By completing this assignment, you will work towards satisfying the following prescribed learning outcomes: Demonstrate financial literacy related to budgeting skills Demonstrate financial literacy related to knowledge about credit and debt Analyse individual and societal practices associated with road related risk reduction and injury prevention How Much Will a Car Really Cost? Introduction Purchasing a car involves many costs. It is important to do your research to ensure you get the best-valued car for your money, and not a lemon. Completing this assignment will be a useful exercise because you will probably need this information at some time in the not-so-distant future. To complete this assignment, you will consult experts - people who have gone through the process of buying a car. You can talk with friends, neighbours, parents, coworkers, relatives, or acquaintances. You may also get expert advice from other sources. Don t forget that Google is a useful search engine for locating information on the internet. 1
Instructions Part 1: How Much Can You Afford? Determine how much money you are prepared to spend on a car. You can do this by considering the following questions: How much money do you have saved? How much money are your parents willing to give you? How much money are your parents willing to lend you? Will a bank lend you money? Why or Why not? How much money are you willing to spend on a car? Write a paragraph that answers the questions above. Part #2: What Car is Best for You? Do some research on the Pros and Cons of buying a used vehicle because Let s face it AT THIS POINT that is all you can afford. Copy the following chart in Word or Excel and list: Pros for buying a used car Cons for buying a used car Step 3: Comparing cars! Now that you are an informed consumer, check out the classified ads in your local newspaper, or visit craigslist.ca or Kijiji.ca and start shopping! Pick two different cars that you feel are affordable and could be the right car for you. Pick the best one once you have all of the information to compare the two cars. Be sure to take a screen shot of your ads. (Learn how to take a screen shot by visiting http://take-a-screenshot.org/) Insert a copy of the ads in your document. Be sure to include information such as: 2
Part #4: Buying Insurance and taxes Once you have paid for your vehicle, you have a few more costs before you get on the road. Phone an insurance agency for information for a quote on insurance for one year, taxes, transfer fee and license plate fee. (You may use your parents insurance papers and receipts as an approximate cost if you are not comfortable phoning an agency.) 3
Part #5: Incidental Costs You may have your car on the road, but there are always going to be other costs that you will come across, either expected (gas), or unexpected (a blown tire). List the amount you expect to allocate every month for each item. You may need to ask your experts how much gas they think you will use and approximately what that will cost per month. Or, you could estimate the number of kilometers you think you ll drive a month, divide it by the kilometers per liter your car is said to achieve, and multiply the answer by the cost per liter of gas. Part #6: Consider the Alternatives By now you may have realized that owning a car is an expensive undertaking. While you wait for the perfect opportunity to buy, what are some transportation alternatives that are available to you now? 4
Part #7: Reflection Now that you are aware of what it will take to purchase your own car, answer the following question: What steps will you take to prepare yourself financially for this first "big step" of buying a car? Your answer should be approximately 150 words long. ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES Once you have completed your work, make sure you can say, "yes", to each of the following questions that will be used to grade your assignment: Did I determine how much money I have to spend on a car? Did I find ads for two used cars, submit them with my assignment and choose the car which I view as the best deal? Did I note all the additional fees (taxes, transfer, etc.)? Did I find an approximate quote for insurance? Did I list all anticipated Incidental Costs? Did I consider the alternatives? Is my Reflection (Step 7) detailed and well thought out? Summary Hopefully, this has been a useful exercise for you to do. Keep a copy of it to reference when you plan the purchase of your first car. Want to know more? Website addresses ICBC: http://www.icbc.com/registration-licensing/buy-vehicle/buy-used British Columbia Securities Commission: http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/planning10/ 5