# Infaltion coming in 2014? Prices UP at Autozone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503 "2013-12-30T19:24:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/1 "2013-12-30T19:24:18Z")
I was just in the local Autozone (needed an oil filter for my wife’s car). Picked it up and noticed-the price had increased ($7.99 vs. $3.99) last October. Also, the staff was repricing all the display merchandise! It looks like everything is going up-are we finally seeing the consequences of QE?:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/2 "2013-12-30T19:27:09Z")
$7.99 seems like a fair price for an oil filter. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/3 "2013-12-30T19:37:08Z")
Yes, Ralph, you’ve discovered the secret behind the Consumer Price Index; the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t bother to check the prices of a basket of goods in stores across the country. Instead they only check the price of an auto filter at the Autozone store on whatever town in Massachusetts in which you live. That’s how all of those Obama appointees in the BLS manage to sit on their asses all year round while claiming to do work. In reality, they check the prices on a variety of goods, [none of which appear to be automobile oil filters](http://stats.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm#Question_7). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/4 "2013-12-30T19:40:23Z")
BTW, I just checked the Autozone website; for my car, prices on oil filters varied from $4.49 to $14.99, depending on brand and type. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/5 "2013-12-30T19:44:50Z")
Thanks for the tip, **ralph124c.** I’ll stay away from _Autozone_ for my parts. In my area, I’m lucky to have an _Autozone_ to stay away from. Auto parts stores seem to be cropping up like mushrooms around here. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/6 "2013-12-30T21:54:27Z")
Oil filters _are_ a leading indicator. Windshield wipers, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/7 "2013-12-30T22:35:41Z")
Wow! QE has suddenly caused 50% inflation on certain car parts! And yet… that massive inflation rate doesn’t seem to have changed new car prices to escalate very much, if at all… Which leads us to the logical conclusion that Obama is destroying the auto industry by forcing them to keep their prices low despite massive increases in the cost of auto parts. In other news, I had a steak last week that had some unpleasant fat on it. Does this prove that global warming is real? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/8 "2013-12-30T22:37:00Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > “Infaltion coming in 2014? Prices UP at Autozone” How much for one of those? I need a new infaltion. My old one is all defalated. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/9 "2013-12-30T22:57:40Z")
What’s the going cost these days for a good spellcheck program? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/10 "2013-12-30T23:06:07Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > What’s the going cost these days for a good spellcheck program? Unh…zero? I ain’t using one until they pay _me!_ ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/11 "2013-12-31T01:39:48Z")
Heck, I’ve been driving Eurocars the last decade - I didn’t know there was any filter you could get for $4. Heck, it’s about $12 for my Boxster. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/12 "2013-12-31T12:21:14Z")
Queen Elizabeth? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/13 "2013-12-31T13:03:47Z")
I assumed oil filters for cruise liners would be really pricey. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/14 "2013-12-31T13:18:38Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I was just in the local Autozone (needed an oil filter for my wife’s car). Picked it up and noticed-the price had increased ($7.99 vs. $3.99) last October. > Also, the staff was repricing all the display merchandise! > It looks like everything is going up-are we finally seeing the consequences of QE?:eek: To the contrary, I was at Staples the other day, and prices on desktop computers have fallen dramatically, so QE must be anti-infaltionary. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/15 "2013-12-31T13:56:52Z")
So in one day the price increased by 100% (a factor of 2). That means that the increase over a year will be by a factor of 2 to the 365th power, which is over 10 to the 109th power. That’s close to the highest hyperinflation ever recorded: > **[Hyperinflation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation)** > > In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as they usually switch to more stable foreign currencies. When measured in stable foreign currencies, prices typically remain stable. > Unlike low inflation, where the process of rising prices is protracted and not generally noticeable except by studying past ma... This means that we’ll soon have someone like Hitler taking over the country. So you were right about Obama. Except . . . the hyperinflation happened years before Hitler. That means the new Hitler is the one who will take over after Obama. So you better hope that Obama stays in office a long time, because that’s the only way we can avoid a dictator worse than Hitler becoming President. Thanks, ralph124c, you’ve saved us all now. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/infaltion-coming-in-2014-prices-up-at-autozone/677503/16 "2013-12-31T15:34:41Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Queen Elizabeth? [Quantitative easing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing), although I suspect that Ralph is referring to the [quantitative easing programs begun by the Federal Reserve in 2008](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing#United_States_QE1.2C_QE2.2C_and_QE3).