Can anything be done to help this guy?

self | Me

[jdub]

My wife told me a story last night that really has me upset and I would like to try to do something about it. She recently took a job with a local car dealer. Her job is to field calls and get people to come in to the showroom.

She had a guy that had called and came in that was young (early 20s) that seemed to be mildly retarded. He had a perfectly good Maxima, but he was insistent that what he needed was a car with a spoiler, sunroof, low rider package, and such. He wanted them to refinance him (she though he was asking for like 100 months) so he could buy a package.

She put him with a salesman she knew was honest, who told him he was a fool to sell a good car, and besides they couldnt help him as the car was worth less than he owed.

Undeterred, he went to another dealership known for being bottom feeders. There, a salesman put him in an '02 Cavalier, told him how good he looked in it (still no sunroof or spoiler stuff) and convinced him the best thing for him to do was STOP MAKING PAYMENTS ON HIS MAXIMA, let them repossess it, and get this new car. Which he did.

Now he calls my wife again saying he is still looking for a car with all his accessories, though he just got this new car over the weekend. She gave him back to the salesman at her place, who told him to call the crooks and tell them either give him the package he wants or he will bring the car back. They said no. He wants to come in and buy ANOTHER car (he doesnt understand what is going on, poor guy).

Now, its one thing for a couple with a newborn to come in and for the guy to insist on some car they dont need because he gets his guy juices flowing, its their decision. But this guy is OBVIOUSLY unable to distinguish between something absolutely stupid and self-destructive and the right thing. All the salesman had to do was tell him it would help him get girls and he went for it even though it didn't have the features he had been so sure of that he wanted.

Now his credit is ruined to the repo. I don't know this guy, never seen him, but someone being taken advantage of like this makes my blood boil. Any suggestions?

[jdub]

Sorry for the long winded rant, but I honestly hope there is something that can be done for this guy before it is too late and his life is screwed up for a long time. He was dealt a bad hand at birth (oh yeah, he also has a horrible stutter, my wife says)but I don't understand how a person could sleep at night doing what they did to this guy.

[billybudd]

It's nice of you to want to help this guy. But, honestly, if you don't hold his hand throughout his entire life, he'll inevitably makes the same kind of stupid self-harming decisions sometime. What he needs is a family or group of firends that can provide some sort of buffer between him and the cold/harsh/cruel world.

[Kaisersrsic]

Call your state's attorney general's office. They probably have a consumer or consumer fraud division.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

....but I don't understand how a person could sleep at night doing what they did to this guy.

There are many who sleep quite wll despite a life of exploiting others. They feel no guilt and think the victim has it coming to them for being so stupid.

Call and write to the local TV, radio stations, and newspapers. Each is looking for a good consumer story to jump on for ratings purposes. They should love this chance to protect the underdog and expose business greed.

[johniegrad]

This problem essentially boils down to whether he is competent to enter into a contract or not. Competence could be compromised or negated by mental retardation, mental illness, or some sort of a brain injury. In general, a family member or someone in a position to do it in the community (social worker, case manager if he has one, etc) could petition the court to determine whether this guy was competent to enter into a contract. He would need some sort of a mental health examination, a petitioner, and a hearing.

Probably the best thing to do at this point would be for someone to contact his family if they are available to discuss the situation. If he has no family, the social services department could be contacted to see if they would review the situation as a possible "vulnerable adult".

While this involves a certain intrusion into his personal affairs that may or may not be warranted on the basis of the facts, this would be the one way to clarify the situation. It could be, however, that he is perfectly competent to make these decisions and is just making bad ones. In that circumstance, there would be nothing to do about it. He has the right to make stupid decisions unless he lacks the substantial capacity to do so on the basis of mental retardation or mental illness.

[isthisnickcool]

If you can document in some way that this person is handicapped (contact their parents, co-workers?) then you might call the owner/CEO of the auto dealership. Always give a business owner the chance to do right. It appears the owner does not know what is going on. If he does not help try the auto dealers association and tell them the story and see if they can help. Make it known that you are suggesting that the state Attorney General consumer fraud dept. become involved. If they don't help try the Attorney General's office.

Every local TV station has consumer reporters, try them and also ,local talk radio too. Nothing worse than taking advantage of people that are handicapped or old folks. But make sure that's the case first.

Best of luck! You are a kind hearted person.

Happy Holidays!

[lavaroise]

I think this guy has it good... in relative terms. Here in Germany, prostitution is legal, and most of the whores on the streets are retards with goiters or mongoloid. Talk about a sick world.. yeah right, prostitution legal, my arse.

I dunno, don't they have a Child protective service kind of thing for these types of people?

[blam]

Teenage boys do this all the time. What's different with this guy. It's called, "Live and learn."

[jdub]

Thanks to all posters. I had thought of the consumer advocates at the TV stations, but hadn't thought of the Attorney General office. I wonder if it would do any good at all being the dealership is owned by a bigwig local family that has been there for years. Maybe the tv guys will help. Here in TN i have no confidence in anyone in the legal system as its all about who owns who, and these guys surely have deep pockets.

[OldFriend]

Call ARP.......a national association for retarded persons and see if they have someone to help this young man make a proper decision.

[Cyber Liberty]

PING! Any suggestions, counselor?

[jdub]

I agree to some point. I would totally agree if he had gone to this other dealer and bought a car with the stuff he wanted. However he bought a car without the stuff he wanted, and came right back to my wife's dealership the next day or so wanting to STILL buy a car like the thought he just had to have.

I totally agree that most people have to live with their own decisions. I tried to make that clear in my original post regarding the new family buying a car because the guy's eyes got big (that happened too). But there is a difference in someone knowingly buying something they dont need because they want it even if it will hurt their family, and someone who doesnt understand what they are doing. Anyone being told that the best thing is just to let the first car be repossessed and going along with it cannot truly understand what it is they are doing.

[Cyber Liberty]

Seems to me the advice he got to deliberately default on the original loan is illegal in all 50 states. Gonna be hard to prove that the salesman at the other dealer actually gave him such advice, though.

[2right]

Why does he even have a drivers license?

[Tarakotchi]

Sorry to be harsh, but it sounds like a problem that will take care of itself when he gets bad credit. He shouldn't be able to buy cars on credit if he doesn't understand the responsibilities.

[discostu]

Isn't that just the truth. And there are times I wish I was one of those guys, sometimes it would seem like being a dirtbag like that is better than working for a living. I see so many scams and screwjob that make the perpetrator so much money (just a couple of weeks ago I saw on E-Bay where a guy auctioned a PICTURE of an X-Box, sold it for right around what the real thing sells for) with so little effort. But woe is me I hate whiskers and will always have to look myself in the mirror every morning.

As for the situation at hand. Definitely BBB and AG on the car dealer, meanwhile I'd start calling the local halfway houses and see if the guy might be one of there's. Maybe hit the state mental health agency and see about getting him committed to a halfway house. Apparently he's pretty functional (he can drive and get credit, I know non-handicapped people that can't pull that off) but he definitely needs a gaurdian.

[VRWC_minion]

If you want to correct this wrong, take it to the local papers. There will be no limit to the liberal writers who will be willing to bury the car dealer for this. Even the threat ought to be enough to get them to back down.