Question

Mary's car is 10 years old and has a problem. The repair man indicates that it will cost her $1200.00 to repair her car. She can purchase a different, more efficient car for $4,500.00. Her present car averages about $2,000.00 per year for gas while the new car would average about $1,500.00 per year. Find the number of years for when the total cost of repair would equal the total cost of replacement.

Answer 1

6 years 6 months

Explanation:

given data

let the number of year be x

le the total cost b y

for the older car

cost of repair $1200

cost of gas $2,000.00 per year

the cost for using the old car is

y=1200+2000x-----------1

for the new car

cost of $4500

cost of gas $1,500.00 per year

y=4500+1500x-----------2

equating 1 and 2 we have

1200+2000x=4500+1500x

solving for x

1200-4500=1500x-2000x

-3300=-500x

x=3300/500

x=6.6

The number of years is 6 years 6 months