Situation Analysis

 Jaime is a young graduate student, who worked in a small and local packaging plant for 30 hours
per week in order to purchase a car.
 He had budget constraints within $5000-$6000.
 As per his initial objectives, he required a car that would be functional and convenient as well as
that could help him deal with his job responsibilities.
 A part of his job required to transport boxes across the city, consequently he needed a car with
a large amount of trunk space.
 The car should also have good enough seating capacity for companions on a road trip.
 His rigorous search by touring Random dealerships and exploring classified ads helped him to
narrow down to 2 cars- Ford Mustang and 2000 Navy Honda CRV.

SWOT:
Strength: Honda CRV:
 The car was within the budget
 Insurance premium was also satisfactory
 The trunk space and number of seats and Transmission were all up to the mark

Ford Mustang:

 Had an emotional appeal

 The car was within the budget
 Insurance premium was not significantly different from Honda CRV
 Maintenance costs were like an SUV

Weakness:

 Since Honda CRV was a large sized car, it had high gas consumption

Ford Mustang:

 The car consumed a little bit more gas

 It could not be used to transport boxes
 The space was too cramped up

Opportunity:

 A

Threat:

 A

Problem Statement
 Keeping in view the personal and professional needs, he was stuck between emotional and
cognitive buying as he was unable to decide which car should he purchase?
Options
 As for the Honda CRV the price and functionality were fulfilled by the car and he thought of it as
a good deal.
 For Ford Mustang he was indifferent towards the job promotion and for long trips he could rent
a larger car

Criteria for Evaluation

Evaluating based on below criteria:

 Based on utility
 Additional costs incurred
 The resale value and the current condition of both the cars

Evaluation of Options
1. For Honda CRV
 Based on utility: The car served all the functional criteria from the job perspective.
Additionally, he could also plan long road trips with his siblings as the car had ample
seating space
 Additional costs incurred: The car had no additional costs attached to it as per the case
 The resale value: Although the car had been driven 140,000 miles there was no
additional discount offered, implying a good brand recognition and demand
2. For Ford Mustang
 Based on utility: Although the car appealed to him emotionally it did not fulfil his
professional and personal requirements
 Additional costs incurred: To compensate for his needs he had to sacrifice with the
promotion, and he had to hire a a larger car for long road trips with his siblings. All this
would have added to his expenses despite owning a car
 The resale value: The dealer was ready to offer a discount on the car in order to match
the price level of Honda CRV. This indicates that in case Jamie wants to resell his car in
the future, it would be loss for him.

Recommendation
 Considering all the scenarios, it is recommended to proceed with the purchase of Honda
CRV.