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MATH125: Unit 3 Individual Project Answer Form

Logic, Decision Making, and Introduction to Statistics

ALL questions below regarding BUYING and LEASING a car must be answered. Show ALL step-by-step calculations, round all of your final price answers correctly to the nearest cent, and include the units of measurement. Submit this modified Answer Form in the Unit 3 IP Submissions area.
Being well-informed, or at least knowing the right questions to ask, can save you from being taken advantage of. The purchase of a car involves so many variables that it is best to have some understanding before you attempt to purchase a car. There are even more variables to consider when you lease a car. For the purpose of this example, you will ignore such things as tax and dealer rebates. Research the differences between buying and leasing a car.
BUYING

Choose a car that you wish to own, and find the price of this car. For this example, only consider new cars to purchase from a dealership. This will be your principal value, P.

Principal, P $

Research available interest rates on this particular car. This will be the rate, r.

Rate in decimal form, r

Decide how long you would like to take to pay off this car. Choose within 2 to 5 years. This will be the time, t.

Time, t

The simple interest formula, I=Prt, can tell you how much interest will be added to the principal amount of this loan. Calculate the interest on your loan.

Interest, I $

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How much will you be repaying over the life of your loan?

Total repayment $



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How much are your monthly payments?
Monthly payments $

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Assume that you have 6% to use as a down payment based on the original purchase price of the car. How much will you be putting down? What is the new value of P on your lease?
Down payment, D $
New value, P $

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With the down payment, what will the new monthly payments be?
New monthly payment $

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LEASING

Now, consider the option to lease this same car.

The appeal of a lease is a lower interest rate. Subtract 3% from the original interest rate (from Step 2). If your answer is less than 0.6%, use the minimum rate of 0.6%.
Reduced rate in decimal form, r

The length of a lease is typically 3–7 years. Choose how long you wish to lease this car.
Lease time, t


The monthly payment on a lease accounts for the depreciation of the car’s value. Assume that at the end of your lease, the car has only retained 40% of its original value (40% of your answer in Step 1). What is your car’s value at the end of the lease? Use this for your new value of P.
New value, P $

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How much interest will you be paying over the course of this lease?

Interest, I $

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What is your total cost—in other words principal plus interest?

Total Cost $




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How much is your monthly payment?

Monthly payment $

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At the end of the lease, you do not own the car. If you wish to purchase the car, you would still owe the value of P from Step 11. At this point, you could turn in the keys and walk away, assuming the car is in perfect condition and ignoring mileage fees. What are the benefits and disadvantages to walking away from this car?

Explain your answer here:







Instead of walking away, you could also purchase the car for what it is now worth, plus the interest. Using P from Step 11, r from Step 2, and t from Step 3, calculate how much you would repay over the course of this new loan.

Interest $
Total repayment $

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At the end of the lease, how much did you pay in total for the car? Be sure to include the lease, Step 13, along with the purchase price from Step 16.

Total cost of the car $

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Would you consider leasing a car? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of buying versus leasing a car.

Explain your answer here:

Answer 1