Top Law Schools

So I've never owned a car before and will be starting at a PD in the fall where I'll need a car. Should I go for a beater or try to get a certified pre-owned lease thing going? I will absolutely have to have the car to get to work (zero public transport) so would prefer something as reliable as possible. I could probably make a car payment of like $500 month comfortably (paying next to nothing in rent and my school has a killer lrap) but would prefer not to. I don't want to de-rail this thread too much so if anyone could pm me advice I would really appreciate it, although, the big law kids have their car thread I'm sure ours would be pretty funny in comparison. I'd say 90's geo metro with a little rust is the go to pd car (which I would totally get except snow) or maybe a tercel wagon, haha!

Anonymous User wrote:is anyone here doing an internship at the cook county pd office in Chicago this summer? do you have your start date yet?

Just call them and ask.

Hyundai.

hyundai sante fe is definitely for the pd with kids

FlanAl wrote:So I've never owned a car before and will be starting at a PD in the fall where I'll need a car. Should I go for a beater or try to get a certified pre-owned lease thing going? I will absolutely have to have the car to get to work (zero public transport) so would prefer something as reliable as possible. I could probably make a car payment of like $500 month comfortably (paying next to nothing in rent and my school has a killer lrap) but would prefer not to. I don't want to de-rail this thread too much so if anyone could pm me advice I would really appreciate it, although, the big law kids have their car thread I'm sure ours would be pretty funny in comparison. I'd say 90's geo metro with a little rust is the go to pd car (which I would totally get except snow) or maybe a tercel wagon, haha!

Subaru Outback. Reliable (including a long life), reasonably priced, and totally PD friendly brah.

deadpanic wrote:Subaru Outback. Reliable (including a long life), reasonably priced, and totally PD friendly brah.

+1. I'm in that club. 203K on my Outback.

Outback or impreza wagon was where i was leaning but those things are expensive used! they definitely have pd cred though. any thoughts on leasing a certified pre-owned vs. hustling for a 200k mile beater? Are they reliable enough that a cheap one from the mid 90s would be safe? also, the mpg on the low ones seems pretty bad. I'll be in my car at least an hour a day, are they pretty comfy?

Thanks I'm a total noob with this stuff

Ded Precedent wrote:

deadpanic wrote:Subaru Outback. Reliable (including a long life), reasonably priced, and totally PD friendly brah.

+1. I'm in that club. 203K on my Outback.

I'm at 249k on my Forester. The only reason I didn't recommend Subaru is that it's more expensive than a Hyundai.

FlanAl wrote:Outback or impreza wagon was where i was leaning but those things are expensive used! they definitely have pd cred though. any thoughts on leasing a certified pre-owned vs. hustling for a 200k mile beater? Are they reliable enough that a cheap one from the mid 90s would be safe? also, the mpg on the low ones seems pretty bad. I'll be in my car at least an hour a day, are they pretty comfy?

Thanks I'm a total noob with this stuff

I've drove many older cars. Probably five different cars over the last 9 years. The problem with all of these cars is that they don't last long. Something always inevitable gives out (Frame rusted out, the transmission went, etc...) When you're talking about a $300-500 car it doesn't always make sense to put a ton of money into it. I've been able to get away with cheap cars (mid/late 90's, early 00's) because my father is a mechanic and lives 10 minutes away. For a person without a car enthusiast friend/relative this would be really hard to do. You would end up spending a lot of time and money on mechanics.

I'm hardly a car guy so take this with a grain of salt: Get something in the mid 00's for a decent price. Once you hit the $1,000-$1,500 amount you can get some pretty solid cars from craigslist or the classified. I've never gone through a dealer so I don't know how that works. The car might not look amazing, and might be missing perks like AC, but it will get you around town. Couple that with a cheap insurance policy and you're good to go for almost nothing. Your bar loan will easily cover the expenses.

One thing I've found invaluable is having someone who really knows what they are doing help you look for cars. When I went to look for cars my father would always bring the guy that does my car inspections along to do an on-site inspection before buying. They can also help with bargaining if necessary. Even having a general enthusiast go with you is better than nothing.

If you're thinking about buying a newer car Consumer Reports is excellent for choosing moderately used cars. I've been searching their site for a relatively new car and they have excellent profiles and tips. I plan on buying a new-ish car once I start getting paid. Until then I'm rocking a 2003 Ford Escort.

P.S. Older 90's cars are comfortable enough for an hour long drive each day. As long as you get a mid-sized car everything should be fine. If I were you I'd be more worried about AC and heating. I've never drove a car with AC. For my 1L summer I had a 90 minute round trip each day. It was insanely hot most evenings -- even with the windows open. Driving in the winter without heat is no picnic either.

The guy said he could afford $500/month, right? He can buy whatever car he wants, practically. If you just want to be financially sensible and not flashy, get a 3-4 year old Hyundai/Kia. They are almost as reliable/durable as Toyota, but not as expensive. New and high quality enough that you should be able to get 5-7 years out of them without worrying much at all about maintenance.

If you want to go really cheap, get an Toyota Camry from the late 90's or early 2000's. These things run forever, are so ubiquitous that parts are always cheap and available. They are really some of the most boring cars ever made, but there is a reason they sold so many and so many are still on the road.

06 Camry here and my payments are 230 a month. I only ever have to change the oil and put on new tires periodically.

anon sequitur wrote:The guy said he could afford $500/month, right? He can buy whatever car he wants, practically. If you just want to be financially sensible and not flashy, get a 3-4 year old Hyundai/Kia. They are almost as reliable/durable as Toyota, but not as expensive. New and high quality enough that you should be able to get 5-7 years out of them without worrying much at all about maintenance.

If you want to go really cheap, get an Toyota Camry from the late 90's or early 2000's. These things run forever, are so ubiquitous that parts are always cheap and available. They are really some of the most boring cars ever made, but there is a reason they sold so many and so many are still on the road.

I missed the $500 a month part. Yeah, in that case I think both of your points are spot on. A 3-4 year old car is the way to go.

anon sequitur wrote:The guy said he could afford $500/month, right? He can buy whatever car he wants, practically. If you just want to be financially sensible and not flashy, get a 3-4 year old Hyundai/Kia. They are almost as reliable/durable as Toyota, but not as expensive. New and high quality enough that you should be able to get 5-7 years out of them without worrying much at all about maintenance.

If you want to go really cheap, get an Toyota Camry from the late 90's or early 2000's. These things run forever, are so ubiquitous that parts are always cheap and available. They are really some of the most boring cars ever made, but there is a reason they sold so many and so many are still on the road.

Highly recommend the Kia.

Honda Fit. Get a used one from 2008, 2009, or 2010. They are ridiculous. Very comfortable and spacious on the inside, but very compact (somehow, they have four doors). Hilarious fuel efficiency (we drive between LA and SF on one tank of gas, which is like 10 or 11 gallons). They're dependable and they last a long time. If you're willing to spend 15-20k on a car, it's a great bet for a vehicle that will last you until you and probably even after you get kids.

Tanicius wrote:Honda Fit. Get a used one from 2008, 2009, or 2010. They are ridiculous. Very comfortable and spacious on the inside, but very compact (somehow, they have four doors). Hilarious fuel efficiency (we drive between LA and SF on one tank of gas, which is like 10 or 11 gallons). They're dependable and they last a long time. If you're willing to spend 15-20k on a car, it's a great bet for a vehicle that will last you until you and probably even after you get kids.

They are so tiny. They are almost the size of a European car.

I dunno. I wouldn't buy one of those with so many mid-sized cars on the market at similar price ranges.

So the background check for my DA job wants me to disclose felonies of all family members, including step brothers. A couple of my step-brothers and my step-father are felons. Is this going to be a problem?

None of my "immediate" blood-related family has anything and my mom married her current husband when I was already living out of the house. Haven't even met some of them/spoken/seen them in the last 5 years or so. Basically just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

Anonymous User wrote:So the background check for my DA job wants me to disclose felonies of all family members, including step brothers. A couple of my step-brothers and my step-father are felons. Is this going to be a problem?

None of my "immediate" blood-related family has anything and my mom married her current husband when I was already living out of the house. Haven't even met some of them/spoken/seen them in the last 5 years or so. Basically just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

Won't affect anything at all.

Anonymous User wrote:So the background check for my DA job wants me to disclose felonies of all family members, including step brothers. A couple of my step-brothers and my step-father are felons. Is this going to be a problem?

None of my "immediate" blood-related family has anything and my mom married her current husband when I was already living out of the house. Haven't even met some of them/spoken/seen them in the last 5 years or so. Basically just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

Yeah just disclose it but don't sweat it at all.

Ded Precedent wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:So the background check for my DA job wants me to disclose felonies of all family members, including step brothers. A couple of my step-brothers and my step-father are felons. Is this going to be a problem?

None of my "immediate" blood-related family has anything and my mom married her current husband when I was already living out of the house. Haven't even met some of them/spoken/seen them in the last 5 years or so. Basically just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

Yeah just disclose it but don't sweat it at all.

Is this background check just to ensure no conflicts of interest come up when you're actually practicing?

BlueLotus wrote:

Ded Precedent wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:So the background check for my DA job wants me to disclose felonies of all family members, including step brothers. A couple of my step-brothers and my step-father are felons. Is this going to be a problem?

None of my "immediate" blood-related family has anything and my mom married her current husband when I was already living out of the house. Haven't even met some of them/spoken/seen them in the last 5 years or so. Basically just wondering if anyone has experience with this.

Yeah just disclose it but don't sweat it at all.

Is this background check just to ensure no conflicts of interest come up when you're actually practicing?

I'm not sure. Seems like a standard background check. Asks me for references, traffic violations, employment history, etc. Just caught me off guard that they wanted to know the criminal history of siblings, let alone step-siblings.

Also, thanks to the above replies.

anon sequitur wrote:The guy said he could afford $500/month, right? He can buy whatever car he wants, practically. If you just want to be financially sensible and not flashy, get a 3-4 year old Hyundai/Kia. They are almost as reliable/durable as Toyota, but not as expensive. New and high quality enough that you should be able to get 5-7 years out of them without worrying much at all about maintenance.

If you want to go really cheap, get an Toyota Camry from the late 90's or early 2000's. These things run forever, are so ubiquitous that parts are always cheap and available. They are really some of the most boring cars ever made, but there is a reason they sold so many and so many are still on the road.

So I can do $500/m but would really prefer not to. I mostly just threw that out there to figure out if its worth it to not deal with the junker headaches. I am mostly trying to figure out if its more financially sound to pony up like 4k for a craiglist used car or to take 3k for a down payment and then lease.

I know there are a couple of threads for help budgeting for Manhattan big law folks, maybe a separate PD/Prosecution budgeting thread would be warranted? I've done fine on student loan money for the past 7 years and am not sure what to do with this massive influx of public defender cash!!! haha

Thanks a ton for all of the tips!

I plan on moving to Colorado next year, and I am going to try to interview with the Colorado PD at EJW. In the event that I don't get offered a position, I want to take appointments with the PD. Does anyone know what counties in CO would be best for that?

DayTripper1967 wrote:I plan on moving to Colorado next year, and I am going to try to interview with the Colorado PD at EJW. In the event that I don't get offered a position, I want to take appointments with the PD. Does anyone know what counties in CO would be best for that?

For state stuff, I think you go through this office: http://www.coloradoadc.org/site/index.p ... Itemid=207. For federal stuff, I think it's on the US District Court webpage under the CJA stuff.

Has anyone gone to the EJW conference/career fair? I know it's not until October but is it worth it to consider going? Did you get serious interviews or just BS table talks? Any insight would be awesome.

Ded Precedent wrote:Has anyone gone to the EJW conference/career fair? I know it's not until October but is it worth it to consider going? Did you get serious interviews or just BS table talks? Any insight would be awesome.

I got a serious Miami interview from a table talk.