Saturday, December 10, 2011

Fancy cars

For whatever reason, someone (who I assume hasn't been taking their medications) sent me a long rambling diatribe about how much they hate doctors. Specifically, the phrase "rich doctors and their fancy cars" was used several times in the rant.

Therefore, in the interest of full disclosure, I hereby list all of the cars that Dr. Grumpy has ever owned:

1982-1983: 1978 Datsun 810 station wagon (if you remember Datsun, you're old, too)
1983: 1979 Pontiac Trans Am (wrecked after 3 months)
1983-1984: 1982 Pontiac Trans Am
1984-1989: 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass station wagon
1989-1993: 1988 Mercury Cougar
1993-1999: 1990 Infiniti M30
1999 to present: 2000 Nissan Maxima

It should be noted that the current car is the only one I didn't get used. All cars were driven until they were wrecked or completely fell apart, and the cost of repairs exceeded their value.

All cars except the last 3 were shared with siblings and parents. The current one is shared with 3 insane backseat drivers (not including Craig's hair).

51 comments:

  1. I am also a "rich doctor" and have owned the following:
    1985 Nissan Extended cab pickup (it was 8 years old when I got it)
    1992 Chevrolet Silverado
    1996 Honda Accord
    1997 Honda Accord
    2008 Honda Civic

    Only the last one on this list was less than 5 years old when I got it.

    Our cardiothoracic surgeon drives a 1993 Dodge Caravan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those two Trans Ams are a pretty good indication that you had a bitchin' mullet back in the 80s.

    ReplyDelete
  3. At the risk of getting "all lawyers are rich and drive fancy cars" Hubby's recent car is a Bentley...albeit 20 years old and just a small fraction of the original price, is a real beauty. On balance, sometimes what others think just does not matter when you have a sweet ride.

    My only caution is stay away from ebay! http://alanpratt.blogspot.com/2011/11/buying-bentley.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. My two current vehicles:
    1995 Subaru with 210K. Dent in the trunk when someone backed into it in a parking lot (no note, no witness) also led to rear side panel losing paint and rusting. Bought used in 1999.

    1995 Ford Aerostar (same year coincidence) with 195K with door panels coming loose because the screws are stripped and we can't affix them back. Bought used in 2000 when we were expecting our 2nd kid.

    we are happy to live next to the Ford dealer who comes over to our garage to pick up our vehicles for their frequent maintenance. As long as it is cheaper to fix them than to buy another used car, we will fix 'em up.

    I still laugh at the memory of my early years in solo practice (only 6 or 7 years ago) when I lived in the red with frequent help from my in-laws. I told a patient that I had to decide whether to get winter tires or replace my AC compressor. He said "You're a doctor--you should get a new SUV." And he was serious. I'm sorry..which part of "I can only afford one $400 expense" did you not understand??

    ReplyDelete
  5. My orthopod had his new Jaguar stolen right from in front of his house. But then I'm in Canada where the docs are, by definition, impoverished.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My father's first oncologist faced a similar accusation. After which he shrugged, got in his 1995 Honda Accord, and drove away. My father, a car guy, was forever nagging his doctors to get more exciting cars. They never did.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The lawyer I know who lives up the street finally retired his family's minivan when it crapped out after 200,000 miles. He still has an ancient Toyota Camry with even more miles on it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It all depends on one's priorities, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 1997 Toyota Camry with about 170K on the odometer.

    Though, in fairness, I have one classmate who has a Mercedes (courtesy of daddy's pharmaceutical $) and another guy who blew a substantial chunk of his line of credit on a new Beemer.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I drive a Honda Fit. My boss drives a Mercedes.
    Aren't you looking forward to the kids asking you to buy a car for them, Dr. Grumpy? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. 2003 Chevy Cav. 145K miles. I wonder who buys those rich people cars. I know it's not me.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You have exceptional taste, Grumpy. And, yes, I'm old too (I had a Datsun 510 station wagon for a while.) My husband is a Maxima devotee, and I'm a convert. We drive a pair of 2007s. Most fun I've ever had driving a car!

    ReplyDelete
  13. It is possible to remember Datsun and only be middle-aged, but it is not possible to have driven a Datsun and be anything but old (from a person whose family had a Datsun when she was youngish).

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dang! I've owned nicer cars than you guys. But then, I did own a limousine business at the time. My oldest child took his drivers license test in a stretched Lincoln. They didn't ask him to parallel park it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Before I came to my senses, I told my husband I finally wanted a nice car when I graduated from pharmacy school. He said, "this coming from the girl who had 6 cars in 7 years? You'll get the nicest Pinto money can buy."

    ReplyDelete
  16. You only have to take a brief look at the Physician's Lot at any hospital to see that we are the exception not the rule. Unless all those fancy cars are driven by the PA/NP/CRNAs?

    ReplyDelete
  17. to SSS, if you're crash-prone, why would your husband buy you a Pinto? Recent large life insurance policy?

    ReplyDelete
  18. I drive a 2001 Nissan Maxima. It's the best car I've ever owned.

    ReplyDelete
  19. We have a 2008 Subaru Forester. The only reason we bought it was that my 2000 Jetta was a lemon and was about to need a second new transmission (at 70K miles), and my husband has a 70 mile round trip commute every day and he needed something reliable. We love it.

    I figure if we ever got a nice car, we'd spend so much time worrying about the dog puking in it or a child poking holes in the seats that it just wouldn't be worth the expense.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Be aware: My three insane backseat drivers cost me yesterday $333 for a new rear window regulator of a 1999 Mercedes we bought nearly 4 years ago. I guess because of the age of the car (and it's dents) I could drive 2 days with only a foil covering the open window and nobody bothered to steal it or just have a look inside...

    So never ever release the child lock, even you have to open the door by hand for a bunch of adults you drive around occasionally.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 1. No one needs to apologize for driving a nice car he/she can afford.
    2. Many MDs drive luxury cars. So do many plumbers.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I started typing out my vehicles and realized, I'll just have to find a YUGO emblem for my SUV if I make it into med school.

    /sigh

    ReplyDelete
  23. Actually one of our PAs drives a nicer car than all but one of our 11 doctors in a primary care practice

    ReplyDelete
  24. I have a Toyota Tundra with 140,000 miles on it and a Toyota Prius that gets 55 miles per gallon. The Tundra is paid off and we have the title. Making payments on the Prius but plan to keep it a long time....love both of those vehicles. My first car was a 1983 Mecury Lynx that almost killed me....hood flew up and hit the windshield at 60 mph. Ended up with a red hood on a white car. Then I had a Mazda with brakes that were on backwards...had that just a few months before the engine blew out. I also had a brown Honda that was held together with rust and I dropped the transmission out of that one after getting stuck in a snowbank. That was the same one that I could only drive 30 miles at a time before a fuse would blow and the lights wouldn't work. I always carried spare fuses with me. I also had a Subaru that was covered with Grateful Dead stickers. The Subaru had a leak in the gas tank so I could only put in a couple of gallons at a time. One day I put in a a little bit more than I should have and it leaked. I had a first floor apartment and I was woken up to firetrucks and someone banging on my door at 2am. A neighbor had called the fire department because my car was leaking gas...same neighbor had also left a note on the windshield informing me that my car was leaking gas from the gas tank. I asked the neighbor where else the gas might have been leaking from but they didn't know. Firefighters asked me if I had a pot to put under the car to catch the gas and in my just woken up state I replied that I had no pot and they might want to try the neighbors 2 floors up.

    Yeah, I've had some great cars.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Don't have to be ashamed of the car I drive
    Im just glad to be here, happy to be alive

    Traveling Wilburys

    ReplyDelete
  26. I am a doctor of something so guess I can join in the conversation... I sure did like the first car a little white Datsun 210 'Honeybee' my husband and I bought almost new with the help of my dad for $5,050.00. It was a little grand old lady by the time I hoped it could be inherited by our first child as his 'first car' but she had suffered so much in the years without a garage or carport she finally rusted apart.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yea Rich pharmacists also.
    1981 my parents 1972 plymouth furyIII
    1982-1986 had no car,mooched friends or rode the bus.
    1987-2000 1986 honda accord
    2000-present 1998 acura rl.

    I hate car payments so I hang onto them for a LONG TIME. ive actually owned only 2 cars.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Up until I bought my truck every car I had was at least ten years old and stayed around long enough to vote, drink and get married without my permission.
    My kids drove cars that were older than they were, and nothing died with less than 200,000 miles on it.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Any chance of posting the original long rambling diatribe?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yes, I remember Datsuns. My grandma drove one!

    1989-1991: a 1989 Ford Festiva then passed down to younger sib when I went off to college. She still owns it!

    1994-1997: a 1984 Olds Cutlas Ciera, handed down from mother. Finally had too many things wrong with it.

    1997-2003: a 1992 Ford Escort. Finally had too many things wrong. Was driven many, many miles by me - long commute in med school.

    2003-2006: a 1997 Ford Escort. A drunk driver hit me head on. I walked away from the accident without a scratch. Car was totaled. Escorts were good, reliable cars.

    2006-2011: a 2001 Toyota Camry. Biggest POS I have ever driven. Will never get a Toyota again.

    2011: a 2011 Nissan Versa. LOVE it, especially compared to the Camry.

    I was looking in the docs' lot for my new job - lots of Hondas and Chevys. Very few high-end cars. Hmm.

    ReplyDelete
  31. ER's Mom, really? I'm sorry about your issues with Toyota...I won't drive anything but a Toyota anymore! Never had a problem and I love 'em!

    ReplyDelete
  32. 1998-2002: 1993 Chevy Lumina (bought from my mom as my first car)
    2002-2005: 1998 Saturn SC2
    2005-now: 2005 Jeep Liberty

    The Jeep now has 110K+ on it. It's paid off, and even the work every few months is less than a monthly car payment.

    ReplyDelete
  33. @Kim - yes, really. I bought it used after the crash. Had more issues with it being unreliable than all of my previous cars combined.

    The straw that broke the camel's back was the Chinese water torture last March - the roof started leaking right onto my forehead at a rate of about 1 drop every 3-4 seconds. Car had less than 90K miles on it when I happily traded it in. All other cars went for at least 150K miles except for the Escort in the accident - and it was at about 130K.

    ReplyDelete
  34. suspect the pos toyota must have been a flood/hurricane car. the toyotas of that era were particularly reliable.

    ReplyDelete
  35. 97 Camaro soft top convertible. HaD it since 1997. Love love love it (in the summer). Don't insure it in the winter. I don't like taking cabs in the winter but my Camaro is not a winter car at all.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Plastics baby! those are the surgeons that are driving the aston martins that no one else in the world can afford. ;-)

    My kids ped. has been driving an old late model toyota that at one point I think it was red, but looks more closely like orange. Oxidization??? Guess what? He is more laid back and approachable than other physicians I know. LOL
    I have a 2003 van, that one of my kids ripped of the sliding door handle to it. It only mildly screams "white trash," but funds are too tight to fix it. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  37. 1997 - 1995 Civic CX Hatchback - bought in med school; my husband and I shared it for 10 years.

    2007 - 2006 Civic - finally got a second car.

    2009 - 2008 Mazda 5 (had a kid and his carseat wouldn't fit in the hatchback, which was still going strong - we traded the hatchback in ... after 12 years) This was new, but it was the reject on the car lot, because it was white and a 5-speed, so we got it at a used car discount.

    Each was paid for by cash - saved up each time. Madness, I know.

    ReplyDelete
  38. 1996-2002: 1986 Plymouth Reliant SW
    2002-2008: 1999 Hyundai Elantra SW
    2008-present: 2005 Suzuki Forenza SW

    all bought (very) used, all had many issues. loved the reliant, big fake-velour bench seats, car was made of real metal. elantra was fine too. suzuki...well, let's just say, bad idea to buy a car where there is only 1 dealer in the state, which is 50+ miles away, and when all parts have to be ordered directly from Japan.

    i put 2000+ miles on the forenza a month and so far so good except for persistent leaking tire issues.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Dermatopatholist here - drive a 1995 Mazda MX-3

    ReplyDelete
  40. Can't believe you could stand to ride in all those leaden footed tubs after owning a Trans-Am, with horses I assume!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Goodness me. Can't posibly read a blog written by a doc who drives a Nissan. AND its over 10 years old. How on earth can you possibly make sensible decisions as a doc when you have an old car? And its probably a sensible beige colour too. I mean, does it even have a CD player? Or are you still on cassette tapes? Seriously, What is the world coming to? What is the point of all those insurance bills to (eventually) pay you if you won't even buy a brand new car every year? You un-gluttoners will kill us all with your sensible ways and reliable vehicles.

    Love,
    The owner of a mustard brown Datsun. ..Beaded seatcovers included.

    ReplyDelete
  42. So the weird thing I hear is that if an MD does not drive a good car, they must be shitty doctors because they can't afford it. However if the car is TOO nice (like a Bently or Ferrari), then they are overpaid and arrogant. A BMW 3 series seems to be the sweet spot.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Dr Killpatient,

    That's why my grandfather always drove a Buick. Way back when, the Buick was a "doctor's car". The Chevy was considered too inexpensive and a Cadillac was too ostentatious.

    Me, I drive a 2006 Jeep Wrangler as do two of my other colleagues.

    ReplyDelete
  44. ER's Mom: I bought a brand new Toyota Corolla in 1992 with 6 miles on it. The car will be 20 years old next month, has over 306,200 miles on it, and runs better than many cars half its age. I loved it so much that my husband and I bought another Corolla in 2009.

    Dr G, I must be old because my first car was a Datsun 210 hatchback. Ran great but had no power. At the same time, my brother had an 810 sedan.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I used to have an '88 cougar! I feel much smarter now :)

    ReplyDelete
  46. Grumpy:

    I worked for a neuro who drives a Kia Rondo. I like to call it the clown car, since it looks a lot like those Volkswagens where the clowns would jump out.

    I've had all sorts of cars from a 73 Pontiac Ventura to a 11 year old Volvo--my current ride I bought when it was five years old.

    One of the old docs who ran a med school here got lost in our parking garage when I was in nursing school. We had a nice chat while looking for his Volvo.

    As long as it runs, I'm good! BTW I'm old enough to remember Datsun, and a couple of my friends had them.

    ReplyDelete
  47. 1980: got license, inherited mother's 74 Ford Maverick.

    Most of my cars since have been hand-me-downs from my family. Almost all of them were station wagons, since my father sold books.

    Only new car - 2000 Honda Civic - I ever had was on a 5 year lease.

    Currently driving a used Scion because Granny's car finally died. It was old enough to vote when it passed.

    BTW, I got the Scion because now _I_ sell books, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  48. 1980-1986: 1974 Ford Mustang2-only drove on 3 cylinders and had to keep foot on brake and gas when stopped so wouldn't die
    1986-1989: 1986 Chevette (gift for college graduation) cost $5500
    1989-1999: 1989 Isuzu Trooper (favorite one I owned)AC broken after 1997; Wrecked on ice with 140,000
    1999-now: 1999 Chrystler Town and Country minivan; no AC

    ReplyDelete
  49. Everyone owns only one car at a time?

    I don't care what I drive, as long as the heater works and there are sufficient seats to transport everyone (and storage space for all the extra stuff we haul around).

    ReplyDelete
  50. Most of the doctors I work with, myself included drive cars in the 50-65k range, usually bought new. We are mostly primary care. The specialist here drive cars in the 70-90k range

    ReplyDelete
  51. Most of the doctors I work with, myself included drive cars in the 50-65k range, usually bought new. We are mostly primary care. The specialist here drive cars in the 70-90k range

    ReplyDelete

So wadda you think?