My father is 79 and walked into a dealership to purchase a truck on a Wed. Thursday was thanksgiving so Friday he goes back with a $20,000 check in hand and drives off with a brand new Ford f-150. My father has dementia, blind in one eye and almost bind in the other. He walks with a walker and is dialysised 3 days a week. He has recently separated from his wife of 54 years. He suffers from depression and insomnia. My father hasn't driven in 3 years and has not been insured in the same amount of time. He lives in a retirement/assisted living facility. The money he "had", was to cover his rent, dialysis treatment and basic needs however, since withdrawing this money he only has a few thousand $'s left. My father did not test drive the truck but instead they had him sign the paperwork, insure him AND get him insured before leaving the lot. My father got confused and lost and ended up crashing the truck 1.5 hours away from where he lives. It took the hospital where he was taken almost 3 hours to find contact me by using our local sheriffs office. Imagine my surprise when the sheriff comes to my door at 230 am in the morning stating my father his been in an accident with his truck. After my initial shock, reality sets in and I say wait you have the wrong guy my dad doesn't even have a truck!! Of course they confirmed for me that it was in fact my dad and that he had purchased the truck earlier in the day. My dad is okay but the issue is with the dealership. Upon returning the truck I agree to pay for any damages which they assess to be about $4,000. Once I agree to that easily they come back with you will have to pay the depreciation value of the truck. Now wait a minute...you guys should have never sold him the truck based of off his physical and mental state. They told me that they can't refuse to sell to "old people"! I explained to him his mental health issues, what this would do to him financially (homeless and unable to afford dialysis) and their response was you should have had his license suspended. Since he had a valid drivers license and a check we did nothing wrong. I am so out of my league and now they have the money and the truck!!! What do I do? What can I do? The paperwork has his wrong address on it and 2 of the documents look forged. I have spoken to the Sales Mgr, the finance mgr and the general mgr of said dealership....and each has lied on so many levels but the one thing they all said the same was...Kick rocks and pound sand lady. Oh and they had him sign a letter of Arbitration which I have never seen before when purchasing a vehicle. Help any and all advise is welcome.
The dealership did nothing wrong, but you may be able to get help from the sources mentioned.
Good thing the dealership did manage to get him insured prior to purchasing the truck. That saved the day for your father & you.
My brother (who had schizophrenia but able to live alone and was quite good with paying bills and his finances) bought a truck in March of this year and died unexpectedly in June.
I read every paragraph in his contract with the dealer and bank (who financed the vehicle) for any loophole I could find and came up with nothing. It was a used truck so wasn’t expensive like your father’s was, but my brother did put a down payment of $5000 he had saved up for this purpose.
Salesman can’t and won’t verify the mental acuity of the buyer. They are not healthcare workers. Could you imagine the negative publicity the dealership would get if they refused to sell a car to an elderly person? You can’t expect them to do that, or call a family member to ask a person’s health status & mental acuity either. The dealer could open themselves up for lawsuits for elderly discrimination.
I tried to recoup something from that contract of my brother’s but got nowhere. And what a crappy deal he got from the dealer but my brother refused my offer to help negotiate a deal for the car he wanted and bought the truck without me even knowing he did. He told me a month or two afterwards and died 6/8.
I thought about trying to sell it but the title would have been changed so I could act on this and that was way too complicated. Fortunately you won’t have to do that. So I gave it back to the bank who now expects to get $8K out of me. (Dream on). Selling it can be a big PIA too. I washed my hands of it.
Good of luck and I hope you can recoup some of that $20K.
Oh my gosh! Co sign for a gambler? No way! You’re a smart woman. Thank God for the cancellation clause.
The dealership did not take advantage but rather they do what car salesmen do i..e they sold a car.
Now that the car has an accident on its record, it's worth even less. Some lots won't even accept the truck to sell. List it on Craigslist and ask to put flyers up at the grocery store and diner. You're going to take a huge hit but I'd get rid of it ASAP.
And please cut up his driver's license!
Her license is good until January, but we do have her keys now as her mental state has seriously deteriorated in the last month. And we have daily fireworks around here about the keys. But she can't remember how to dial 911 (I think)
C'est la vie
They did nothing wrong and this is an expensive lesson, but publicly shaming the dealership would be a whole lot more expensive, they would sue for defamation, and they have deep pockets, think long and hard and consult an attorney before you go public saying they did something wrong.
When I bought my new car last year they asked about insurance and license. I don’t know what is typical or even legal.
Sales people are going to sell cars. Should they? That’s their profession. They have an interested buyer. They aren’t going to send a customer away. Even if they would the next person will sell them a car.
I suppose the cancellation clause is the only protection for the elderly if the family feels they should no longer drive. Would a salesperson feel badly if someone sold their elderly family member a car? I’m sure they would but they would know that they were within their legal rights to do so.
I do feel badly for the elderly or their family if they get stuck with a large purchase that they can’t afford. The most important issue is about safety. Some elderly are okay to drive and some aren’t. Still, it’s not illegal to sell them a car. The more cars they sell, the bigger the paycheck. That is their incentive.
My near 98 year old cousin loves pretty cars! She buys new cars, expensive cars! She pays cash! She doesn’t want any notes at her age. She refuses to live with her children.
No one believes that she is that old. She doesn’t look it or act it. If all old people were like her it would be lovely. She’s upbeat and funny. She’s caring, still volunteers at church.
Her problem with driving is speeding tickets! Hahaha
She is not the hunched over little old lady who is creeping down the road. She is fiercely independent. She still cooks and cleans! If I had a guarantee of being like her I wouldn’t have any fear of getting old.
Elaine,
She was probably thinking of how fast she could get to the casino with her new car! Funny but true.
So, even those with dementia have "rights."
My question is why did you not revoke your father's driver's license. When my mom was no longer able to drive, I took her to motor vehicles and replaced her card with an Identification card. I did that to save some money on my auto insurance. I doubt any vehicle could have been sold to your father without a valid Driver's License.
I also don't agree with saying this man needs to be in a NH. NH is for those who need specialized nursing care. Not everyone qualifies to be in one, certainly not someone who has dementia, walks with a walker but has no real medical issue. It may be time to consider moving to MC soon, but perhaps someone should have tackled the license issue AND take over of the bank account.
With even minimal critical thinking skills, I have to consider that the dealership knew exactly what was going on: he is virtually blind, has difficulty walking even with the walker, not clear on his address, hadn’t driven in years. If they were completely unaware of his functional status then why didn’t they take him for a test drive? Why were 2 forms forged? And why did they decide to have him sign an arbitration agreement before he left? Sure all this can be explained away but it warrants further investigation. No one is suggesting that the dealership refuse to sell him a vehicle so that argument is simple minded BS. What they should have done is go a little bit above and beyond in ensuring this man’s safety instead of just covering their legal liabilities.
At what point in time did it become more admirable for a business to make profit than it does for them to do the right thing?
This adult child's best bet is to get politicians and the media on board with shaming this dealership into eating the loss.
The auto dealers have dealt with many people many times; are very experienced. They can spot a mark instantly. They know just how to take advantage. They do. In this case they did. Every car dealership in the U. S. of A. should, by federal law, have a big giant sign that says, “We are Crooked as a Dogs’ Hind Leg.”
How are they going to know he is blind in one eye? How do they know I have had cataract surgery? There is no way they can know that.
For everyone that worries about baby boomers making our streets unsafe, I live in a snowbird city and texters have been the cause of increased accidents, not our yearly influx of retirees. It is ability not age that should be considered, remember, we are all getting old if we are lucky. Becareful what you wish for, you may just get it.
What happened with your dad is appalling and unethical. For a few bucks the car dealership recklessly endangered countless lives.
You've had many sage answers and I can't add to them, other than to say, absolutely go to the press and social media and get as much coverage as possible.
Many businesses are scared sh**less of a bad Yelp review.
I wish you strength in navigating this ordeal.
R27
My concern is why are YOU expected to cover the damages? You indicated they procured insurance for him/the truck. Is the deductible that high? If it is, perhaps you can find another shop who can fix it for less (dealers are notoriously more expensive to get repairs, etc done.)
Once fixed, sell it yourself, without returning it to them. Very often you can get a better price with private sale (they generally offer a LOT less than the value of the car, so they can make it salable and cover their costs plus make a profit.) If nothing else, it takes these scum out of the picture.
Meanwhile, you'll have to figure out how to cover his expenses until you sell it. Even at a loss, you can likely recoup a lot of the cost. I would highly recommend you find a way to take over his finances as well. If you have DPOA, NOW is the time to put it into action! If you don't have it, he *might* still be able to grant it - depends on what EC atty decides when talking with him privately. Otherwise, you'll have to pursue guardianship (more expense you don't need.)
At the least, you CAN apply to be rep payee of his SS - that would take his access to it out of the picture. If you do this, call a local office, not the main SS number. Others have said this is difficult, but it was actually the easiest part of taking over my mother's finances! I brought a lot of paperwork to show them, including how I was managing everything else already, but they never looked at any of it. They asked questions, sent notice to her and me, and then just had to wait for approval (they DO check your background!) Other than my time and gas/parking, it didn't cost me a dime.
In reality, though, I think this could possibly work out in your favor. If your father truly did drive off in a brand new F-150 for $20k, he got a deal! According to KBB, a new 2019 F-150 bare-bones model with zero options would have a Fair Market Price of about $28k. My guess is, though, that the dealership sold the truck as used (I bought mine used with <4k miles on it), so you should not have to pay the depreciation they claim you do.
I know it's a hassle, but the best thing to do might be to get the truck repaired. Assuming the dealership didn't just sell your dad liability insurance (minimum required in most states), pay the deductible and get it repaired. If the insurance does not include collision coverage, then you'd have to pay the full $4k to get it repaired. Even with the additional $4k, you may still be able to sell it for $24k and come out even.
It seems to me that you just want this to go away and get most or all of your dad's money back. If that's the case, I'd get the truck repaired and negotiate with the dealership or try to sell it on the open market. You'll always get more selling to a private party, but it takes more work on your part.
If you want to start a crusade against the dealership, then keep in mind that it'll likely end up taking more of your time and money than is probably worth the effort.