The City of San Jose must replace a number of its concrete-mixer trucks with new trucks. It has received two bids and has evaluated closely the performance characteristics of the various trucks. The Rockbuilt truck, which costs $74,000, is top-of-the-line equipment. The truck has a life of eight years, assuming that the engine is rebuilt in the fifth year. Maintenance costs of $2,000 a year are expected in the first four years, followed by total maintenance and rebuilding costs of $13,000 in the fifth year. During the last three years, maintenance costs are expected to be $4,000 a year. At the end of eight years the truck will have an estimated scrap value of $9,000.
A bid from Bulldog Trucks, Inc., is for $59,000 a truck. Maintenance costs for the truck will be higher. In the first year they are expected to be $3,000, and this amount is expected to increase by $1,500 a year through the eighth year. In the fourth year the engine will need to be rebuilt, and this will cost the company $15,000 in addition to maintenance costs in that year. At the end of eight years the Bulldog truck will have an estimated scrap value of $5,000.
a. What are the relevant cash flows related to the trucks of each bidder? Ignore tax considerations because the City of San Jose pays no taxes.
b. Using the figures determined in Part (a), what are the cash-flow savings each year that can be obtained by going with the more expensive truck rather than the less expensive one? (That is, calculate the periodic cash-flow differences between the two cash-flow streams - assume that any net cost savings are positive benefits.)