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Need advice on car for PA student


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Hello everyone!

I am moving to Pennsylvania for PA school next May and I am thinking a reliable car will be a must for PA school since I will be alone 3000 miles away from home.

Do you have any suggestions on what would be a good car to buy and drive safely for clinical rotations and such?

Thank you!

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You've gotten some good suggestions so far.

 

A lot will depend on where in Pennsylvania you'll be attending school.  Will you be in a more suburban or rural area with plentiful parking available to you?  Or will you be in a city where you'll have to pay for parking?  Street parking in Philadelphia, for example, is iffy.  Renting a parking spot in Philly, to guarantee (sort of) that your car will be close by, for the duration of your schooling can run you $150 a month or more.

 

Look long and hard at where you'll be for your didactic year.  You may not need one for that time period.  Once you get a better idea about clinicals and where you'll need to be/go you might have a better idea of what you'll need.

 

Otherwise, look at the safety record, fuel efficiency, costs to insure and operate of the cars you are considering.

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I drove a Honda CR-V for 10 years and 250000 miles. I think I washed it around annually and changed the oil around every 10000 miles. It handled well in snow and in all that time it started every single time I turned the key. I would not hesitate to recommend an older used one. It was the most utterly reliable car I have ever owned.

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I live in central PA and from experience, you want to get a car with AWD and really good gas mileage! We get a decent amount of snow and ice and the hills and mountains make driving a challenge at times in the winter. I am not a student at Lock Haven, but I know some of the student PAs that attend Lock Haven are doing their rotations at my local hospital (which is about a 45 minute drive). I am sure some rotations are even farther away due to the area being pretty rural. I recommened Volkswagen, Honda, and Subaru. I've had positive experiences with all three.

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Well, don't get a 2003 jeep liberty. I had to drive 8 hours to my clinical site and exactly 4 hours into it my car busted a water pump. No hotel or rental car around. 5:30 so all the shops are closed. Have to pay a random old guy the tow guy just "knows" 20 bucks to give me a lift to the nearest airport. Cab costs 100 dollars, so I was willing to risk being stabbed. Now it's fixed and I have to drive back 4 hours to get it. After I find magical way to return the rental car and retrieve my car, I have to drive 4 hours back so I can take call. Happy days :)

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Any economical car as stated above, you get some good honda, hundai or kia leases with AWD for bad weather, Usually warrantied too. Depend how much to spend. Personally after livning in philadelphia id want reliable transpo bc you never now har far youll bee from sites or at what hour. Can u really afford to break down, arrange repairs, not be able to get out of the snow plow line up against your car. Some people had honda cars from the 90s and 2000s that ran like new. They sold them to incoming student for 1200 bucks 1500 bucks.

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I've lived in PA for a while and you want something good with snow and ice, especially in central PA where the roads are sketchy at best. A Subaru would probably be your best all weather vehicle. Several of my friends have one and they are excellent cars in any condition. A Honda or a Toyota would also be excellent.

 

P.S. I'm going to Lock Haven, too! I'll probably be at Clearfield or Coudersport.

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I am thinking snow tires then. I live in the Northwest and I have experience driving in snow and ice with a front wheel car, but everyone keeps telling me roads are much more dangerous in PA. Congrats Gilmore13!

 

The roads are fine.  It's the other drivers who are idiots.  Don't drive like them and you'll be fine.

 

It's bizarre.  They get snow every year but every new snow fall seems to erase people's memories of how to drive in it.  A good car, front wheel drive or all wheel drive, with good all season tires with good tread life left and a driver who doesn't drive like a moron should be enough.  PennDOT does a fairly decent job (compared to some of their neighboring states anyway) with keeping the main roads clear.

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