wolfpack12

Agreed. Thats why america sucks. Everyone drives automatics. Outside of the US everyone drives manuaos, even some countries use buses with manuals. What do you think about these quasi standard transmissions, switching from automatic to "manual", where the manual up one or down. They just don't do it for me. Even being a motorcycle person the shifting style is not appealing to me. I hate the lack of clutch.

That doesn't make since to me. Its not much of an investment if the value is going to depreciate so much. Why not pick based on what you want, not this whole investment mindset. Your car should last you at least 4-5 years. Reliability is great these days. I drive a 1990 and it still runs great and it's more of a beast than any phony Pony. If you intend to only keep the car for 4-5 years then buying used probably would be your best bet.

UriA702

don't make the same mistake I did when I was young. Buy a new car that has a bumper to bumper warranty. A used car without a bumper to bumper warranty is going to be extremely prone to mechanical and electrical trouble which costs a pretty penny regardless of what type of car it is. I say the smartest investment is in a brand new car, not a used car.

VectorWega

First of all, many warranties are transferable. Also, dealerships often offer warranties and in many states there is an implied warranty anyways.

LMAO @ that. When you drive a car off the lot it's value drops by thousands of dollars, which alone will generally be greater than all of the maintenance you will ever need done to the car (within 3-5 yrs).

lssd2012

From what i hear, although actuaries make good money, their work is very boring and antisocial.

VectorWega

Often times, the highest paying jobs pay so well because not many people want to do them, rather than there being a low supply of quality talent that can perform the job well. However, I'm sure there are certain people that find being an actuary quite enjoyable and rewarding.

cbreeze

Still, I find the OP's stated starting salary to be a bit on the high side.

http://actuarialgrads.com/UofIwhybecome.htm

http://www.dwsimpson.com/salary.html

UriA702

vectorwega - that's assuming the used car is purchased through a dealership with a warranty. a 2002 model BMW (shown earlier in the thread) is pushing 7 years old and will have absolutely no warranty, extremely high maintenance costs (minimized with purchasing a new car.)

I have gone both ways and found that new cars are the better way to go. Implied warranties only cover power train usually and expire in a very short period. A long term bumper to bumper warranty is necessary IMO to avoid unforeseen repairs which can easily be a staggering economic investment, especially on a sports car.

southpasdena

Instead of worrying about what car to buy, why dont you start planning how you will put that money away for your retirement.

kotchian123

There are many different actuarial areas. Property and casualty, health insurance, investment analysis, enterprise risk management, etc...

The latter two involve very sophisticated quantitative modeling. The company I'll be working for hired wall-street PHD physicists to help out the department. Lately however, they even hired a NASA rocket scientist to help with the statistical stochastic modeling techniques.

I will say that IMO health is sort of boring but it involves a lot of consulting oriented work so some people love it. Benefit consulting is dreadfully boring but I won't be in these areas.

The people who I met at my company make 1) damn good money 2) love their job and 3) drive really nice cars. The gal who took me out to a restaurant for a breakfast interview drove this Audi but she's ditching it for a Volkswagen Eos which costs almost 30 G. And get this - she's the same age as me and a relatively new hire. Haha.

VectorWega

I advised the thread starter to purchase a low mileage used car..i meant one that is around a year old...not a 2002 model (which in the case of the Mustang would have a much different body style than the current model he is interested in).

In reality, the best financial decision would be to buy a complete beater...ie sub $1,000 car. However, I didn't advise that because I'm assuming based on the threadstarter's comments and his salary that he is interested in something "nicer". I know people with six figure incomes that have purchased used cars for under $10,000 and have no major issues with them (and certainly, nothing from a #s standpoint that would justify paying an additional $16k for a car).

However, to assert that purchasing a new car is a better investment is absurd, and is only the case in very unlikely scenarios. I'm sure you're the type of person that buys gap insurance from the dealer too right? Car dealers must love you.

kotchian123

NOTE: DO not comment if you're not a working individual/college senior with regard to this post.

Uri and Calcruzer,

I'm interested in what areas you are working in. I think I read somewhere that Calcruzer was a banker but I'm not sure. Let me know when you get a chance a little bit about your background. What do you think are the advantages of a possibly part time MBA in the future from Yale (since I live fairly close by).

kotchian123

Also is anyone really psst. off that UConn lost in the tournament lately or is it just me here.

wolfpack12

Not a big conn fan here. But I am really happy that Davidson and Kansas St. both won. Happy that Duke lost. My bracket is looking pretty good.

VectorWega

I had UCONN losing to Western Kentucky in round 2, so I'm quite happy to see them out already.

Sachmoney

Lexus makes the worst cars ever. They put you to sleep. When I ride in my mom's ES, I feel like I'm going to throw up. Toyota just makes really quite cars that make you feel so detached from the driving experience.

Mercedes has gone down in quality, but their design has really picked up in the last few years.

I'd keep looking if you don't like/are unsure of that car.