Like a Lamborghini?
Pediatrician here. An 7 year old Civic. But hey - it is a hybrid! That’s a little fancy!
A few years ago on vacation I got chatting with a podiatrist who told me he owned a Ferrari 360 Spider. He said waited three years for the order to be filled (apparently Ferrari does that with first time buyers). Also cautioned me if I got some advanced brakes (racing brakes?) that they needed to be warmed up before applying hard in a corner.
I know my dentist is aware who Michael Schumacher is and that is rare for Americans.
When my first wife was going into residency in the late '90s, the cliche among residents was that doctors drove Saabs. Dunno why.
Judging by the vehicles I see in the docs’ area of our hospital parking garage, the number of higher-end models is greater than what’s parked outside a Kroger supermarket, but not by a whole lot. In addition to the Lexus SUVs and BMWs there are a bunch of Camrys, Priuses, Civics and even one Smart Car (I’m betting it’s not a surgeon that drives that one).
Seriously, what self-respecting doc even drives to work anymore? I land my hovercraft on the ER helipad. Saves oodles of commuting time.
Funny–we have a Lincoln MKS and a Saab. I think you just get whatever kind of car you want, just like any other segment of the population. 
Hah, my civic hybrid is only 5 years old, and I’m just a nurse.
Initials BC?
I live next door to a PhD MD and a PhD cancer research scientist in late thirties. One Civic, One Rav4.
No. 
Are you really asking about cars, or wealth in general? Are you wondering about how much money doctors really make, or how they spend their money?
Everybody notices fancy cars/big mansions, finds out the person is a doctor, then jumps to the conclusion that all doctors live like that. Whether it’s doctors, lawyers, CEOs, or other prestigious profressionals, not all wealthy people spend all their money on displays of wealth. And quite conversely, “86% of all luxury vehicles are driven by people who are not millionaires.”
My endocrinologist drives a small Nissan sedan. That said, he also has a very pedestrian office (in a little strip mall), which hasn’t been updated in decades. I’m sure he does pretty well financially, but he doesn’t seem to really care for spending it. 
Our niece, the incredibly wealthy and successful family GP (not) drives a 15-year old Honda Civic, with no intention of trading up anytime soon. Her husband, a rich and famous high school teacher, drives a small Toyota pickup.
I’m still driving the car I drove during medical school, a middling Ford.
There are some very rich people in medicine and law, but most people in both professions make less than the general public imagines. More than the median income for the US population, sure, but not insane wealth. Especially since the young ones are still trying to pay off their student loan debt (I graduated med school with a debt of $200,000 all from student loans, so I won’t be buying a new car for a while).
I imagine that’s a huge factor for younger doctors now. With the cost of higher education rising so dramatically over the past two decades, even your “typical” college graduate often leaves school with a small mountain of student-loan debt. Add in another four years or so of medical school…
Just found this in the Wikipedia entry on medical school:
“In 1992, the average debt of a medical doctor after residency was $25,000. For the class of 2009, the average debt of a medical student is $154,067 and 11% of students had debt in excess of $250,000 (prior to residency). For the past decade the cost of attendance has increased 5-6% each year (roughly 1.6 to 2.1 times inflation).”
As I recall, the Doctor usually drove a rather unassuming and often malfunctioning police call box.
I know a radiologist who drives a Smart Car.
My friend’s dad is a doctor and used to drive an old beat up Subaru wagon. When it finally died on him (after 20 years of service) he went out and bought another one pretty much just like it. He’s probably still driving it.
However, he lives in the largest single-family house in the town I grew up in.
I drive an older model minivan, b/c my golf clubs and pullcart fit in the back so nicely, with the rear seats down. My wife’s car is about 12 years old and so far she refuses to replace it, despite being given a choice of her pick of the litter in cars.
Like all our cars, my van will get driven right around 10 or 12 years and then a shiny new one (most likely another minivan, for the same reason) will replace it for the next decade of use.
I know hundreds of doctors out in mainstream suburban practice. Lots of them drive expensive cars, usually because they are car enthusiasts; lots of them beaters.
The difference is that doctors get a choice of what to drive, because their income is higher. Some of them use that choice to drive more expensive vehicles, but many–I would say a majority–do not. It’s my personal opinion that physicians are already given some status by virtue of their career choice, and don’t need to have their car reflect their status for them. We certainly have our subset of flashy folks, but we’ve also got our share of Joe and Jane Family Types for whom a car is transportation and nothing more.
Overall, it’s my impression that most doctors drive cars “underneath” their relative income. I would say they are–on average–more likely to live in homes commensurate with their incomes and less likely to care about cars, period.
(I will admit to seeing a Porsche Panamera at a restaurant last nite that looked very tempting, even to me. But my pullcart wouldn’t fit in easily, so it won’t be coming home anytime soon.)
My next-door neighbor is a doctor. Some kind of Nissan SUV, and a SmartCar.
FWIW, the person who owned the fanciest car ever when I was growing up was my piano tuner. Who was blind.
From my subset of friends/acquaintances:
Camry (Allergist)
Volvo (ER Resident)
Chevy SUV (GP)
Audi A4 Convertible (Surgeon)
Toyota SUV (Neurologist)
Prius (Pathologist)
Accord (Psych Resident)