I want a Car!

Math Assignment
For this project, you will research the process of buying a vehicle. Record the requested information

about each vehicle below.

Options for how to turn it in:

1. Take a picture and email it to me.

2. Take a picture and send it to me through Remind 101.

3. Save as a file and email it to me.

1. Pick two vehicles that you would like to own. One of them will be a sensible vehicle that is

moderately priced and can get you from point A to point B. The other vehicle can be anything
you want. For example, you can choose a Ford Focus and a Hummer H3.

Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
Make & model Make & model

Year Year

Price of vehicle (MSRP) (A) Price of vehicle (MSRP)

2. When you buy a car, you must pay sales taxes (6.25% of vehicle price) and a title fee ($33).

Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
Tax (B) Tax

Title (C) Title

Total vehicle cost (A+B+C) (D) Total vehicle cost

3. You will be financing these vehicles from the Anderson Credit Union. You will randomly select
a down payment percentage, an APR, and the length of your loan. Use Auto Loan Calculator on
bankrate.com and lines G, H, J to calculate monthly car payment.

Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
Down payment (%) (E) Down payment (%)
Down payment ($)
(F) Down payment ($)
Total amount to be Total amount to be
(G)
financed financed
APR (H) APR

Length of loan (J) Length of loan

Monthly car payment Monthly car payment

4. You will also need to budget your monthly/yearly expenses for the vehicles. You will not
always find coupons, so shop wisely.

1. Insurance: You will need full insurance coverage since you are financing your vehicle from a
financial institution. Visit http://money.msn.com/auto-insurance/auto-insurance-quotes.aspx to
determine the annual cost of car insurance for each vehicle. (*NOTE-the given quote is for 6
months*)
Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
Annual cost Annual cost

2. Gas:
a. Use Google Maps to estimate how many miles you will drive on a given week. Consider
travel to/from home, work, and school as well as child care and running errands.
b. Convert the weekly estimate you generate to a monthly figure.
c. Given the current price of gas ($2.29/gallon) and the estimated MPG for each vehicle,
budget your cost of gas per month.
Weekly mileage (K) Monthly mileage (K*52)/12 (L)
Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
MPG (M) MPG

Monthly cost (L/M)*$2.29 (N) Monthly cost

3. Up Keep: You will be having the usual scheduled maintenance performed for each vehicle.
a. Most vehicles need to get oil changes every 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes
first.
b. Tires should be rotated every 6,000 miles.
Based on the mileage you estimated, calculate the annual expenses for oil changes & tire
rotations. Consider that more expensive vehicles may require premium products.
Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
# of oil changes needed # of oil changes needed

Cost per oil change Cost per oil change

Annual oil change expense Annual oil change expense

# of tire rotations needed # of tire rotations needed

Cost per tire rotation Cost per tire rotation

Annual tire rotation expense Annual tire rotation expense

4. Unexpected Repairs: Sometimes your vehicle will need unexpected maintenance (flat tire,
dead battery, etc.). Based on the expense of parts (more expensive vehicles may
require premium products), estimate an annual allocation for unexpected repairs.
Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
5. State fees: The state requires you to pay annual fees on your vehicle.
a. State inspection costs $28.75 annually.
b. Vehicle registration costs $64.25 annually.
Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
State inspection State inspection

Vehicle registration Vehicle registration

5. Now that you have considered all the potential expenses of owning a car, estimate the
monthly cost of having a car. Some of the expenses that you calculated above were annual
costs, while others were monthly. If expenses were recorded annually, determine what the
cost of that expense would be if it were spread out over 12 months. Record only monthly
costs below to determine the total monthly cost of owning your vehicles.

Vehicle #1 Vehicle #2
Car payment Car payment

Insurance Insurance

Gas Gas

Up keep Up keep

Unexpected repairs Unexpected repairs

State fees State fees

Total monthly cost Total monthly cost

6. After analyzing the total monthly cost of owning each vehicle and taking into account your
salary, living expenses, and desired lifestyle, thoughtfully explain which car you will choose
to buy and why. You must use a minimum of 4 complete sentences to respond.

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