Estimate the operating cost per mile of an automobile with a price of $15,000 that gets 30.0 miles per gallon. (A: $0.32/mile)

The fixed costs per year of operating an automobile is approximately 20.% of the initial price of the car. Thus, the operating cost/mile = 0.20/yr × (purchase price of automobile)/(miles driven per year) þ (price of gasoline/gallon) × (gallons used per mile). In the exercises that follow, assume that the automobile is driven 2.0 × 10⁴ miles per year. Assume gasoline costs $5.00/gallon.