Answer (from WSJ; subscription): “The average listing price for a preowned model hit $28,500 in January, a 31% jump over the same prior-year month…”

Questions: 

• What do you think has caused the price to increase so much on used cars? 
• What are important factors to consider when buying a used car? 
• Have you heard friends or family talk about this price inflation for used cars? Has it impacted their decision making?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (GoBankingRates.com):

The prices found in Cox Automotive’s analysis align with reports from other sources as well. As GOBankingRates previously reported, recent data from Edmunds.com showed that the average price of a used car is over $29,000 — a 39% increase in just 12 months. Edmunds expects prices to exceed $30,000 this year for the first time ever.

More than half of American households have less income than is considered necessary to buy an average-priced used car, and just about everyone has been affected by the highest rates of inflation in 40 years.

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Here's a FinCap Friday on the "hot" market for new and used cars: Selling Like Hot Brakes

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 Looking for more NGPF resources on inflation. Here's what our new Search tool found on the topic. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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