Derek plans to buy a $30,138.00 car. The dealership offers zero percent financing for 50.00 months with the first payment due at signing (today). Derek would be willing to pay for the car in full today if the dealership offers him $____ cash back. He can borrow money from his bank at an interest rate of 4.63%.

1 answer

To determine the maximum cash back offer for Derek, we first need to calculate the present value of the 50-month cash flow from the dealership with zero percent financing.

  1. Monthly Payment Calculation: Since the dealership offers zero percent financing for 50 months on a $30,138 car, Derek will pay the total price in 50 equal monthly payments.

    \[ \text{Monthly Payment} = \frac{30,138.00}{50} = 602.76 \]

  2. Present Value Calculation: Next, we find the present value of these monthly payments. The present value \( PV \) of an annuity can be calculated using the following formula:

    \[ PV = PMT \times \left(1 - (1 + r)^{-n}\right) / r \]

    where:

    • \( PMT \) = monthly payment ($602.76)
    • \( r \) = monthly interest rate (annual rate divided by 12 months)
    • \( n \) = number of months (50)

    The bank’s annual interest rate is 4.63%, so the monthly interest rate \( r \) is:

    \[ r = \frac{4.63%}{12} = \frac{0.0463}{12} \approx 0.0038583 \]

  3. Calculating the Present Value:

    Now we can substitute the values into the formula:

    \[ PV = 602.76 \times \left(1 - (1 + 0.0038583)^{-50}\right) / 0.0038583 \]

    First, calculate \( (1 + 0.0038583)^{-50} \):

    \[ (1 + 0.0038583)^{-50} \approx (1.0038583)^{-50} \approx 0.826435 \]

    Now, substitute back into the present value formula:

    \[ PV = 602.76 \times \left(1 - 0.826435\right) / 0.0038583 \] \[ PV = 602.76 \times \left(0.173565\right) / 0.0038583 \] \[ PV = 602.76 \times 45.057528 \] \[ PV \approx 27,116.53 \]

  4. Cash Back Calculation:

    The maximum cash back Derek would be willing to accept is the difference between the total price of the car and the present value of the financing offer:

    \[ \text{Cash Back} = \text{Price of Car} - PV \] \[ \text{Cash Back} = 30,138.00 - 27,116.53 \approx 3,021.47 \]

Thus, the dealership would need to offer Derek approximately $3,021.47 cash back for him to consider paying for the car in full today.