For this project you will do research on a car that you would be interested in purchasing. (The catch is you have an
unlimited amount of money! Go Crazy!) You will go to several sites to find information on your car and some of the
costs associated with its purchase and related expenses. Your project should include a picture of your car, a picture of
your personalized plates, descriptions of each topic, and the completed worksheet "Estimating the Cost of Owning a
Vehicle".

CAR SELECTION AND PRICES:
Sites: autotrader.com autobytel.com edmunds.com carmax.com (You may use any other site to find your car!)
1. Find a car you like and the purchase price. (Use the "invoice" price)
2. Look for 3 or 4 cool options to include in your report.

SAFETY:
Sites: crashtest.com nhtsa.dot.gov
1. Look up the make, model, and year of your car and see its crash rating. One star is the worst and 5 is the best.
2. If you have problems finding information on your car, find the closest model and/or year to your car and record that
information.
3. Explain what you car did well in and what it did poorly in.
4. You may have to search Google for the rating of your vehicle.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
INSURANCE:
Site: insure.com
Click on "car insurance”.
Scroll down to “Insurance Basics” on right and click on “Car insurance basics”.
List and explain the types of coverage you may need.
Scroll back up to the top of the page and click on “Minimum levels of required auto insurance”.
Find and record the minimum coverage for the state of Virginia.

FINANCING AND LOANS:
Site: eloan.com
1. Go to “Advice and Calculators” on top right of page.
2. Where is says “I want to calculate…” scroll down to “My monthly payment on an auto loan” and click GO.
3. Fill in loan amount (cost of car minus 10% down payment)
- To figure out what 10% of your car payment is… multiply the cost of your car times .1, or move the decimal
point over two places to the left. Then take that number and subtract it from the original cost of the car… that is
your loan amount.
4. Enter 4% as your interest rate
5. Write down monthly payments if you were going to finance for 36 months (3 years), 48 months (4 years), 60 months
(5 years), and 72 months (6 years)
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of financing over a longer period of time?

1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
5.
PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATES:
Site: dmvnow.com
Click on "vehicle services" located under “citizen services” on left
Click on "create a personalized plate" on the right, under “license plates”
Click on “create a personalized character combo for your vehicle”
Select a plate type (design)
Select your personalization (must be appropriate or it will be denied).
Print screen and copy your license image to your paper or powerpoint.

Worksheet on next page…
GRADING RUBRIC:
INFORMATION
Web quest Information
Worksheet
Neatness
TOTAL
POINTS
65 Points (12 points for each topic)
30 Points
5 Points
100 Points
POINTS EARNED
“ESTIMATING THE COST OF OWNING A VEHICLE” (Worksheet)
Fill in the values by using the price of your car. Use your figures in the equations provided and in the examples to come
up with your own totals. Down payments should not be more than 10% of the price of the car.
CAR EXPENSES
EXAMPLE
Vehicle Initial Cost
Titling Tax (3%)
Down Payment (10% of car cost)
Amount Financed (Loan amount)
Finance Charge
* (Amount Financed x Interest Rate (.10) x number of
years financed)/2
Payments per Year
* Amount Financed + Finance charge/number of years
financed
Insurance per Year
* You will be required to purchase collision insurance
as well as liability insurance since the vehicle is
financed.
Registration and Tags
License plates are approximately $30 per year (more
if special plate). County tags are approximately $20
per year.
Estimated total mileage per year
Yearly cost of oil changes
* (Total mileage/3000 (recommended oil change)x25)
Cost of fuel per year
* Total mileage divided by MPG multiplied by price of
gas (use $3.80 for price of gas)
Yearly cost of tires
* Multiply miles per year by .01. Based on a set of
tires lasting 40,000 miles and costing $400
Yearly cost of repairs and maintenance
* Multiply miles driven by .02. Includes air filters, fuel
filters, tire rotation, alignments, etc.
DOES NOT INCLUDE MAJOR REPAIRS SUCH AS
TRANSMISSION OR ENGINE
EXTRAS:
* Tinted windows (find prices online)
* Rims (find prices online)
* Etc. (Say what you are adding to your vehicle +
price)
TOTAL YEARLY COSTS OF OWNING A VEHICLE (Add
all numbers above together)
MONTHLY COSTS OF OWNING A VEHICLE (Divide
number above by 12)
$20,000
$600
$2,000
$18,600
$2,700
YOUR VEHICLE COSTS
$7,130
$1,500
$1,500
$50
$50
15,000
$125
15,000
$125
$1,180
$1,180
$150
$150
$300
$300
***
$10,435
$870