Question

You buy a used car for $6500. The monthly cost of owning the car (including insurance, fuel, maintenance, and taxes) averages $350. Write and equation that models the total cost of buying and owning the car.

Answer 1

Y = 350x + 6500

where x = the number of months you own the car and y = the total cost of buying and owning the car.

This is true because each month, it costs 350, so finding the monthly cost would be multiplying 350 by the number of months, or x.  The + 6500 is there because in addition to the monthly cost, the original price was $6500.