Do Lawyers Need a Nice Car?

98 Comments

1. I actually had a client comment on this when I picked him up in a newish, clean Chevy Blazer. “My lawyer drives a Chevy?” I now drive a Mercedes.

   1. Should add that I was in a midsized firm, and the client was the VP responsible for assigning cases for my largest client. I didn’t have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a Mercedes, but I was a partner by then. I think it’s a little odd for an associate to have a really fancy car. It just needs to be clean and servicable and decent. Most firms will allow lawyers to rent cars if necessary.

   2. I’ve found that clients comment on (in a good way) cars that are nice but not too nice — like a nicer-end Jeep or Volkswagen. I think they like to see cars that aren’t super luxury, but also don’t want to see their lawyer in an old beat-up car. Not that this super matters either way — just a tiny extra thing to think about.

   3. Honestly, this expectation to “show money” is one of the reasons I went in-house and left private practice. It isn’t me, and I’d find the client looking down on my financially sensible choices to be obnoxious.

2. Wow! I live in NYC and this is just so not something I ever think about. Haters gonna hate, but I love my NYC subway commute!

   1. Yup, I live in DC and haven’t had a car in years. When I was at a law firm, I had no idea what my colleagues drove, probably because I was never in the parking garage.

   2. + 1. But when I didn’t live in NYC, I once borrowed my boyfriend’s BMW (not a late model) to sign up a new and big client at the client’s home. I was driving a well-kept Nissan, but the paint was completely faded. It was a “beater.” Thought a nicer looking car would go better with my suit and pumps. I got the client – who walked me outside to the car as I was leaving.

   3. Me too. I do not have a car, but when I lived out with my parents on LI, I drove their car and had a number of accidents so I said no more, I will be a city girl and since then my tuchus has gotten trimmer b/c of all of the walking I do. I made a Great choice! YAY!!!! Tho I still need a husband! FOOEY!

3. At my old firm (regional biglaw adjacent), partners lightly mocked brand new associates who really balled out with cars. From casual observation, it seems like we fell into two camps – new associates that kept on using the same car they had always used or people that upgraded to a Mercedes, BMW, or Lexus. I drove a brand new Sonata (that one of the partners once mistook for an Audi). My current firm is definitely not biglaw (midsized for the location but probably still fairly small) and our clients tend to be upper middle class business owners, doctors, etc. From casual observation, most partners drive luxury cars but not super new ones and I don’t think my Sonata stands out too much.

   1. As with all things service biz related, it just depends on what you want to signal to a client and your coworkers. My former ibank MD drove an older corolla- and was proud of it!

      You will, as a jnr staff, raise eyebrows w your merc/ferragamo shoes. Senior staff, not so much, unless you drive a beatup.

4. I work in engineering for a Big 3 automaker, and do not drive a Big 3 car. I get some flack from my coworkers when I tell them what I drive, but no one makes a big deal about it. I’ve heard that 10+ years ago foreign cars would get vandalized in the parking lot. At some of the auto plants there are still lots far away from the building for non-brand cars. I plan on running my car into the ground, and then I’ll consider a car from my company.

   1. I used to work for one Big 3 and drove a car from another and no one cared. I am sure I wasn’t high up enough in the food chain for it to matter.

      On the other hand, a co-worker bought an import that turned out to be a total lemon, and got plenty of comments along the lines of “Should have bought one of our cars – that’s your karma!” (tongue in cheek of course).

      My current car has just shy of 250,000 miles and I plan to drive it until the wheels fall off. So much for American cars not holding up. ;)

5. I drive a 10 year old neutral-color entry-level luxury car. This seems to fit in my world nicely (highly compensated finance company employee with an upper-middle class but frugal upbringing).

6. I think there are several aspects of this– generational (boomers like flashy stuff and millennials like flashy experiences), geographical (american made cars and trucks are more popular in the south) etc.

   That said, in accounting, many of the folks I’ve worked with, including partners and senior managers, had shockingly non-flashy cars. I’m talking Hyundais and 20 year old Honda civics and the like for folks who are easily pulling down six figures. Some had nicer cars– one partner had a lexus convertible and another had a bmw, but neither of them were the newest most high end models. I didn’t think of them more or less of them and their professionalism one way or the other.

   The only reason I have a lexus is because it was the same price as the toyota I was looking at, so I went with it because it was a bit nicer on the inside. Next time I’ll probably get a toyota though since the lexus feels weirdly too fancy for me. Shrug. Accountants are not typically flashy people though. That’s more of a finance thing.

   1. This is very “Millionaire Next Door” behavior — drive the heck out of a good Toyota Camry or Honda Civic or somesuch.

      1. Yes. I also attribute this behavior (perhaps mistakenly) to numbers people. It’s like they know luxury cars aren’t worth the money for them so drive a dependable car and pocket the cash instead.

7. My Volvo is approaching 300,000 miles. The leather and paint are in perfect shape, when properly maintained, the car runs beautifully. (My husband was very impressed the first time he drove it. “It doesn’t drive like a car with 275,000 miles.”)

   1. Geographic notes: in New England, this is a very understandable choice. It’s more “old school,” so to speak, but plenty of very well-to-do New Englanders buy a nice car, maintain it, and drive it until it dies.

      That would not be the correct choice to make in Southern California.

      1. 100% this. Climate is a major concerning factor for me. Neither clients nor colleagues are impressed by a sporty rear-wheel-drive car that flies off the road at the hint of a single snowflake. Showing up is 75% of the battle for a large portion of the year.

         1. Yep.

            I wish Kat talked about practicality in a way that is more expansive than cost.

            In New England, a station wagon with traction control is a very practical choice. In any part of the country, it is a responsible-looking choice (I bought it when I was 30, unmarried, and childless). I’m there, driving a safe, reliable car (with leather seats, heated seats, a sunroof, upgraded sound, etc.), with features to help me get to work in bad weather. That makes me look like a reliable, responsible, level-headed person.

      2. Disagree, I am from SoCal and I definitely have a used car that cost 4% of my salary. I’ve spent less than $200 in repairs in the last 10 years. I feel absolutely fine about this.

8. I’ve worked very hard to get to a city and live in a neighborhood where I do not need a car, so I sure hope not!

9. For nearly all lawyers this is ridiculous

   1. Cosigned. I had a beater car from associate –> counsel at BigLaw. There was no way I was going to pay $$$ on a car when I had loans (and then for the car, I’d have to pay more for parking in a highrise and at work). And after the loans were done, it was saving up for a downpayment.

      My first and only new car is my current car — Honda Odyssey. I sprung for leather but not all the way for Touring / Touring Elite models.

      I think I’ve had a client in my car one time. If they are in-town, we meet for lunch/dinner near work. Otherwise, I’m flying to them. If having a beater car had felt like a deal-breaker, I might have been moved to get something like a certified pre-owned Avalon (but I liked having stick shift in my beater, which I never worried about parking on the street or getting nicked by valet parkers).

10. If you take cases on a contingency fee basis, I could see it being a good idea because it would be a way to convey success. Otherwise, no.

11. This whole area of concern is fascinating to me. As a city dweller, I have NO IDEA what anyone’s car looks like, and as a client would never expect outside counsel to drive me anywhere. Rather, they’d be the one paying for the Uber.

    Have a tiny used Honda (as we use street parking, smaller is better) that we use basically for grocery runs and shore trips. It’s dinged up a bit from parallel parking and snowplows, and usually has bird poop on the roof because of the street parking… but the inside is always clean :)

12. When I worked in Big Law, the partner I worked for the most gave me a lot of grief for driving a 15 year old Toyota (which was clean and ran great). He insisted I had to upgrade to a Mercedes, Lexus or BMW. I ignored him. I just couldn’t care less about cars, so long as they’re reliable. I want to spend my money traveling! He would sometimes give me grief about where I went on vacation (not just the taking of vacation, but that I was going to a ‘fancy’ place) and I would tease him that I could afford to go to Bora Bora because I didn’t have a car payment on a fancy car. Now I’m in-house at a university and nobody cares at all. I think the president and the football/basketball coaches probably drive luxury cars, but basically no one else does.

    1. How did you make the switch to in-house at a university? I’m looking to go in house somewhere, and having a lot of trouble figuring out where to start. Any advice appreciated!!

       1. Hi! My husband got a job at the university (as faculty) and I got an intro to the legal department through his department, because he told his department head he was reluctant to come unless they could find me a good job (I was a fifth year at an AmLaw 50 firm at the time). The legal dept wasn’t forced to hire me, but I think it was emphasized to them how much my husband’s department wanted him and that they couldn’t get him without a good job for me, so I definitely had a leg up over other candidates. Probably not much help since it was such a specific situation, sorry. Good luck with the search!

13. Well, if you are an environmental lawyer, you should probably drive a Prius.

    1. Most “environmental lawyers” in private practice work for polluters/developers, so no.

       1. +1. So sad.

    2. Aren’t Priuses out and Teslas in among the environmentally conscious?

       1. A Tesla is a 6-figure car from a company run by a nutjob. No thank you.

          1. Funniest thing I’ve read today.

       2. This is funny. The most environmentally conscious choice is not upgrade to a new car just because it is trendy. Then again, I am biased since I speak as an owner of a 2006 Prius with less than 100,000 miles on it that I plan to keep for 20 more years or until it dies (and 3 bikes with unknown mileage count that I will probably keep for life).

          1. Agreed!!! It’s so sad to me that people feel the need to upgrade, its so wasteful!

          2. This makes me feel a little better about my 12-year old Camry Hybrid. :-)

       3. The most environmentally-conscious car is often an old one, since manufacturing the cars (and those lithium batteries, FYI) takes a tremendous toll on the environment.

          There’s an article in Scientific American that outlines this, entitled “When Used Cars Are More Ecofriendly Than New Cars.”

          1. This. Plus older cars generally get better gas mileage than newer (non-electric) cars.

             1. What? On what planet do older cars get better gas mileage than new ones?

             2. There was an oil crisis in the 1970s, and as a result, in the 1980s and 1990s there was a lot of emphasis on fuel economy and producing compact cars. The same make/model of car used to be smaller and more fuel efficient. DH and I drive a 1995 Toyota Camry and a 2010 Toyota Camry – same exact car, same owners and driving habits, just 15 years apart – and the 1995 is noticeably more fuel efficient and always has been. I asked a car dealer about it once, and he said that made sense, because the Camry changed to be bigger and less fuel efficient somewhere between 1995 and 2010 (I don’t remember the exact year but I think it was around 2000). Same story with Honda Civic and lots of other cars.

    3. environmental lawyer here

       I don’t own a car and bike to work :)

       The only place I’d ever potentially have to drive a client would be a conference in the burbs and the rental would be on the firm.

14. My commute is not long, but it includes a major Texas interstate known for road debris, stop and go driving and fender benders. I wait for my parents to buy new cars and purchase their 5-7 year old car before they trade it in.
    My car is always in excellent condition and clean, but never new or flashy (though my Dad loves to purchase every available option.) The other partners drive giant Ford pickup trucks (because: Texas).
    The firm leases an Escalade that remains in our parking garage. Partners and senior associates can check it out to pick clients up from the airport, etc. However, I have picked up clients in my 10 year old SUV without complaint.

15. My clients never see my car.

    I drive an old subcompact and when I started as an associate I did get a fair amount of mockery about it from the partners. I mocked right back given that my car was reliable and their BMWs/Mercedes were nearly always in the shop. The mockery was mostly in good humor, but I think it revealed a tinge of uncertainty – in cultures as status driven as biglaw, indications that you don’t care about status are unsettling because it makes it hard for people to figure out your incentives and motivations. I’ve been very successful at my firm, but I do think there’s some discomfort with some of my life choices that run counter to the usual expectations at my firm (I also live in a high rise, am single and not particularly concerned about finding a boyfriend, and have shown complete disinterest in joining the country club).

    1. I think everybody cares about status. It just depends on where you choose to derive your status. Your BigLaw colleagues are unsettled because you don’t share their status markers, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have any. ;)

       1. That is an excellent way of putting it – there is a very specific vocabulary of status markers at my firm, and if yours are different, you’re not quite speaking the same language.

          1. What do your clients think of as important markers of status?

             1. My clients are an enormous mix of company types and sizes, so it varies. With respect to this specific question, though, my clients don’t see my car so it doesn’t matter.

             2. I was asking far more broadly than what types of cars they want their attorneys to drive.

       2. Oooh I like this. I remember years ago someone correcting me when I said I didn’t care what other people think in response to me talking about some very “not cool” hobby of mine. She told me very wisely that I absolutely care about what other people think I just want them to think different things than some of my peers – I care very little about being thought of as cool but I very much care about not being viewed as unintelligent or unkind.

    2. “in cultures as status driven as biglaw, indications that you don’t care about status are unsettling because it makes it hard for people to figure out your incentives and motivations.”

       Ding ding ding! Winner!!! The more “stuff” we buy, the more that all of our “stuff” owns us until it’s paid off. Firms WANT lawyers burdened by paying for stuff so they can’t leave. Anyone who goes their own way, isn’t obsessed with stuff, etc. is indicating that he/she doesn’t want to be owned by the firm either. Which is 1000% me but it’s not everyone and probably not how you get to be a BigLaw partner (I’m in-house and only drive modest domestic sedans because I just don’t care).

16. While we are talking cars, thoughts on the Volvo XC30? I drive 60 miles a day in heavy highway traffic, will keep the car until it dies, and it so pretty! But it’s 40k in the configuration I Want and I can only put 10k down, and it’s a lot of money.

17. I live in L.A. where everybody has a car. Some people are “car people” and some people aren’t. My husband is definitely one of the former so he drives a flashy sports car. If anything I think it’s a disadvantage with his clients because they tend to give him a little side-eye (“I’m paying for that?”). I just bought a new Audi SUV (would prefer a compact sedan but we need an SUV for Home Depot runs and to haul the bicycles so I took one for the team) but I plan to drive it until it falls apart.

    1. I agree with this. My husband was born and raised in LA and is a Car Person. Like, goes to all of the car shows (including Detroit in the middle of the winter??!?!) and records and then watches, dozens upon dozens of hours of car shows each year. When friends are shopping for a new car, they call him and ask him what they should by, and he will happily go and test drive cars with them (or honestly, will go and test drive cars and then report back to friend). That is his ideal Saturday. I am not a car person. Therefore, despite the fact that I might have a “flashier” job, I drive a Honda and he drives some very specific form of specialty Audi (for now, there’s talk of a different car….). I just need something that works and has heated seats and bluetooth and I am golden.

       1. HAHA when my husband can’t sleep he gets up and watches what we call The Very Loud Men — meaning Top Gear or whatever the latest incarnation of it is called.

          1. I wasn’t even thinking of Top Gear, Wheeler Dealer, Gas Monkey Garage, all the spin offs… when I said “car shows” I meant the Barrett Jackson car auctions. He will sit there and watch 40+ hours a year of car auctions. I can sit there for about 30 minutes and appreciate the work that has gone into these cars and admire how clean and shiny they are, but that’s my max.

          2. If I could find a decent husband, I would not care if he was or was NOT a car person. I am not and do NOT get any status out of driving my Dad’s ESCALADE. I prefer not to have any car b/c I live in NYC and do NOT need one. I take the subway, walk or a cab, UBER, LYFT or VIA whenever I need to move my tuchus from point A to point B. YAY!!!!

    2. And also? It’s so unusual to not have a car here that a friend of mine actually was asked to give a talk at the local Rotary Club on the topic of “How I Get Along Without a Car.”

       1. Ha! We have one car and it works out pretty well for us, but we’ve only met one other (two-grownup) family in our neighborhood that rocks the one-car lifestyle. We make it work by having family that will lend us a car in case of an emergency, using ubers, and (one of us … not me) having no qualms about biking to the grocery store.

          1. Yeah, the gist of his talk was “I bum rides and borrow cars and take Lyft a lot.” ;)

    3. *hearts in eyes* I LOVE the Audi SUVs.

18. Ugh I hope not! I’m not in law so maybe I just don’t get it but the materialism and wastefulness of having to have a fancy car just bc of your job makes me sad. I’d hope people aren’t getting rid of perfectly good things just bc they’re not luxury enough (applies to clothes, handbags, cell phones, etc in my mind)

19. I love this thread only because I love cars. There are only a handful of luxury cars in the parking lot of the company I work, which includes a good amount of execs. One of the VPs has an X1, which I don’t really consider to be a luxury car. Another has a very nice Porsche (he’s German, so there is some link there I am sure). There is one A3 that a GM drives. Cars are not flashy here, although that also has to do with the region we live in. I only started seeing Teslas regularly about six months ago.

    I am proud that all of our charging stations always have cars attached to them!

    I could easily afford a more expensive car, but it’s not that important to me. I have a 6 year old hybrid Jetta, that has interior upgrades (not giving up my heated seats). Once this dies, I will look to get a used Tesla.

20. Um no. This is ridiculous. You should never be judged professionally by what car you drive. That is so high school.

    1. I live in NYC and I believe being able to go without a car is a big part of why (I don’t see most of DC or even Boston as being as car-free as NYC)… but is it really so much more “so high school” than caring about how you dress? Both involve style and design and, yes, status.

    2. But this is the world we live in. A relative of mine always portrayed himself as this gifted businessman, with not that much to show for it. But when it came to keeping up appearances of fancyness in business, I always thought he did it right: he didn’t have a car, lived and worked in a place with phenomenal public transit and little parking. For client meetings, he would then take a taxi, so judgements on his car were moot.

       1. +1 to anon 3:04pm
          Yes, we have to take into account the world we live in, and people are judged in this way and other seemingly ridiculous ways that should have been left back in high school (at the least).

21. I work in a pretty tactical industry, if you will. We’re not paid enough for anyone to have a fancy car, so that’s not an issue.

    I’m one of the few people in my office without a car and that absolutely raises some eyebrows. We live/work in a city with good public transportation and I both live and work in central areas (I take the subway both my apt and my office are only a few blocks away from stops but several coworkers can and do walk up work). Most coworkers live further out in more residential areas (I think they’re crazy for living far out, they think I’m crazy for having zero interest in a car).

    However, the nature of my job also does not attract people who care about fancy cars (or really, anything fancy). Most guys (and I mostly work with guys) drive trucks. Most of the office has masters degrees and yet people still think they’re blue collar. Tactical clothing wins out over bis cas for most of the office, etc. A fancy car would be so out of place here.

22. My car is 22 year old Toyota and I don’t care. I did get it repainted a few years ago, and the leather is starting to split, but I’ve decided I’m finally going to get a new(or new to me) car in 2 years when mine’s due for a new timing belt, so I’m not doing anything about the leather. I never see clients, though. When I do get a new car, it will probably be another toyota, which I will also drive into the ground.

23. I love that I live downtown and can commute via subway. I’ve never owned a car and frankly don’t plan on getting one anytime soon (like not within in the next decade)

    When I do eventually get a car, I plan on buying a used car. I don’t think I’ll be ever able to stomach spending new car prices, it just doesn’t feel worth it to me!

24. I really wish this wasn’t the case, but I switched from a downtown transit commute to a suburban driving commute and am feeling a little self-conscious about my Corolla (it’s 2015 and perfectly clean, so not a beater, but also not the fanciest). I was recently at a dinner with clients and they were discussing cars and someone was like “I mean, I’m selling my BMW, but I’m not going to get, like a Corolla” and they all laughed hysterically as though owning a Corolla was the worst thing in the world. I like my car and it works great and gets great mileage, but I’m in law and sometimes feel like I need to project a fancier image to be more respectable.

25. My boss’s boss once had to trade cars with her husband after he hurt his back and was uncomfortable in his Jeep Wrangler, which was the kind that has giant tires and is hard to climb into. She very rarely drives clients but on this day an important higher up client asked if he could ride with her to a meeting. She was cursing her luck and apologizing about how her car was more reasonable but the client freaked out and LOVED the Jeep. She was anticipating an awkward ride because they were in for a tense meeting but he just keep raving about the Jeep. She said the meeting went great. FWIW, she’s 4’10’’ and tough as nails and I think he was a little impressed to see her driving it. So let’s all buy monster trucks! ;)

    1. I love this! My sister has a Wrangler and it is about the most uncomfortable vehicle going. She loves it, though. A few years back, my SUV was in the shop so my dad let me drive his 1977 Chevy Blazer to work. I see you all cringing. Trust me, this Blazer was not what you’re thinking. Dad had it totally restored and repainted to car-show condition. That’s not what made it special, though. Dad was a mechanic and rebuilt the engine in this thing until he couldn’t do anything more to it without being unable to find fuel to run it on. When you stepped on the gas, it absolutely roared. The guys at work all got the biggest kick out of me (a little, short girly-girl) driving that huge Blazer with the giant mud tires with an engine that sounded like the green flag just dropped at Talladega. I’m a car nut (grew up around cars/the whole mechanic’s daughter thing, it’s probably genetic), so I got a good laugh of the whole situation myself!

26. Have a luxury car, but it’s a 1990’s model that I bought used in 2010. Back when I was an associate some of my coworkers liked to make fun of me for being “fancy” even though my car was much cheaper than their new Subarus and Ford F-150s (the cars of choice in my geographic region).

    I love how smoothly my car rides, and it has a lot of features that are normal now but were very high end at the time (like heated seat warmers). When it’s time to part ways I plan on getting another used luxury car (maybe something like a 5-10 year old Audi).

27. I practice law in a small town. I drove a Legacy until this past year. I now have a newer domestic SUV. Last year, I had to meet a client at her house. She took one look at a Subaru and said, “I thought you’d be in a Mercedes.” I didn’t know how to respond and was a bit embarrassed. While my SUV isn’t “luxury” by any means, it’s typical of what most attorneys in the area drive. SUVs are by far more common than sedans. A well respected partner has a newer Mercedes, but any time he has a jury trial, he drives his wife’s domestic SUV for fear of being judged by any jury members who may see him outside of the courthouse.

    1. This is real. No trial lawyer I know will drive a fancy car to the courthouse.

28. While I’m not in law, I always feel a little weird going out to my car especially since a lot of my coworkers and I leave at the same time. Cars are a hobby for my husband and I and his brothers – we’re constantly pointing out cool ones on the road, going to enthusiast meetups when we were kid free, etc. We have 8 year old BMWs that we’ve tried to maintain well so they probably come off as flashy. One is a hard top convertible that we’ve done a lot of upgrades to and is pretty loud when the engine starts. It definitely is attention grabbing.

    So while we’ve spent about the same amount of money on our BMWs as a new domestic, I feel like people probably think they’re more expensive than they are. And that always makes me feel a little weird because we’ve specifically been more frugal in other areas (our house primarily) to where we can enjoy nicer cars. Ultimately though I just write it off because they make me happy and thats what matters the most.

    1. I wouldn’t judge you for having an expensive car,or liking cars for a hobby. But I judge a noisy engine pretty harshly. It’s so unpleasant to everyone around you. Why do you want to be that person?

       1. +100.

       2. Speak for yourself. I LOVE a car that roars when it starts. When my husband and I were dating I used to say “I hate to see you go (in the morning), but I love to hear you go!”

29. My car is a 5 year old Subaru and I bought it because I wanted something that’ll be relatively problem free and long lasting. (Btw I’m so tired of the dumb homophobic comments in my area about a woman owning a subaru.) Luckily I never have to drive clients because my car is full of muddy paw prints, old coffee cups, haybale twine and smelly horse blankets. Yes that’s me living my best life. :)

    I normally would never buy a new car but preowned newish subarus were almost as much as my new one 5 years ago and I got a 0% financing deal so it made sense. I plan to drive this thing forever.

    1. I went on a date with a guy one time who said “You have short hair and you drive a Subaru? You sure you’re not a lesbian?” Told him my fifteen year old brother and he had the same stupid sense of humor. He got the hint. We did not go out again.

30. I work for state government, so my colleagues are more likely to give grief to someone for driving a fancy car. I love cars, so I notice the Jaguar F-Pace, Porsche Cayenne, and Volvo XC90 in the parking lot. The other luxury cars I see are entry-level Lexus and Acura models, and not a lot of those. Most people drive domestic cars or Toyotas and Nissans.

    On the other hand, a good friend of mine’s first job out of law school was at a mid-law firm in Miami. She was driving a 7-year-old BMW and got a lot of pressure to upgrade to a newer, flashier model from the firm’s partners to the tune of “you’re a lawyer at XYZ, LLC, now, you should be driving a nicer car.” She succumbed to that pressure, too.

    1. Oh! And they were all, “we pay you well enough to drive a nice car.” I know what they paid her. I know how much Miami cost then and costs now. They weren’t paying her that much.

    2. Another govt. lawyer here. Other than my 6 year old non- luxury car, the lot at my office is filled with cars under 3 years old, mainly luxury cars. That includes the supports staff’s cars. I feel like a total pauper. NY area so I suppose that explains it.

31. When I started at my firm, I drove a 12 year old minivan that I’d gotten used from my parents during college. One of the partners once told me that it had been his favorite thing about me when I first started. Our firm culture/personality tends very much toward millionaire next door types, so I think he saw it as part of that general aesthetic. I just don’t care about cars at all, so buying a new one is not how I want to spend my money. (I do have a new one now – eventually had to after driving the minivan through a NE winter without any heat).

32. This post is ridiculous! I wouldn’t mind it so much if the title weren’t so awful. Do professionals like lawyers “need” a nice car? No, of course not. It is ableist and elitist to suggest that they do. Many successful professionals and lawyers with disabilities do not own cars. As detailed above, many professionals choose to take public transportation regardless of whether they could drive. Many drive old cars to save money for other priorities. This post perpetuates outdated stereotypes and misconceptions of what it means to be a successful professional. Even in big law, a fancy car is not a necessity.

33. I agree with people about what you drive shouldn’t matter (particularly if it is reliable and clean). I’m a lawyer and drive an American made, small, 30mpg vehicle. Story – my mom grew up in an agricultural community. This is back in the day of the traveling salesmen, and one of her relatives sold life insurance or a similar product. He drove a brand new luxury car and traded it in every year for a new model. His clients (often agricultural, varied means) would occasionally comment “I don’t need to buy from you, you’re clearly successful, look at your car.” He would always respond with some variation of “I’m good at my job, and I can afford nice things because I’m good at my job.” It was definitely part of his sales pitch and look, but my mom distinctly remembers it even though she doesn’t care about cars. On her advice, I purchased the vehicle I own rather than a more-visibly-beat-up vehicle.

34. I hate this post. I would never consider what my co-workers think before buying a car. My husband and I are car people, and we buy lightly used luxury cars and keep them. It is a way to be a car person without spending tons of money. We share a very, very old powder blue BMW M3 and a less old Range Rover. It is what we like, and works for us, which is what matters.

35. I just wanted to comment to say that the guy with the 3 million mile Volvo was my high school science teacher :)

36. I really don’t care what my clients/coworkers think about my car. I’m a senior associate at a mid-sized miswestern firm and my teo concerns are all wheel drive because I cover a large area of our state and having enough space for my family. I love my Toyota Sienna with AWD and enough room for my kids. I haven’t had any negative comments on it. The one car I drove that my boss thought was “too fancy” was a new Honda Civic, but he drove a rusted out Ford Windstar.

37. I’m in house and drive an 8 year old Prius. I originally bought it because I had an 80 mile commute so it paid for itself in gas when I traded in my previous Jeep Grade Cherokee and bought it used. I’ll probably upgrade if and when it needs a major repair (aka the battery goes out) to another Prius but probably get a higher trim level (I have the base model now). I love that I can haul as much stuff as an SUV but that it drives like a car. I also love the gas mileage. It really does have a ton of cargo room. When I worked at a firm there was no car pressure because I was in a big city and walked to work every day. At my current employer, literally no one cares what you drive. Some people at my level drive Porsches but other more senior people walk to work or drive Toyotas or similar. I’m at a manufacturing company that likes to think of itself as “low cost” for our products so I can’t imagine anyone thinking that driving a luxury car was important.

38. this post reminds me of a quote a colleague said. “New Yorkers wear their money. Californians drive their money. New Englanders hide their money.”

39. When I bought a new Prius as a junior associate in biglaw after totaling my ten year old Volvo, I had a senior associate *literally* laugh at me for a full minute and say that I could afford to get a better car. I think he had an Audi at the time.
    Still have the Prius six and a half years later, still think the senior associate was a pretentious jerk.

40. Senior associate in BigLaw in major southern city. Drive an 8 year old Mazda 3 that cost $15K and has cost me almost nothing in repairs. Have never gotten any comments on it. Can’t imagine anyone actually notices. I almost never have a client see my car, but it’s clean and classic and would be happy to drive them in it if required. It drives perfectly and if I change cars it will probably be to a Mazda 6 that has slightly more room in the back to accommodate a second car seat.

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