How Much Car Should a Doctor Buy?

In this video The White Coat Investor does a Deep Dive into How Much Car a Doctor Should Buy.

The White Coat Investor has been helping doctors with their money since 2011. Our free financial planning resource covers a variety of topics from doctor mortgage loans and refinancing medical school loans to physician disability insurance and malpractice insurance. Learn about loan refinancing or consolidation, explore new investment strategies, and discover loan programs specifically aimed at helping doctors. If you're a high-income professional and ready to get a "fair shake" on Wall Street, The White Coat Investor is for you!

00:00 Your Car Is Too Expensive
01:22 How Much Car Should a Doctor Buy?
02:10 Buying A Car The Smart Way

[Prawn_Champion]

Buying a “nice” car to me ($45k Lexus) was one of the biggest mistakes I made. Reliable, yes. But so was my older car. And now I have to worry about keeping it clean, worrying about scratches, etc. I would have been much better off and just as happy (happier) driving my old Kia SUV. I am shocked though that most people making 10% of my gross drive nicer cars than me. I can’t imagine living like that.

[jamesjacobs]

I had a 4 year old Mercedes. No problems, no drama. My estimated bill for a routine maintenenace at 20, 000 miles - my car had no issues - was $1, 800 plus taxes ! Routine maintenance ! I looked at the estimate for two months and then went out and traded it in for a Honda CRV hybrid where the regular every 10 - 20, 000 miles maintenance costs are way less than $300.. Take home message:pay attention to routine maintenance costs as they can kill you.

[Gel]

Bought a nicer car. And don’t regret it in the slightest. Needed a car. A “reasonable” car was $50, 000. We considered whether it was worth it to just throw in another $25, 000 to get the car we’d enjoy driving. If you’re just going to die and leave your millions to your kids, why not leave a negligible amount less to them and spend a little more on things you might enjoy when you’re in your 40s or 50s…knowing that your future is basically set. Don’t be that 90 year old with $22 million in investments and a legacy of unnecessary frugality, I say.

[jep]

Last year I bought a 60k vehicle. My first ever brand new car. meh! nice car yes but it doesn’t give me any added satisfaction. 2-3 year old cars are just fine

[hassanamghar]

I bought a 16 year old mercedes w211 V6 dealer maintained from the first owner for 16k USD the car looks, feels and drives like a brand new car👌

[DrBilly]

Great advice. Didn't get my first "nice car" until I was in my 50's. Was the right thing for me; YMMV (dad pun alert). Other things I'd say about expensive vehicles: Don't ever test drive one, because you'll end up wanting one. Also, once you do get a nice ride, it's difficult to go back to a 'normal' car.

[jakemcdowell]

Do you define millionaire as Net worth or maybe net worth minus house equity?

[davidfolts]

Depreciate the asset that is losing value by keeping it for a long time until the vehicle's safety features are outdated. By then, the car will be driving us or flying us.😀

[josh]

The only problem is that the economy car in year 10, year 12 year 16 and year 20 will cost you so much in parts and labor it will be equal in cost to the expensive car.