The Financial Advisor is a weekly column in the local newspaper. Assume you must answer the following question. "I need a new car that I will keep for 5 years. I have three options. I can (A) pay $15,999 now, (B) make monthly payments for a 9% 5-year loan with 0% down, or (C) make lease payments of $269.00 per month for the next 5 years. The lease option also requires an up-front payment of $500. What should I do?" Assume that the number of miles driven matches the assumptions for the lease, and the vehicle's value after 5 years is $4500. Remember that lease payments are made at the beginning of the month, and the salvage value is received only if you own the vehicle.
(a) Develop a choice table for nominal interest rates from 0% to 50%. (You do not know what the reader's interest rate is.)
(b) If i = 9%, use an incremental rate of return analysis to recommend which option should be chosen.