Final answer:
Bernie's monthly payment for the new car, after accounting for sales tax, fees, and trade-in value and calculating the loan with a 12.77% annual interest rate compounded monthly, would be $438.20.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate Bernie's monthly car payment, we need to follow these steps:
- Calculate the total cost of the car including taxes and fees.
- Subtract the trade-in value of Bernie's current car to find the amount that will be financed.
- Use the loan formula or an amortization calculator to find the monthly payment.
The total cost of the car with taxes and fees is calculated as follows:
List price = $18,575
Sales tax = 7.40% of list price = 0.074 * $18,575 = $1,374.55
Registration fee = $795
Documentation fee = $110
Total cost = List price + Sales tax + Registration fee + Documentation fee = $18,575 + $1,374.55 + $795 + $110 = $20,854.55.
Trade-in value for Bernie's 1999 Buick Riviera is $1,455. Subtracting this from the total cost we get:
Amount to be financed = Total cost - Trade-in value = $20,854.55 - $1,455 = $19,399.55.
Now we use the loan formula to determine the monthly payment:
M = P[r(1+r)^n]/[(1+r)^n-1]
Where:
P = principal amount ($19,399.55)
r = monthly interest rate (12.77% annual / 12 months = 1.0642% per month = 0.010642)
n = number of monthly payments (5 years * 12 months/year = 60 payments)
Substituting the values we get:
M = $19,399.55[0.010642(1+0.010642)^60] / [(1+0.010642)^60-1] = $438.20.
This matches answer choice (C). Bernie's monthly payment would be $438.20 after rounding to the nearest cent.