5 minute read
Finanzas / Finances
Staying Safe when Buying a Car…or Being Sorry by MILAGROS S. JOHNSON
A car is something most of us cannot live without. Basically, a car is a necessity when it’s our only means of transportation to and from our daily commute to work. No car, no gain (money, that is), might I say. But here’s the problem. More often than we like, we may find ourselves in need of a car but not have enough cash to buy one. Then there’s the issue of not having our credit in good standing when we need to finance a car. Combine that with the low inventory of cars on the market. And, let’s not forget the high cost of cars these days, for reasons most do not agree with. Along comes an ad that reads, “Bad Credit? No Credit? No Problem!” Is this your answer to your problem? It may or may not be, especially if you’re quick to get behind the wheel and drive off too fast. In short, the lower your credit score, the higher the interest rate on the car loan. This is yet another way for the dealer to make a profit. While they are helping you get into a car, it’s only a high price. On top of that, they tend to add an expensive extended warranty or service contract, which adds another couple of thousands of dollars to the financing. So before you sign, make sure to make an informed decision on what you’re buying. Each year our office handles a large number of auto-sales related complaints. In fact, they are our leading complaint year after year despite the education we provide in workshops throughout our community and via social media, our website and podcast. We believe that, “Education is the best prevention” from having to face a complaint about a lemon you purchase. Let me give you the most important tips on how you can avoid buying a lemon, but follow these steps before you buy the car: 1. Don’t rush the deal, or give into pressure 2. Bring a mechanic with you to the dealer 3. Take the car for a long test drive, even if it means you have to stop to pay for a few dollars-worth of gas. 4. Keep the radio off so you can listen to the car tell you a story (with its noises) 5. Check to make sure the car has a catalytic converter, a high-theft component on cars these days. You’d be surprised at the number of used cars being sold without them 6. Ask to see the title as it will tell you a history (salvaged, reconstructed, odometer discrepancy) 7. Check the history on the car by doing a Google search of the VIN#.
Advertisement
Never rely solely on the dealer’s word 8. In MA, a dealer cannot sell a car in an “As Is” condition, or without a warranty 9. If your mechanic cannot join you for the test drive, bring the car to his establishment and pay to have the car placed on a lift for a thorough pre-inspection 10. The car must pass the state-mandate inspection within seven days of purchase In short, when buying a car, “It’s always better to be safe (in a car) than sorry.”
Stay safe, be well…and stay informed.
For more information, or to speak with a Consumer Specialist, call (413)
787-6437 or email us at moci@springfieldcityhall.com.
MILAGROS S. JOHNSON is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Information in Springfield, a Local Consumer Program funded by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.Libros / Books
Drops of Inclusivity
by MILAGROS DENIS-ROSARIO HERNDON, VA | SUNY PRESS | July, 2022 | 240 pages
Description
Drops of Inclusivity examines race and racism on the island of Puerto Rico by combining a wide-angle historical narrative with the individual stories of Black Puerto Ricans. While some of these Afro-Boricuas, such as Roberto Clemente and Ruth Fernández, are well known, others, such as Cecilia Orta and Juan Falú Zarzuela, have been largely forgotten, if remembered at all. Individually and collectively, their words and lives speak to the persistent power of racial hierarchies and responses to them across periods, from the SpanishAmerican War at the turn of the twentieth century to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s visit to the island in the early 1960s. Drawing on rich archival research, Milagros Denis-Rosario shows how Afro-Boricuas denounced, navigated, and negotiated racism in the fields of education, law enforcement, literature, music, the military, performance, politics, and more. Each instance of selfdetermination marks a gain in inclusivity—gota a gota, or drop by drop, as the saying goes in Puerto Rico. This study pays homage to them.
Chapters of the Books
Introduction: The Illusion of Living in a Non-Racist Racist Society 1. A Revised Account of the New “Colored” Possession: 1898–1920 2. Reshaping Education, Race, and Citizenship: 1920–1930 3. The Twisted Evolution of National Identity: 1930–1940 4. Intersecting Race and Modernization: 1940–1950 5. Strategizing Modernity: 1950–1965 6. The Liga Opened Pandora’s “Black” Box: 1950–1965 Epilogue: Drop by Drop
Reviews
“Drops of Inclusivity crucially underscores the agency of Black Puerto Ricans across different time periods and socioeconomic classes, including everyday people who filed lawsuits for discrimination, wrote letters to institutions, and navigated the education system. Their stories show how commonplace and systemic antiblack racism has always been despite depictions of Puerto Rico as a racial democracy. Most importantly, this book centers the varied ways Black Puerto Ricans have negotiated their position within Puerto Rican society, and organized around racial issues.” — Petra R. Rivera-Rideau, author of Remixing Reggaetón: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto.
Author
MILAGROS DENIS-ROSARIO is an associate professor of history. She earned her doctorate in Latin America and Caribbean history from Howard University and her master’s in Africana studies from Cornell University. She has been published in the Journal of Pan-African Studies, The Delaware Review of Latin American Studies, Centro Journal, journal Memorias and Latino Studies. She finished revising her book manuscript entitled, Drops of Inclusivity: Racial Formation and Meanings in Puerto Rican Society, 1898-1960.
Dr. Denis-Rosario regularly participates in the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), the Puerto Rican Studies Association (PRSA) and other international conferences. Her research interests include Afro-Latinos, African diaspora in Latin America, Latinos, gender, Puerto Ricans, Afro-diasporic coalitions and politics of cultural representation.