Cars for med school

[NeuroPreMed]

As said above, the plural of anecdote is not data! The stats bare out that Toyota, Honda, etc are some of the most reliable vehicles. What you are describing is called bad luck.

 

And as I said above, I'm aware that it can happen with all vehicles, and that it was my 2 cents. I also said, I would never buy one. I didn't say anyone else was stupid for buying one.

[Sarvish]

Is there a way to see what OSAP would value a car at? I'm looking around the $9-10k price range for a CR-V or an Escape and just want to make sure the value isn't over $10k.

 

ETA: Also, for those of you using the OMA insurance plan, does the car need to be under your own name or can I still insure it with them if it's under my parents' name?

[trojjanhorse]

However much your car is worth, subtract 5K from the declared value and expect a dollar per dollar reduction on your loan.

 

E.g. Your car is worth 10K. You were to get 15K without claiming a car at all. If you are going to claim a car, then you're only looking at a 10K loan as opposed to 15K. Few colleagues transferred ownership over to their parents.

[NLengr]

However much your car is worth, subtract 5K from the declared value and expect a dollar per dollar reduction on your loan.

 

E.g. Your car is worth 10K. You were to get 15K without claiming a car at all. If you are going to claim a car, then you're only looking at a 10K loan as opposed to 15K. Few colleagues transferred ownership over to their parents.

 

Man, the Ontario govt. blows.

[rmorelan]

Man, the Ontario govt. blows.

 

the osap grant is social assistance - it has all the similar social assistance rules as all the other things (ontario works, odsp...). If you can buy a 15K car they think then you clearly don't need free money for school (operative word there is NEED - want on the other hand....)

[NLengr]

the osap grant is social assistance - it has all the similar social assistance rules as all the other things (ontario works, odsp...). If you can buy a 15K car they think then you clearly don't need free money for school (operative word there is NEED - want on the other hand....)

 

Except it's essentially a loan which you can't default on. People aren't having to pay back disability or welfare. So it's completely different.

 

They're getting that money back, with interest.

[rmorelan]

Except it's essentially a loan which you can't default on. People aren't having to pay back disability or welfare. So it's completely different.

 

They're getting that money back, with interest.

 

not the grant part - a huge part of it simply free money and likely the part that would be cut for medical students in particular with cars valued above the cut off. The argument is that the government should not be helping you buy a more expensive car than necessary with tax payers money.

 

If it was a pure loan then yeah they entire social assistance argument makes much less sense (although their asset rules have gone back way before the grant was added). Not saying it is completely logical but if you frame it the way the government does (as a form of social assistance) then their rules make more sense.

[NLengr]

Didn't realize part of it was a grant. Makes more sense if they are cutting the grant.

[rmorelan]

Didn't realize part of it was a grant. Makes more sense if they are cutting the grant.

 

yeah ontario is weird - progressively raise tuition way beyond inflation for years and then add a 30% cut to particular groups only. Again raise tuition but have a large osap grant for people that again qualify. Assume parents will foot the bill for school in all cases beyond a point - a dangerous assumption because really they don't have too and it is silly I think they always can based solely on income (a lot of high income people can still be bankrupt, could have multiple kids all needing assistance etc), without consideration that they may not want to shell out 15K-20K etc. It also gives parents a huge involvement in selecting educational goals ("if you pay, you have a say") which may not be the best for the young adult trying to make their way in the world. Also lets bump tuition extra high in fields that actually have job prospects - which when you think about it is ass backwards. If anything if you want to have fewer people graduating in areas you don't think help the economy then those should be the fields you raise the tuition in. Why add a disincentive to help wanting to go for the good jobs? How does that help us long term - and education is all about the long term view?

 

Mostly it makes things just so darn complex and hard to plan out unless you really take the time to study it.

[NLengr]

yeah ontario is weird - progressively raise tuition way beyond inflation for years and then add a 30% cut to particular groups only. Again raise tuition but have a large osap grant for people that again qualify. Assume parents will foot the bill for school in all cases beyond a point - a dangerous assumption because really they don't have too and it is silly I think they always can based solely on income (a lot of high income people can still be bankrupt, could have multiple kids all needing assistance etc), without consideration that they may not want to shell out 15K-20K etc. It also gives parents a huge involvement in selecting educational goals ("if you pay, you have a say") which may not be the best for the young adult trying to make their way in the world. Also lets bump tuition extra high in fields that actually have job prospects - which when you think about it is ass backwards. If anything if you want to have fewer people graduating in areas you don't think help the economy then those should be the fields you raise the tuition in. Why add a disincentive to help wanting to go for the good jobs? How does that help us long term - and education is all about the long term view?

 

Mostly it makes things just so darn complex and hard to plan out unless you really take the time to study it.

 

I'm glad I'm from NL, where they have kept tuition frozen over the past 15 years, instituted a huge debt forgiveness program, removed any interest from the provincial portion of student loans, and this year introduced a plan to eliminate loans all together and replace them with grants.

[medschoolpath]

Deleted

[autobioo]

What do you guys think about spending $16,000 on a car from my LOC to last me from my first year, all the way up and through residency? Do you guys think that is a dumb move from a financial standpoint?

[amichel]

What do you guys think about spending $16,000 on a car from my LOC to last me from my first year, all the way up and through residency? Do you guys think that is a dumb move from a financial standpoint?

I just bought one that was more like 22 000. Is it the smartest financial move? Of course not. But I was going to buy one when I started residency anyways, and my old one was getting unreliable.

 

I calculated what it will cost me to have it on the Loc And I'm okay with the number.

[Borborygmi]

OOOOOOOoooo what sort of wheels did you get, amichel?

[amichel]

OOOOOOOoooo what sort of wheels did you get, amichel?

Brand new Honda Fit. And the fancy one wasn't much of a price jump, so it has all the bells and whistles. Aka leather seats, navigation, push to start. I feel so snazzy.

 

I know, I know, buying new cars is bad, depreciation, blah blah. But it's new. And pretty. And I like it.

[Borborygmi]

So shiny! Sometimes you need a new toy. It's not like you went out and bought a new Escalade or something.

 

Most importantly, what colour is it and have you named it?

[Birdy]

So shiny! Sometimes you need a new toy. It's not like you went out and bought a new Escalade or something.

 

Most importantly, what colour is it and have you named it?

So glad I'm not the only one who names their cars, haha.

 

My current one is Annie.

[amichel]

So shiny! Sometimes you need a new toy. It's not like you went out and bought a new Escalade or something.

 

Most importantly, what colour is it and have you named it?

Dark grey. I wanted blue but Honda cancelled factory orders because of the American dollar.

 

And not yet. This requires careful consideration.

[Borborygmi]

I suggest a PM101 car naming poll.

[MD2B2019]

What do you guys think about spending $16,000 on a car from my LOC to last me from my first year, all the way up and through residency? Do you guys think that is a dumb move from a financial standpoint?

Total costs for a car are,

 

1. Depreciation at resale or trade-in years later

2. Insurance, Gas, tickets, repair and maintenance

3. Down time or lock of enjoyment

 

For $16K, my choices are;

 

1. Get a brand new basic small car - Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Nissan Micra, Mitsubishi Mirage

pro - brand new, new car warranty, save gas, almost no down time for 3 to 5 years

 

2. less than 3 years used car - well equipped Corolla, Matrix, Civic, basic Accord, Camry, Mazda 5

pro - still under new car warranty, save gas, bigger and more enjoyment, almost no down time for 3 to 4 years

 

3. 3 to 4 years used car - well equipped Accord, Camry, Mazda 5, Mazda CX5

pro - much bigger and enjoyment, almost no down time for 2 to 3 years

 

4. 4 to 5 years used hybrid car - Toyota Prius, Camry Hybrid

pro - lower insurance, use 25% less gas in the city

 

I think, just my 2 cents, you always can spend more or less than $16K on a car, in 4 or 5 years later, the total costs per year is almost the same, but the enjoyment is different, so just choose a car you like the most.

[makingfetchhappen]

If you like fancy cars, you can get a pre-owned BMW for $16K with a 6 year protection plan, for example. 

 

I'm not sure about the insurance costs though, sometimes fancy cars have much higher insurance.

 

I don't like BMWs myself, it's just an example. 

[btdubs]

Hey guys, picking this thread back up.

 

I'm currently looking into the car option, but I know that I definitely don't want to buy new. According to your experiences, would it be reasonable to get something used and reliable with good gas mileage for $5,000? I've never bought a car, so I'm a complete noob at this and don't really know how to budget for it. 

[Bambi]

I got a one year old car that the sales manager used with 10 miles on it, just when the new cars came out. More than $5,000. 

[katakari]

Hey guys, picking this thread back up.

 

I'm currently looking into the car option, but I know that I definitely don't want to buy new. According to your experiences, would it be reasonable to get something used and reliable with good gas mileage for $5,000? I've never bought a car, so I'm a complete noob at this and don't really know how to budget for it. 

 

I would spend more than that IMO. If you have an LOC you can afford something decent that will be a little newer and less likely for anything to go wrong.

 

I bought a 2012 civic with 20000km for 12k last May. It helped that it was standard transmission as all the automatic vehicles in that range were 90000km+.

[thsc]

I would spend more than that IMO. If you have an LOC you can afford something decent that will be a little newer and less likely for anything to go wrong.

 

I bought a 2012 civic with 20000km for 12k last May. It helped that it was standard transmission as all the automatic vehicles in that range were 90000km+.

 

That's an insane deal. I haven't found any reasonable civics (2010 and up) below 10k that doesn't have over 70,000km range or more. How did you find that?