if you are a 1 or 2 man department, there is no accreditation requirement for the hospital to provide call coverage for your service. They’ll huff and puff and try to get you to take call, a couple of credentialing requests from another hospital is usally all it takes for them to see the error of their ways. As for seeing bleeds and such, it all depends on how your practice is set up. The key again are capable PAs. There is no need for the surgeon to see a traumatic SAH or a run of the mill subdural.
-
-
-
-
-
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
Quote from fw
Quote from Dr. Joseph Mama
A couple of years ago I got the convertible bug and ended up with a Boxster GTS and had some mods done (headers w/o 2nd cat, ECU retune). Haven’t dyno’ed it but estimating about 350hp (stock is 315). Even as stock, it had zip and the mid-engine layout makes me feel like a much better driver than I am.
Test drove a Cayman S in 2005 and have been wanting to buy one ever since. Wife vetoed it and insisted on getting a 911 variant instead. I resisted for about 3 seconds and did what I was told to do 😉
Was telling my neighbor just last night that one of the things I noticed about buying my convertible now that I’m a single guy was that there was only one negotiation (dealer) I needed to perform instead of two (dealer + spouse)….
[b]There’s a GT4 in the doc lot and I still haven’t figured out who’s it is–guessing nsurg/ortho/cards.[/b] Beautiful car and the combo of a 911 engine in a mid engine layout is intriguing. Car mags love it, but given who pays their advertising, they love a lot of cars, LOL.
I thought about a Spyder (basically convertible version of GT4) when I got the convertible bug. GT4 and Spyder are bare bones, would really shine on a track and that’s just not what I wanted to do. Yeah, I know they shave the weight of a Spyder by removing the motor & assembly for the roof, making the roof single ply instead of double with insulation, making a radio and A/C optional(!), having interior door “handles” be nylon straps, etc. and stuff like that is really, *really* cool to a track guy. Me? I just wanted a nice comfy roadster that shines on a twisty country road and makes me feel like a better driver than I am.
GT4 is an amazing car..but at a sub 100k price point, i’d think that a driven enough car lover in pretty much any specialty
( maybe not peds ) could ‘afford’ the car if they really wanted to. There’s an ortho guy at our hospital with a brand new 488 italia, a vascular surgeon ( maybe 3 years into practice? ) with a ferrari california, and a GI dude with a 911 turbo S.
Meanwhile in the radiology department we literally have attendings driving Kia’s. No joke.-
I’ve found most doctor lots I’ve seen here to be pretty modest. Suburus, Jeeps, Hondas, Lexus. There’s the occasional nice ride. Like I remember seeing a Ferrari in the one lot and thinking what the hell is this person thinking. My dad happened to park in the same lot, and his work beater Hyundai would get beat to $h1t by people.
If you’re worried about retirement you can probably look at a classic or something that will be a new classic. Ford GT’s look awesome, and it’s invite only.
-
-
-
-
-
I guess a Ford SUV probably off the list ….
[h3][link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fcleantechnica.com%2F2022%2F07%2F11%2Ffire-risk-ford-tells-200000-suv-owners-to-park-outside%2F]FIRE RISK: Ford Tells 200,000 SUV Owners to Park Outside[/link][/h3]
Ford is telling owners of some of its most popular, current, internal combustion powered SUVs to park their vehicles outside after a series of engine fires that happened even when the ignition switches were [i]off[/i].
Back in May, [link=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/19/ford-recalls-suvs-due-to-engine-fire-risk-says-they-should-be-parked-outdoors.html]Ford recalled nearly 40,000 Ford Expedition[/link] and Lincoln Navigator SUVs after telling owners to park them outdoors and away from homes and other buildings. On Friday, the company expanded that recall to cover more than 66,000 vehicles from the 2021 model year after getting reports of five more fires and thats not even the half of it. The company [i]also[/i] announced Friday that its recalling yet another 100,000 SUVs in the US alone for. A. Different. Problem. That [i]also[/i] causes engine fires.
And, if all this sounds familiar, its because Ford issued a similar recall for the [link=https://cleantechnica.com/2020/08/10/electric-ford-bronco-by-zero-labs-is-a-modern-classic-gallery/]Ford Bronco[/link] and Escape platform twins earlier this year. That recall, also related to fires, [link=https://www.consumerreports.org/car-recalls-defects/ford-escape-and-bronco-sport-suvs-recalled-for-fire-risk-a8243626784/]impacted fully 345,000 SUV owners[/link], and is not included in the 200-ish thousand vehicle recall reported, above.
-
You’ve never heard of the Ford Exploder.
-
Heh
-
So I’ve turned over 30k miles on the Highlander Hybrid. It’s been a pretty solid ride. No problems, drives nice, it’s quiet, gets 34+ mpg, and comfortable. Also from Toyota I was able to pay $300 to get another 20k miles worth of service. Toyota care plus. No brainer since one of the interval services was around $300 alone.
If I made the money I’d probably be driving one of those fiery Ford Expeditions though. or a Suburban.-
Quote from DICOM_Dan
So I’ve turned over 30k miles on the Highlander Hybrid. It’s been a pretty solid ride. No problems, drives nice, it’s quiet, gets 34+ mpg, and comfortable. Also from Toyota I was able to pay $300 to get another 20k miles worth of service. Toyota care plus. No brainer since one of the interval services was around $300 alone.
If I made the money I’d probably be driving one of those fiery Ford Expeditions though. or a Suburban.
Do you have the plug-in hybrid? If so, curious what your experience has been regarding electric-only range.
My DD is a 2014 Cayenne Turbo S that’s at a little over 80K miles. So far, reliability has been solid with only routine maintenance, most of which I have/can do myself. Other than the fact that the thing eats tires (get around 20K miles on summer performance tires) and I choose to still pump premium into it, the cost of ownership hasn’t been excessive (note that doesn’t mean “inexpensive” LOL). However, around 80K is where things like air suspension, cooling system issues, and transfer cases start to have problems, so I’m thinking of a replacement.
I’ve been thinking of a plug-in hybrid because my commute to hospital is about 15 miles each way. Seems like the latest plug-in hybrids can get up to 40 miles on electric only so would suit my needs well. Physician parking has 120V outlets (but I noticed yesterday that locking covers have been put on them; guess hospital was tired of giving free juice) and there are plans to update garage spaces to EV charging stations, but if I could get 40 mile range, I wouldn’t need to worry about charging at work. I’m not ready to go all-electric at this point b/c I like to do long road trips and, while doing a mulit-day road trip in an EV is possible, the logistics of planning recharging is more of a PITA than I’m willing to do. Toyota seems to have the most experience with hybrids and reliability that I’ve been able to ascertain seems good.
BTW, I am the idiot that decided having two Porsches is a good idea (the other is a 2016 Boxster Spyder). One of my favorite YT channels is Hoovie’s Garage because when I watch it, I realize there’s at least one other person out there who’s even more stupid than I am when it comes to cars.
-
didn’t notice this. I don’t have a PHEV. Just traditional hybrid. It’s actually pretty nice in the snow. You can hit a trail mode button and the motors in the back will drive the rear wheels and really get the thing moving. especially in corner where the front might want to slide/push when the snow is deep. I heard the Rav4 Prime is a pretty nice PHEV. It does something like the 40 mile range but will keep on trucking since it’s still a hybrid.
I see you mention air suspension. MY last car was a grand cherokee that had it. I had a 100k bumper to bumper. The compressor took a dump and it would’ve been $4k to replace without the warranty. I’m generally pretty handy on cars but this was no home fix. You had to take the bumper apart, drain the gas from the system, fix it, then recharge the gas.
Happened to see this. Looks like LG might be getting these actuator style speaker into cars sooner than later. [link=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/11/lg-reveals-vibrating-speakers-as-ultra-thin-alternative-to-traditional-car-audio/]https://arstechnica.com/g…traditional-car-audio/[/link]
Kind of neat technology to replace the whole magnet/cone speaker setup.
-
-
-
-
-
-
[link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.curbed.com%2F2022%2F11%2Fmercedes-g-wagen-suv-crypto-recession-discount-sales.html]The Great G-Wagen Sell-Off[/link]
In the wake of the [link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fintelligencer%2Farticle%2Fsam-bankman-fried-ftx-bankruptcy-what-happened.html]$32 billion blowup at FTX[/link] this month, the [link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2022%2F11%2F19%2Fbusiness%2Fdealbook%2Fftx-fallout.html]ongoing fallout[/link] in the crypto industry, and a [link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2022%2F05%2F12%2Ftechnology%2Fcryptocurrencies-crash-bitcoin.html]months long decline[/link] in prices, plenty of crypto investors who had been flush with coin until recently are suddenly very [link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fintelligencer%2F2022%2F11%2Fftx-depositors-telegram.html]hard up[/link]. Now, it appears that some of them may be flooding the market with lightly used G-Wagens at steep discounts. G-Wagen, for those who may not be in the market for a car priced like a house, is a nickname for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class usually the [link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mbusa.com%2Fen%2Fvehicles%2Fmodel%2Fg-class%2Fsuv%2Fg63w4]G 63 AMG[/link], a luxury SUV that looks like the ungainly love child of an antique hearse and a cyberpunk monster truck. As entrepreneur [link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fmarshal%2Fstatus%2F1592701932925489153]Marshall Haas[/link] tweeted last week, There are currently 1,606 G Wagons for sale on AutoTrader right now. Thats more than Ive ever seen. Crypto boys are hurting. My own [link=https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redirect-to/?redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.autotrader.com%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fall-cars%2Fmercedes-benz%2Fg-class%2Fg-63-amg%2Fnew-york-ny-10001%3Fdma%3D%26searchRadius%3D0%26location%3D%26isNewSearch%3Dtrue%26marketExtension%3Dinclude%26showAccelerateBanner%3Dfalse%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26numRecords%3D25%26requestId%3DG63AMG]search[/link] on the car marketplace yielded around 1,000.
[/Quote]
-
interesting. The G Wagen get’s a lot of business purchases as well. My understanding is that there’s a write off of like $20k a year if your vehicle is over 3 tons. So instead of buying an F-350 you get the Mrs a G Wagen.
It’s kind of an interesting car. It looks kind of dated. It’s not very efficient. So it’s kind of like F you money of SUVs.
***** below right from a MB dealer web site*****
Thanks to Section 179, you can enjoy a tax write-off on the efficient yet heavy-duty vehicle you need to earn a living. Fortunately, you neednt look any further than the Mercedes-Benz lineup for the ideal addition to your business. Plenty of Mercedes-Benz SUVs meet Section 179s 6,000-to 14,000-pound GVWR requirement. Whether youve got your eye on the vigorous GLS or GLE SUVs or the tried-and-tested G-Class SUV, you can receive a business tax deduction of up to $25,000!*-
My dad has a g63. dealer is still offering him more than he got for his allocation a year and a half ago, and 8k miles later.
I wouldn’t buy into these hyper articles that all of a sudden the crypto – bro’s are rushing to sell their luxury cars.
it’s all good news for me, I think these prices were ridiculous to start with, and would like to see a normalization of car prices.
Don’t think FTX is going to have a significant impact though. If anything, it’s just inflation / life getting back to normal.-
Used car prices are supposedly dropping. New car prices Im guessing are going to stay high.
-
[link=https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/munro-mk1-ps60k-all-electric-defender-rival]https://www.topgear.com/c…lectric-defender-rival[/link]
Gimme ….
All electric heavy duty off-roader the Munro MK_1 to be built in Scotland.
Not much range so not a daily driver. Looks like an actually off-road heavy duty/ safaris etc.
But looks super cool like an old Defender-
It’s cool but it’s not practical if you can max less than 200 miles. If you like Defenders and old utility vehicles Icon 4×4 is awesome. I’d drive one of these if I made about 10x my current salary. There’s an FJ ready to go for $265k. I really like resto-mods.
[link]https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/gallery/now/118[/link]
Unique FJ43 Body style, with enhanced wheelbase and a bit more room in the back.
Art Morrison enhanced chassis design with four-wheel coil-over Sport Suspension featuring Fox Racing tunable shocks and Eibach coils, plus tunable sway bars.
Dynatrac Dana 60 rear / Dana 44 front axle assemblies with ARB Lockers.
ICON Brembo Sport Brakes.
LS3 Fuel Injected aluminum 6.2 V8.
Aisin-Warner 5 speed manual, Atlas II twin stick shift-on-the-fly two speed transfer case.
BF Goodrich KO2 A/T tires on ICON forged aluminum Old School wheels finished in light gray with Toyota stock hub caps.
Powder coated aluminum body with polyurea coated floors and underside.
MIL spec wiring harness.
Heated front bucket seats finished in Douglas Aircraft Shadow Gray, with ICON powder coated aluminum trim.
Four side facing rear jump seats (keeps the cargo area open for cargo when not hauling humans!).
German square weave removable floor mats.
Optional front door and cargo map pockets.
Bespoke insulated light gray ICON soft top.
Removable roof rack with side ladder.
Powered Amp Research steps for front entry points, plus custom AMP step at the rear.
Super rare NOS Toyota NON_USA front fog lights, in custom color coordinated finishes.
One-off custom dash clock.
ICON Elevated audio system with amp & Bass, Pioneer NEX multimedia head unit with NAV, Carplay, HD radio, Sat radio, CD and more.
ICON Fire Extinguisher.
Bi-fold rear tailgate.
Stock style rear center step.[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link][image]https://icon4x4.com//uploads/default/inventory/DSC06254.jpg[/image]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link][image]https://icon4x4.com//uploads/default/inventory/DSC06163.jpg[/image]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link][image]https://icon4x4.com//uploads/default/inventory/DSC06232.jpg[/image]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link][image]https://icon4x4.com//uploads/default/inventory/DSC06237.jpg[/image]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link]
[*] [link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/now]BACK[/link][image]https://www.icon4x4.com/uploads/default/inventory/DSC06140.jpg[/image]
[/ul]
[*][link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/gallery/now/118]Previous[/link][*][link=https://www.icon4x4.com/inventory/gallery/now/118]Next[/link] [/ul]
CLOSE-
Looks like I might not put on my snow tires this year.
It’s already MLK day and we’ve only had 3-4 days of real snow…. and I’m looking at the 14 day forecast with no temps below freezing as far as the eye can see.
Might just give it a pass this year. It’s an Audi q7 and it does pretty well with the AWD with just all-terrains.
(mrs_dergon’s little SLK 350 roadster has the blizzak snow tires on already … it’s pretty much undrivable in any snow at all without them)
-
Ive never had a set of snow tires. Usually the all seasons do Ok around here. I dont know that if ever go back to something that isnt 4×4 or AwD. Unless it was like a summer only car.
-
Anybody have a Shelby Cobra GT 500?
-
Nope. Saw one in the garage here at work. I think they’re like $70k. Which makes me think why not buy a Corvette
-
One thing that drives me nuts. renewed my plates in OH. We get zinged for an extra $100 for driving a hybrid. My Highlander gets over 30mpg but it’s not like I’m using so much less gas that I should get surcharged. No one driving a Civic, or a Rav4 gas model is getting those charges and they get more mpg than me. For an EV they zap you with a $200 charge.
-
Quote from DICOM_Dan
One thing that drives me nuts. renewed my plates in OH. We get zinged for an extra $100 for driving a hybrid. My Highlander gets over 30mpg but it’s not like I’m using so much less gas that I should get surcharged. No one driving a Civic, or a Rav4 gas model is getting those charges and they get more mpg than me. For an EV they zap you with a $200 charge.
Ohio … where backwards stupid public policy finds its home
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
