A purchaser just paid \( \$ 52,999 \) for a \( 4 W D \) vehicle. If \( 55 \% \) of that amount was the seller's markup, based on the cost, then what was the cost of the 4 WD vehicle? (Round to the nearest whole dollar.) Select one: o a. \( \$ 34,192.90 \) ob. \( \$ 33,605 \) o c. \( \$ 35,218.20 \) o d. \( \$ 59,000.50 \)

To calculate the cost of the vehicle, we know that 55% of the final price (\$52,999) represents the seller's markup. This means that 45% of the final price reflects the original cost of the vehicle. First, we calculate the percentage of the sale price that represents the cost: \[ \text{Cost} = \text{Final Price} \times (1 - \text{Markup Percentage}) \] \[ \text{Cost} = 52,999 \times (1 - 0.55) = 52,999 \times 0.45 \approx 23,849.55 \] So, the cost of the vehicle is approximately \$23,849.55. This means that the markup amount added to the cost is \$29,149.45 (which is \$52,999 - \$23,849.55). In conclusion, the cost of the 4WD vehicle is \( \approx \$ 23,850 \) rounding this to the nearest whole dollar option is not listed above.