A used car was purchased for $12329 this year. Each year the car's value decreases by 8.5%. What will the car be worth in 10 years?

1 answer

To calculate the value of the car after 10 years, we can use the formula for exponential decay:

\[ V = P(1 - r)^t \]

where:

  • \( V \) is the future value of the car,
  • \( P \) is the initial value of the car,
  • \( r \) is the annual depreciation rate (as a decimal),
  • \( t \) is the time in years.

Given:

  • \( P = 12329 \)
  • \( r = 0.085 \)
  • \( t = 10 \)

Substituting the values into the formula:

\[ V = 12329(1 - 0.085)^{10} \] \[ V = 12329(0.915)^{10} \]

Now, we calculate \( (0.915)^{10} \):

\[ (0.915)^{10} \approx 0.4138 \]

Now, we can substitute this back into the equation:

\[ V \approx 12329 \times 0.4138 \approx 5095.43 \]

Therefore, the value of the car after 10 years will be approximately $5095.43.