I have a new doctor car. And when I say doctor car, I mean an ordinary car owned by a doctor, not the stereotypical flashy car that you’re probably thinking of. 

The new doctor car saga all started five years ago when, instead of leasing an expensive luxury car like I thought I wanted, I bought a used 2014 Toyota Avalon for $4,000. 

I then proceeded to beat the living snot out of this car. Not intentionally. But I hadn’t driven for seven years. I didn’t get in any crashes, but I did nick the car a ton on my garage door pulling into a tight space. This ultimately resulted in damage to the front side windows, back brake lights, and the bumper cover falling off.

But the car still worked! So I kept it. I really didn’t care about optics. I had no car payment and a functioning car.

But then things changed. About a year ago, I banged into the garage door edge again. This time was a bit worse, though. The left rear brake light cracked and the surrounding body of the car was also damaged. The brake light still worked, however, so I kept going.

Unfortunately, a few months later, my inspection was due. I brought the car in and found out that my car didn’t pass the inspection because of the left brake light issue. And this wasn’t a small problem because the car’s body would have to be repaired to fix the tail light. And because the car was old, a new body part would have to be ordered. It would cost thousands of dollars.

Well, our written financial plan called for my wife Selenid and I to get a new car in six years. So at this point, we made the decision to pursue a new car rather than spend a lot of money to revamp my car which was going to be gone soon anyway.

The plan was for Selenid to get a new car and I would take her 2020 Kia Telluride that we owned outright. She did some research and decided on a Cadillac Escalade. So we ordered one — but there was a snag.

Selenid wanted a new 2025 Cadillac Escalade. Fine. Yes, buying used is more prudent, but what the heck. We could accommodate it in our financial plan and it met the criteria of an intentional spend for Selenid.

The problem is that the wait time for a new Escalade was given to us as eight-plus months.

Not ideal. I made the decision to continue driving my inspection- and now registration-expired car until the new car arrived. Why? Well, a ticket for this was much less expensive than the repairs needed on the car. 

And on we went, until …

The power steering on the car stopped working. And I don’t know if you’ve ever driven a car with no power steering, but it is really hard. Plus it’s super loud any time you try to really crank the wheels one way or the other. 

And then … after six months, I finally got pulled over and got tickets for my expirations. Additional tickets would result in a higher fine and potentially points on my license. 

The time had come for a change.

How I Got My New Doctor Car

Within the span of 36 hours after I got those tickets, we had a new car. But it took some work. Selenid and I reached out to our original dealership and unfortunately weren’t able to connect with them. Some research online showed that the exact car we wanted was in the lot of another dealer. So we called. But that car was actually sold and not updated online. 

But … they had another one coming in within six weeks. It already had a production and delivery date unlike our current order. That’s great, we told them, but we need a car now.

So they came up with a solution: we would buy a used 2024 Cadillac Escalade that otherwise met our desires. And then when the new car came in, we would have a guaranteed trade-in value to buy the new car.

We went in, inspected the car, reviewed the papers, and signed. One day later, Selenid drove off in her Escalade and I got the Kia Telluride.

During all this adventure, I still had my old Toyota Avalon — and no clue what to do with it. I pitched an idea. I would sell the car to the dealership for parts for $500, which would stand as our deposit on the new car before it came in and then be credited back to us.

And they said yes!

The biggest plus of this whole scenario? I didn’t have to figure out how to get rid of my car otherwise. It was all clean and easy.

Where Things Stand Now

As I write this, I am driving my new doctor car (not literally right this second). And it’s been great. 

I loved my old car. And I still feel nostalgic for it. But having the Telluride gives me more room to fit all three of my kids. It also has some updated gadgets like Apple CarPlay, and generally runs a lot better.

Meanwhile, Selenid gets her dream car. Massaging seats. Adaptive cruise control. Entertainment systems. All the bells and whistles. And you know what, it is even more sweet now that we waited five whole years before getting it. 

So, was trading in one (non-)doctor car for another (non-)doctor car worth it? The answer is a resounding yes!

Here are the three top reasons I would 100% do everything the same with my car if I could do it again:

1) Having a normal car allowed us to invest more money early on in things like real estate, the cash flow from which we used to help buy this new more expensive car.

2) The delay in gratification actually has helped us to appreciate the new fancy car even more.

3) The original car worked perfectly for five whole years.

So, no regrets here!

This is my doctor car story. It doesn’t have to be yours. If you can reach your financial goals while buying a more expensive car early on and it gives you more joy than stress regarding the price tag, go for it!

The problem is that I see too many doctors get the doctor car, the doctor house, and all the other doctor “things” before setting their financial future. And then they find themselves unable to create a savings rate, invest, and reach financial freedom. They find themselves working paycheck to paycheck despite a high income. Burnout often ensues. This is where you do not want to find yourself. No car is worth that. 

However, if you do find yourself in this situation (as I almost did), there are still a lot of things you can do to get on the path to financial freedom. I wish you all the best on your journey. 

Would you spend money on a fancy car? Share your reasoning in the comments!

Jordan Frey, MD is a plastic surgeon in Buffalo, NY at Erie County Medical Center and the University of Buffalo. His clinical focus is on breast reconstruction and complex microsurgery. He is also the founder of The Prudent Plastic Surgeon, one of the fastest growing finance blogs. There, he shares his journey to financial well-being with a goal of helping all physicians reach financial freedom, practicing on their own terms.

Image by Malte Mueller / GettyImages