Preventing the elderly with signs of dementia from buying new cars....it's on you!

Hey folks, Lenny Lawson, the car guru with a cautionary tale for you to start this broadcast.

We had an interesting situation.

My nephew Max came in, he's my general sales manager, sat down in my office and said, we

got a problem, but I know what to do about it.

And I said, well, that's good.

Why are you telling me about it?

Well, I just wanted you to know and just to verify if you think I'm right.

I said, OK, what's the situation?

Well, on March the 2nd, this is March the 16th, on March the 2nd had an elderly lady

come in with her friend and they wanted to buy a vehicle.

We ended up selling them a vehicle, a 2026 Nissan Rogue.

They drove off very happy.

They didn't have a trade in, paid $10,000 down, so pretty good.

Financed the rest of it through Nissan, Nissan Credit Corporation.

Well, this morning we get a letter saying that this person's driver's license has been revoked

and that the insurance company is not going to be able to insure her and while her driver's

license revoked, because she has dementia.

Now, there's a lot of folks that struggle with that.

My dad had it and, you know, I guess early on you see these little signs and they're

alarming, but you just write it off to forgetfulness or just age in general and then other things

start happening, like driving mistakes.

I remember with my dad, we're right beside a very busy four lane, but our actual entrance

is on a side road, so you get onto the side road, you turn left, wait at the stop sign

and one of my salespeople, well, two of them witnessed this, my dad pulled out onto the

four lane to cross the median cut to go left, to go west and like three different cars had

to slam on their brakes to quit from hitting him.

And so it wasn't too long after that that he and I had to have a tough conversation about

driving and, you know, some people throw in the towel pretty easy on that, but he didn't.

And he resisted, he was, he said, I'm fine, I just need to be more careful and that kind

of stuff, but I knew it was more serious than that.

And so similar situation, I mean, the contract that she signed has already been funded by

Nissan, the money's in our bank account.

According to the employees that worked with her, the salesperson, the finance manager,

the sales manager that talked to him, talked to the elderly lady, she was fine.

They didn't see any signs of anything, very conversational.

What is our obligation as a business that's selling a vehicle?

This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened.

Usually it's in the negotiation phase or just the evaluation phase and then we'll get a

call from a family member because the purchaser, the intending purchaser, the elderly person,

tells the family member, well, I'm thinking about buying a new car.

No, you're not.

You've got no business buying a new car.

And then as is often the case, the older person with dementia gets defensive and then says,

well, I'm going to go do it anyway.

And well, we get a phone call from the family member said he can't buy a car.

She can't buy a car.

Please don't, don't even entertain it.

And these people are mobile.

I mean, they're driving a car now and they have money.

They have a checking account and so forth.

What is our responsibility?

What am I supposed to do?

What are my people supposed to do?

I mean, if somebody over 80 comes in to buy a car, I mean, or are we supposed to say,

well, give us a number of your family member and let us call them first and see if you

have permission to do this or if you have dementia.

I mean, that's asking too much of the business.

Obviously, if we see some symptoms of that and, you know, they just don't have all their

faculties, then yeah, we need to put the brakes on it and call somebody if we can.

But a lot of these younger salespeople, they don't know what to look for.

They've never been through that.

Just they just say, well, that's an old person there.

You know, it's just the way old people are and a lot of them are that way.

So the answer to the dilemma is you unwind the deal.

How does that happen?

Well, we have to pay off the note.

We have to get the car back.

Obviously, we have to petition the state to basically not issue the title and petition

the manufacturer to get a duplicate certificate of origin, which is the title that the vehicle

comes with when it's built.

Sometimes it's referred to as a certificate of origin or an MSO, manufacturer's statement

of origin, but it's the original title.

It's never been assigned to anybody.

It has our name on the front of it and no names on the back.

That's where you write in the next owner.

So we have to petition them to send us a duplicate, put it back in inventory, give her

$10,000 back, and I guess hope that she doesn't go do it somewhere else.

So if you've got somebody in your family that is still mobile, still has access to their money,

but they're suffering early signs of dementia.

I mean, maybe they don't have their driver's license revoked yet.

Maybe they should.

I know that's a tough call.

It's hard to approach that with a lot of people, but that's your responsibility because

it's not just about them going out and hitting something and bumping into somebody.

My dad just kept running into things too, kept backing into things.

He never did that.

He was always a great driver, but he'd have a brand new Ford Fusion and then to have a

dent in the left fender and one and the bumper was or the headlight was busted out or something.

I mean, it was a laugh, but it was really not funny.

And so if you see those things, it's your responsibility because they can endanger

somebody else's life.

But in addition to that, it's the financial side of it.

I mean, you just got to hope that they don't go into some dealership that won't give their

money back, you know, that it is a uphill battle that you have to get a lawyer.

Now, if the driver's license has been revoked, they can't get the deal done anyway.

So that's going to be an easy one.

But if it's somebody that has money in the bank, they have a title with them.

A lot of people, a lot of elderly people keep the titles in their cars, which you should

never do, but they have it in a file at the house.

They come in to trade cars.

That's their intention.

They do it.

And the family knows that they have dementia and should not be doing complicated financial

transactions.

They have no business behind anything.

You know, this is something that needs to be handled if somebody or if your

parent calls you or a grandparent and says, I'm going car shopping, you better go with them.

You know, if they, if they're just adamant about it, you're just going to have to play

along and just try to blow the deal up as best you can.

Because it is something that probably they don't need to be doing.

If they've got a perfectly good car and a lot of people like that, they just want to trade.

They're tired of it.

Or they just want something to do.

Dog on it.

They're bored.

They've had the same car and they just need some excitement.

I mean, I feel that way sometimes, don't you?

Okay, I'll be back in just one minute.

Okay, welcome back.

I am getting ready to hold a seminar for young drivers or people that are getting ready to

get their driver's license.

We are doing it in my dealership, Gateway Ford and Gateway Nissan in Greenville, Tennessee.

It's going to be either next week or the week after.

So we're going to send out a definitive date this afternoon.

But still, I mean, this is something that's for people who are getting ready to get behind the

wheel and we want them to understand certain safety things that they could do to preserve

their young lives and the lives of others and try to do it in a fun way.

I know that sounds like a serious topic, but sometimes if you don't make it fun,

they won't listen.

You got to open the ears.

We're going to feed them and we're going to give them a tour of the vehicle.

I want them to know what all these different components are.

We're going to put cars up on the lift.

We're going to have cars on the ground.

We're going to identify key areas for maintenance, things that they need to be able to check

themselves in their own driveway and not pay somebody else to do it or rely on somebody

else to do it.

And I think these are things that kids need to know before they head out on the road.

You know, they've got their hands on the wheel and their foot on the brake or the gas pedal.

And that vehicle might weigh 5,000, 6,000 pounds and it's hurtling down the interstate at 75

and 80 miles an hour.

I want them to appreciate what that level of responsibility truly is.

Because as easy and simple as cars are, well, I say simple, as easy as cars are to drive and

drive too fast, it's something that they need to be aware of.

And we're going to use videos and things like that to educate them a little bit.

But like I say, we want it to be fun, but we want it to be informative.

And so that's what we're going to do.

Now, one of the things I try to do on this program is to help car owners, husbands,

wives, aunts, uncles, all your relatives and friends, I want to help them make better decisions

when it comes to buying and selling and trading and getting automotive service,

getting body shop repairs, dealing with insurance companies, all the different things

that are basically a part of our car life.

And that's what I call it.

I said, everybody has their regular life and they have, you know, you remember those

signs that used to say on the back of people's vehicles, said salt life.

I always wondered if they just like salt, you know, on their food, extra salt.

Or maybe they like living near the ocean, the beach.

Maybe that's what they're talking about.

But I've seen lake life, camping life.

I said, you know, I'm going down the road thinking about my car guru and what I do.

And I said, what about their car life?

Because their car life makes all that other stuff possible.

You know, back in the, when the car first came out, back in the late 1800s and the teens and 20s,

people didn't go on vacations.

Now they don't go on beach trips.

I mean, a vacation was going to the next town over, but that's all changed now.

So their lives changed because of their mobility, the improvement of the automobile that took place.

And most of it, as far as the, the real improvements happened in the thirties

and then after World War II into the fifties.

And that's when things like, well, there were gas stations all over the place.

And there was something created called the motel.

It was a version of the hotel, except it was for cars, thus Moe.

You know, back in the old days, there weren't campgrounds, you know, in amusement parks.

I mean, there was things like Coney Island, but it was for people that pretty much lived in that,

that area. And so, you know, in East Tennessee, where we live, a big vacation might be going to

Gatlinburg, and that was about it.

And then people started going to the beach in different places, but they needed mobility

in order to do that. And so we need to be able to appreciate our transportation.

I want these kids that are coming to the seminar to understand their responsibilities

with regard to their car before they go on a vacation.

What do you need to check? What do you need to make sure of is right before you hit the road?

Most people just get in there, turn the key and go, we had a customer that brought their vehicle in,

and thank goodness they traded it. We didn't realize how bad it was when we traded for it.

We got it in the shop. The oil was so thick when we tried to drain it out of the oil pan,

it wouldn't come out. So they've got it in the shop right now, trying to figure out if they

could put kerosene down at the top of the engine, just keep trying to flush all that sludge out

to see if we can salvage this engine. Because we didn't count on having to put an engine

in this vehicle. And that's just part of being a car dealer. Sometimes you win and sometimes

you lose. And you lose if you don't really do a thorough check on the car before you trade for it.

And you know what? That same thing goes for you. Before you buy a used car,

you need to do a thorough check of that vehicle. Now, there are a bunch of different places you

can buy used cars. You can buy it from a new car dealer. And most of those will be trade-ins,

although a lot of them come from the auctions. Car dealers typically, depending on how busy their

new car business is, they will get 20 to 30 percent of the used cars on their lot from auctions.

So they'll go to an auction, like we go to Statesville, North Carolina, we go to Atlanta,

Nashville. But these auto auctions sell these cars, most of them are either off lease,

meaning that they were lease vehicles and turned in. They could be rental cars that have been turned

in because of miles or whatever the reason. Sometimes rental car companies will keep a car

until it has about 5,000 miles on it and then take it to the auction or sell it back to the

manufacturer under some kind of a program. That's where the term program cars come from. You may

have heard of that before. But sometimes they'll put 30 or 40,000 miles on them and they'll sell

them through the auctions and dealers go and buy them. New car dealers and used car dealers.

So number one, I want to know if the used car that I'm buying was a rental car because that's

not the best choice always. I'd rather have a one owner trade-in as long as it's not somebody who

doesn't bother to change the oil. So I want to see the service records if they're available.

I want to look at car facts and auto check to see how frequently the vehicle was serviced. I

want to call the dealership that sells that brand and see if I can uncover the warranty history on

that vehicle. If I can actually talk to the owner, that's even better. Now do your research,

you're getting ready to spend 30, 40, $50,000. If it's a new car, you don't have to worry about

because it's under warranty and you're buying it from a new car dealer. If it's a used car,

you've got a lot more to worry about. If you're buying it from a new car dealer, you're safer

than if you're buying it from the typical used car dealer because used car dealers,

you know, a lot of them are buying salvage cars now. These are vehicles that have been

for one reason or another totaled by the insurance company. And in recent years,

it doesn't take much to total a vehicle. I mean, if the airbags go off or if it's a hybrid or an

EV gets into the battery or anything like that, it's totaled. I mean, a headlight assembly I've

talked about this before on a BMW can cost as much as $2,500. That's for one headlight.

Doesn't take much of a hit to total a vehicle, especially the way BMWs and Mercedes that used

to hold their value, the way they plummet in value as you use cars. And these are things that you

need to know. And you must get the vehicle evaluated if you have any concern about the

history of the vehicle. And so that means taking it to a shop that's willing to do it based on

their workload and do a full bumper to bumper inspection, checking the engine and its operation,

the transmission, the air conditioning, the cooling system. There's so many things to check

on a vehicle. Make sure it doesn't have any stored codes, which means it's had a check engine light

come on. There's nothing more upsetting than to buy a used car even by an extended warranty

or a vehicle service contract on that car. And you think you're covered for four years, 50,000

miles bumper to bumper, and then a check engine light comes on. And it's the O2 sensor. And guess

what? That's not covered by the extended warranty. Or you buy one that just covers the powertrain.

You know, the dealer advertises that they have a lifetime powertrain warranty.

You're not hearing the word powertrain. All you're hearing is lifetime warranty.

And so you have an issue a year from now, and it's your air conditioning compressor,

or your alternator, or something else that's really expensive, your infotainment screen.

And they give you a quote of $3,500 and you say, wait a minute, this thing's under warranty,

not according to any of the documents that you have. And we called the warranty company and

that's not a covered item. Now you can have a car inspected by two or three different techs,

and they're all going to miss something. But more than likely, if they have any experience at all,

they're not going to miss the big things. So this is especially true if you're buying from an individual.

That's the riskiest purchase that you can make. You may think it's the safest. No, it's not.

You know, there's a lot of crooked individuals out there trying to pawn off a flood car. There's

a lot of people that that sell used cars, and they're not licensed. And you certainly don't

want to buy a used car from them. Of course, a lot of this has to do with your own personal

circumstances and how much money you have. And if you can get financed with a traditional bank or

credit union, if you can't, your options shrink. So it's one of the good reasons to have good credit

and to really fight to make sure that your credit rating stays high, because a good credit rating

equals freedom. And it makes a big difference when it comes to your options. Buying a used car,

buying a new car, getting good interest rates. So do your part, pay your bills on time. Okay,

I'll be back in just one minute. Okay, a couple other things about buying a used car. Don't buy

one sight unseen. I know a lot of people think they're cool and they buy something online from

Caravana or who else? Car Facts. There's another company that will deliver it to your door. No,

thank you. I'm not buying a used car that I haven't sat in, driven and smelled,

because I've traded for too many cars over my lifetime. And some people just don't take care

of the interiors of their vehicles. And of course, always test drive the car. You need to perform a

thorough walk around just looking for mismatched paint or tape lines around the doors, around the

trunk, the hood edges around the gas filler door. These are signs that the vehicle has had previous

bodywork. Yeah, but it has a clean car fax. Well, if they don't report it to an insurance company

and they just hire somebody shop to work on it, it'll have a clean car fax. So you want to make

sure it hasn't been painted. And we haven't even talked about pricing the car, getting a fair price

on a vehicle. How are you going to figure that out? I was watching an auction on Bring a Trailer

a little while ago. I've been kind of interested in a Mercedes station wagon. I like to have an older

one. And this one really wasn't old enough, but I was watching it anyway. And the price was already

up to $42,000. Now, the people that are bidding on this car aren't car dealers more than likely.

They're individuals. So I scanned the VIN and I put it in our appraisal tool that we used.

And the vehicle wholesale value is about $23,000. Full retail is under $30,000. And this car is

already all the way up to $42,000. Not a good buy. That's certainly not one that I would want to bid on

because I'm always looking to buy something that I can turn around and sell. There are some things

that I like to keep for a while. But ultimately, somebody is going to own everything else you or

I have. And since I'm kind of in the business of cars, then I want to have an exit strategy. Now,

if you're going to buy a car and keep it for 20 years, it doesn't really matter. You just want

something reliable, dependable. You want a good relationship with somebody that can work on it

when you need it worked on. You want to take care of it. You want to understand how to do things

yourself, like put air in the tires. We're going to teach them how to do that at the seminar

and how to check the air pressure and why it's important. And it's not rocket science. It's

just something that either their parents didn't teach them how to do or they weren't willing to

listen. They wanted to go to the ball game or to the sock hop. No, probably not that.

You remember when they used to call the dance the sock hop? Yep. I'm that old. Well, thanks for

listening to this edition of My Car Guru. If you need me, send me a text 423-552-2020. Get a copy

of the My Car Guru guidebook. It explains all this stuff about use cars in detail, plus a whole

lot more. Just send me your email address to 423-552-2020. And I'll see you on the next edition

of My Car Guru.

Preventing the elderly with signs of dementia from buying new cars....it's on you!

About this episode

Nissan Rogue

Nissan Credit Corporation

driver's license revoked

insurance company

dementia

title

certificate of origin

Ford Fusion

dealership

car lift

vehicle maintenance

gas pedal

brake

vehicle weight

driver responsibility

car life

mobility

gas stations

motel

used car trade-in

totaled vehicle

airbags

O2 sensor

alternator

air conditioning compressor

infotainment screen

Bring a Trailer

Auction

VIN

Exit strategy

Request an Explanation

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