Name:

Jessica Clouse

Part 1: What type of car will meet your needs? Take into account all the things you
may need to use your car for?
Will you need to haul anything with your car?

no

Will you need to have more than 2 people in your car?

Will you need four-wheel drive?
Will you need to drive lots of distance?

yes
yes
no

How much gas can you afford to buy each week?

How much could you spend on repairs each month?

$20
$100

Part 2: Create a list of at least 6 cars that meet your needs based on the above
requirements
Ford Expedition EL 4WD
Jeep Patriot 4WD
Jeep Renegade 4WD

Ram 1500 4WD

Chevy Cruise 4WD

K1500 4WD

GMC Yukon

Part 3: Research the reliability of the cars on your list. You may want to consider
using Consumer Reports for this.
Car
Ford
Expedition

Engine
Flex
Fuel
3.5L

Automa
tic/
Manual
Automati
c

Fuel

Safety

17.2
city 22
highwa
y

Rear
View
Camera,
Tire
pressure
system,
child
safety
locks,
SOS
post
crash
alert

Extras
(Heated
Seats Etc.)
Floor shifter,
auto dimming
rearview
mirror, dual
zone electronic
automatic
temperature
control, cup
holders,
heated seats,
ambient
lighting

Overall
Good on
gas, has lots
of safety
features and
extras,
automatic.

Jeep
Patriot
2016

2.4L 4cylinde
r

automati
c

23 city
30
highwa
y

Jeep
Renegade

2.4L 4cylinde
r

automati
c

24 city
31
highwa
y

Ram 1500

3.6L
pentast
ar

automati
c

21 city
29
highwa
y

Chevy
Cruise

1.4L
4cylind
er

automati
c

26 city
38
highwa
y

system
ABS
brakes,
electroni
c
stability
control,
rear
view
camera,
keyless
start
Park
assist,
rear
view
camera,
accident
avoidan
ce
brakes,
road
side
assistan
ce,
keyless
entry
Park
sense
front
park
assist
system,
rear
back up
camera,
all
secure
locking
system,
Rear
cross
traffic
alert,

Heated seats,
aluminated
cup holders,
sunroof, lift
gate speakers,

Is good on
gas, has abs
breaks and
seems
helpful if
you steer off
the road.
Four wheel
drive.

Sun roofs,
packed with
cargo options,
Uconnect 6.5,
dual zone
climate
control, heated
steering wheel,
heated seats

This car is
good on
gas, comes
with a lot of
other add
ons, lots of
safety
features.

Uconnect,
Rotary E-shift,
tonneau cover,
heated seats,

This car has

a bigger
engine, it
comes with
good safety
features,
and basic
inside

Push start
button,
wireless
charging for

Comes with
a lot of high
tech stuff,
littler
2

lane
assist,
forward
collision
alert,

phone, Bose
speakers, built
in Wi-Fi, heated
seats (front
and back),
touch screen
radio,

engine,
safety gear
is good, cool
new
technologie
s

Part 4: Find at least 3 cars listed locally that meet your needs.
Make
Chrysler

Model
Jeep
patriot

Year
2016

Price
$17,59
5

Chrysler

Jeep
Renega
de

2015

$17,99
5

Chevrolet

Chevy
Cruise

2016

$16,62
0

Features
Sunroof,
abs
brakes,
4wd, cup
holders,
heated
seats
Radio,
sunroof,
heated
seats,
climate
control
Built in
wifi,
heated
seats,
touch
screen
radio,
safety
features

Contact Info.
25800 Gratiot
Avenue, Roseville
(888) 409-5930

25800 Gratiot
Avenue, Roseville
(888) 409-5960

35500 Gratiot
avenue, Clinton
township
(586) 791-1010

Part 5: Look up the value of each of the three cars you found. Use kbb.com for this.
You must factor in Year, Make, Model, Features, Mileage, and Location to find the
price.
Car 1 $18,655-$19,125

Car 2 $17,532-$18,183

Car 3 $15,514-$16,255

Part 6: Find at least three places where you could secure a loan for one car on your
list. You may want to consider banks and credit unions to find the best deal.
Institution 1:

Van Dyke Credit Union

Institution 2: ABD Federal credit union

3

Institution 3: Comerica Bank

Part 7: Find, Print, and Complete a Car Loan Application
*** Do NOT include your Social Security # ***MAKE ONE UP!!!!
Part 8: Determine what your loan will actually cost. You should come up with the
monthly payment and determine the amount of principle and interest over the life
of the loan.
http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/auto/auto-loan-calculator.aspx
http://www.cars.com/go/advice/financing/calc/loanCalc.jsp?mode=full
Monthly payment $513.31

Interest $936.72

Principle$__$15,000___

Part 9: What will it cost to put your car on the road? Identify taxes, registration, and
insurance costs.
Title Fee: $1,374

Plates:

Registration: _$284_________________

$502.40

Insurance: $1,094
Total: ______$3,254.40_____

Part 10: General Up-keep and Maintenance

You also need to be concerned with the general upkeep of your car along with how
much it is going to cost to keep gas in your car. This include regular oil changes
after 3000 miles, two new tires every year for Michigan winter weather adventures
and other car problems that could possibly occur. Below is a list for you to fill out
that will help you calculate the other yearly costs of operating your car.
1. The average number of miles driven per year by Americans is 12000.
A. How many times will you have to change your oil then? 4
B. If you will change it yourself, go to letter (d); if you plan on having
your oil changed by professionals go to letter (c)
C. What is the average cost of an oil change? $25
a.

Now multiply that number by how many time a year you will
need your oil changed.
Total yearly charge:
$75

D. For the do-it-yourselfers, you need to determine the number of

quarts of oil you will need every year, the number of oil filters you will
need, we will assume you have the wrenches to complete the job, but
you will need to buy some ramps so you can get to our oil plug.
Number or quarts of oil:
Total cost of oil:
Total cost of all filters:
Cost of two car ramps:
Total yearly cost for your oil changes:

2) Since the average number of miles driven is 12000, we are going to determine
how much money you will spend in fuel for one year.
a) Does your car run on gasoline or diesel? Gasoline
b) What is the average fuel mileage of your car (from page 1)? 31
c) What is the average cost of 1 gallon of fuel?
$1.89
d) Find the total cost of your fuel for one year:
(Number of miles driven / avg. fuel mileage)(Avg. cost of 1 gal. of fuel)
$731.611
3) What would the cost of 2 new tires for your car be?

$218.40

Site where you found this:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?
tireIndex=0&autoMake=Jeep&autoYear=2016&autoModel=Patriot&autoModClar=Sp
ort&width=205%2F&ratio=70&diameter=16&sortCode=45849&skipOver=true&min
SpeedRating=S&minLoadRating=S
Part 11: Complete the following chart
One Time Cost
Monthly
Registration: $284
Loan: $513.31

Taxes: $3,254.40
Plates: $502.40
Down Payment:
$1,374
Other:

Insurance:
$1.094

Weekly
Gas: $25

Repairs
Find at least 3 cost
of repairs for our
vehicle
Oil change: $25
Flat tire (new tire):
$109.20
Replacing spark
plugs: $311.40

Part 12: Research and present the cost of buying a car directly from the dealership
BRAND NEW!! What is the benefit of buying a car brand new vs. used. Look in to
the price of that car for a lease option and present the cost of leasing vs. buying
brand new. What is the benefit of leasing? What are the drawbacks? Out of the 3
options, buying used, buying brand new, and leasing, when would each purchase be
required in someones life? What is the best option for you now? What is the best
option for you later on in life? Why?
The benefit of buying a car brand new, is that you are the first person to
use it, meaning the car is not damaged or broken in yet. The price of
leasing a 2016 Jeep Patriot is lease from $181 for 36 months. $2,999 due
at signing. You get 12,000 miles a year. If you buy the car, it is $17,595.
The benefits of leasing are lower repair costs, you get a new car every 2 or
3 years, and you pay sales tax only on the portion of the car you finance.
The drawbacks of leasing a car are there is limited mileage, high insurance
cost, requires good credit, no customizations, and lots of fees. Someone
5

looking to buying a used car would probably be someone such as a

teenager who doesnt have a lot of money, but needs a car to get to school
and such. Someone buying a brand new car would more likely needs a car,
but has been saving for one. They may have even had a used car before
and are upgrading. Someone who would buy a leased car would be
someone who likes to drive new cars and yet does not travel much
because there is limited mileage. I think as of right now, the best option
for me would be a used car. I say this because I do not have a lot of money
at the moment, and I dont have a job yet to make money. I think the best
option for me later in life would be buying a new car. I say this because I
will have money saved up and can customize it however I want.