Doctors Give Up Luxury Cars For Money Reasons More Than Realtors

Seems like a sign of the times. Leasetrader.com, which bills itself as the most popular online marketplace for transferring car leases, reports in its blog here that doctors seem to be leading the professions in financial pain.

At least, in financial pain as measured by seeking to hand off a lease on a Maserati, a Mercedes or a BMW 7 series.

In its latest survey of leaseholders who are seeking to transfer their leases, leasetrader.com found that among those who were doctors, 54% said they were getting out for financial reasons, compared to 34% in 2008. Lawyers came in second. Financial executives' pain seems to have been cut in half between 2008 and 2010.

John Sternal, spokesperson for leasetrader.com, parsed the numbers a bit for me. Leaseholders seek to get out of their leases for many different reasons, he said, from moving to a new location to finding that their growing family can no longer fit in their sports car. The survey found that doctors mentioned "financial reasons" more than any other profession.

The numbers on doctors translate into easily several thousands doctors who are trying to hand off their leases, John said. Maseratis, Mercedes S series and BMW 7 series are "the most popular that doctors are trying to escape from."

The Website reports:

LeaseTrader.com analyzed data on drivers of various industries getting out of their expensive car Lease Specials and compared to similar data from 2008. Two years ago realtors topped the list with 68 percent escaping a car Lease Specials for financial reasons; today that honor goes to doctors.

Doctors topped the current list with 54 percent listing vehicles such as Maserati, Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 Series. Men doctors looking to escape a Lease Specials outnumbered women doctors three to one in the marketplace as of September 2010. LeaseTrader.com experts believe the problems facing the nation’s health care situation are the biggest reason for the jump in listings from doctors.

I can't help but recall a Los Angeles Times headline that rolled by yesterday, "Health Care Sector No Longer A Jobs Machine." Or maybe they're just all buying Priuses.