Process
Scenario
You are trying to plan a personal budget to get your first car. You currently take the bus to a part time job, which pays $7.50 an hour and is 5 miles away. The bus costs $2 round trip. You can get another job which pays $10.00 an hour, but it is 15 miles away. Your parents tell you that you can work no more than 12 hours per week. You currently spend $20/week on misc expenses.
Assignment
Come up with a budget and plan on getting your first car:
A) Pick the car you would like
B) evaluate lease vs buy, cash vs financing (tools provided giving students insights, how to calculate, pluses and minuses).
C) consider all costs – insurance (decide which policy you would want), maintenance, and mileage.
D) come up with a budget that shows ‘when’ you will get the car, and how you will afford it ongoing.
Our class is going to be doing this webquest in conjunction with another High School math class in Piscataway, NJ. There is an on-line discusison group set up for this class on the Drexel University MathForum. You can reach the discussion groups under the on-line projects section: click here
Before you start your exercise, there are two on-line 'games' you will need to complete. The first will give you a high level overview of what steps may need to be considered when buying a car. The second is an overview of planning and managing a budget:
It all adds up - Buying a car It all adds up - Budget Odyssey
Each team will have 8 members - 4 from our class, 4 from Piscataway High School. Each of you will share 1 role. While you will each have separate responsibilities in this project, you will be given an overall score, so feel free to help each other out! 
Person #1 - Joe Teenager
Your assignment will be to choose 3 possible cars of interest. (Fun job!). There are many aspects to consider when you choose options - price, features, mileage, age, etc. When you choose your options, at a minimum you need to document price, mileage, and estimated annual maintenance costs.
Some good sites to use:
Car and Driver Edmunds Web site Carmax NewBuyer Info
In addition to this deliverable, you will be responsible for writing an MS Word document, used to summarize the approach, options considered, and decisions made.
Person #2 - Ms. Bucks, the "Banker"
Your assignment will be to document "what if" scenarios, and document what financing options are available for the cars that Joe Teenager chooses. This will require research. You will need to not only understand the average price for the vehicles chosen, but what finance rates are running at, as well as lease vs buying options. Some resources to do your research include:
Loan payment Calculator Bank Interest Rates Leasing Guide
In addition to this task, you will also be responsible for creating a MS Powerpoint presentation, documenting what the decision making process is that your team took in performing this excercise. (Inputs and outputs, fixed vs variable, etc)
Person #3 - Blessed Insurance
Your assignment is to do research on automobile insurance - what options are available, etc. You should come up with 3 different options to choose, based on features and costs
Insurance.com Progressive Insurance Auto Insurance Remedy
In addition to this work, you are the responsible mediator of the discussion groups between our team here in Georgia and the Team in Piscataway. Be sure communications are kept current, any action items followed up on, etc.
Person #4 - Tom 'Excel'-ent, aka, 'Geek'
Here's your chance for the team to put it all together. You get to take all of the data collected by the team - and create an excel file with the following: (note - the team will need to participate with you on the creation of this):
Tab #1 - develop a ‘what if’ calculator to show based on decisions made, what impact it would have on the ‘total cost’ of buying and keeping the car. (Graphing calculator can be provided)
Tab #2 - developing a ‘what if’ calculator to show based on decisions made, what ‘revenue’ could be put towards the car (which job, how many hours, discretionary expenses, etc).
Tab #3 - A graph showing when enough cash is saved to get the car based on decisions made. And lastly,
Tab #4 - show how based on the decisions made, the budget is there to afford the car on an on-going basis.
Almost There!
Okay, the analysis is done! The Powerpoint is complete, the Spreadsheet 'calculating', and the Word document is a piece of art.
NOW WHAT???
You need to submit all of the documents to your parents: Kyle Horton, (Mom, and teacher in Georgia), and Gene Schnuer (Dad,, and teacher in Piscataway). Schedule a 1 hour block of time with your parents over the next 3 weeks to 'plead your case'.
Then, if all okay, you'll be good to go! 
The evaluation section shows how as a group you will be evaluated. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask "Mom" or "Dad". But believe me, we keep notes! 