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Compare two car loan offers by total cost

  • For Small business owners
  • You practice Showing an example of what you want
  • Time about 5 minutes

About this exercise

You're financing a $18,000 car and have two loan offers. Get exactly 3 numbered lines in plain text, under 70 words: 1. Offer A's total cost (all payments plus fees) with the math, using the updated payment; 2. Offer B's, same shape; 3. which costs less in total and by how much. No advice. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Using the old payment. The AI uses $412 and misses the credit union's update. Try: Add: "Use Offer A's updated $420 payment."
  • Comparing monthly payments. The AI compares $420 and $365, like the salesperson wants. Try: Say: "Compare the total of all payments plus fees."
  • No math shown. The AI gives totals with no working, so you can't check them. Try: Show it: "1. Offer A: $420 x 48 = $20,160 + $300 fee = $20,460".
  • Getting advice. The AI weighs pros and cons and nudges you toward one option. Try: Add: "The last line only says which costs less and by how much. No advice."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 70 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part: "each line under 16 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Uses the updated payment
  • Compares totals
  • Shows the math
  • Sets the number of lines
  • Sets a word limit

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