Elderly unlicensed driver buying a car

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Elderly unlicensed driver buying a car

Tockly

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#275886 15-Sep-2020 11:24

Sorry couldn't think of a better subject...

Anyway I have a issue that I'd like to chuck out there and see what others opinions are.

So I know of a 82 year old who has very poor eye sight, is extremely deaf and is currently unlicensed due to an accident a couple of years ago. The said accident happened in a carpark while he was driving a 1600cc Toyota Corolla. This gent has now gone out and brought himself a V8 Mercedes S Class!! And anyone who knows cars knows those things are built like battle tanks.

As mentioned he has no license and frankly if he took the exam he would certainly fail. He refuses to wear his glasses and hearing aids. Has been banned from the local buses due to his abusive ways. But has never done anything bad enough to warrant police involvement.

How do I stop him from buying this car? Do I ring the police? Will they be able to do anything as it's not illegal to buy a car without a license. Even if they visit him, he won't open the door as he won't hear them knocking!

Do I ring the car yard and let them know? Would they care? They're getting their money!!

I am really worried that he is going to kill some innocent person, but I don't know how to prevent it!

Any suggestions?

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#2564283 15-Sep-2020 11:41

This gent has now gone out and brought himself a V8 Mercedes S Class

Do I ring the car yard and let them know? Would they care?

Has he actually bought the car yet?, if the transaction has been done then its pretty much out of the car yard's hands..

But I think the best approach is probably via people they trust ( rather than police enforcement). what do his family think about it?... his neighbours? -

Also you might want to call someone like Age Concern and see if they have any advice on how to approach this ...

allan

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#2564286 15-Sep-2020 11:53

Yeah it's not easy. Had sort of similar issue with my Dad when he was around the same age.

He'd had a couple of accidents (both his fault) in quick succession and we did not want him driving again. Had a quiet word with both the insurer and the panel beater who agreed that the advice would be that "the vehice would not be repairable". We then discussed with him that he would have difficulty in learning to drive any replacement vehicle. He eventually agreed with us, but it took some persuading I have to say.

All I can say is "good luck".

Wheelbarrow01

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#2564287 15-Sep-2020 11:54

Whose name is he going to register the car in? It's my understanding you need a valid license to register a car in your name....

While registration and ownership are two different things, a dealer won't let a car leave their yard unless the registration has been transferred into the purchaser's name. As far as I know this is not possible if the purchaser has no licence.

Tockly

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#2564289 15-Sep-2020 11:59

wellygary:

This gent has now gone out and brought himself a V8 Mercedes S Class

Do I ring the car yard and let them know? Would they care?

Has he actually bought the car yet?, if the transaction has been done then its pretty much out of the car yard's hands..

But I think the best approach is probably via people they trust ( rather than police enforcement). what do his family think about it?... his neighbours? -

Also you might want to call someone like Age Concern and see if they have any advice on how to approach this ...

No he is in the process of buying the car at the moment.

His family and friends have trying to stop him but he was very abusive and dismissed them as "being a bunch of thieves after his money". He's a VERY difficult person to deal with. He told people that Covid was just his daughters way of trying to stop him going out of the house!!

We tried Age Concern, but as he hasn't done anything illegal they weren't able to assist. As always seems to be the way, they don't get any funding to prevent things, they just clean up the mess awards!

xpd

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#2564290 15-Sep-2020 12:00

Talk to local police and at least let them know, then if they do see it out on the road they can do a "random" stop and check it out and go from there.

XPD / Gavin

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wellygary

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#2564291 15-Sep-2020 12:00

Wheelbarrow01:

Whose name is he going to register the car in? It's my understanding you need a valid license to register a car in your name....

While registration and ownership are two different things, a dealer won't let a car leave their yard unless the registration has been transferred into the purchaser's name. As far as I know this is not possible if the purchaser has no licence.

No, I think you just need ID.. a passport will do...

Complete the Notice by person acquiring motor vehicle form
(MR13B) and give it to an agent with the fee of $9.00 (incl.
GST).2. You’ll need to produce your New Zealand driver licence as
proof of identification. If you don’t have your driver licence,
you’ll need to show other ID that includes your full name,
signature and date of birth.

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/factsheets/41/docs/41-buying-selling-your-obligations.pdf

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wellygary

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#2564292 15-Sep-2020 12:02

Tockly:

wellygary:

This gent has now gone out and brought himself a V8 Mercedes S Class

Do I ring the car yard and let them know? Would they care?

Has he actually bought the car yet?, if the transaction has been done then its pretty much out of the car yard's hands..

But I think the best approach is probably via people they trust ( rather than police enforcement). what do his family think about it?... his neighbours? -

Also you might want to call someone like Age Concern and see if they have any advice on how to approach this ...

No he is in the process of buying the car at the moment.

His family and friends have trying to stop him but he was very abusive and dismissed them as "being a bunch of thieves after his money". He's a VERY difficult person to deal with. He told people that Covid was just his daughters way of trying to stop him going out of the house!!

We tried Age Concern, but as he hasn't done anything illegal they weren't able to assist. As always seems to be the way, they don't get any funding to prevent things, they just clean up the mess awards!

If he does buy it, as a last resort you could sneak round and let the tyres down :)

Bung

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#2564307 15-Sep-2020 12:42

wellygary: If he does buy it, as a last resort you could sneak round and let the tyres down :)

That was reputedly the way that Muldoon's staff dealt with his self drive car when he'd had too many.

In another thread I mentioned a young unlicensed driver hell bent on reviving cars from a scrapyard. The Police weren't able to catch him at it partly because he waited until early morning to drive them but at least they knew to stop him on sight.

surfisup1000

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#2564315 15-Sep-2020 12:57

Put him under surveillance and call the cops whenever he drives... let them know about this clown.

kotuku4

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#2564324 15-Sep-2020 13:10

If your observations are accurate this man needs to be prevented from getting behind the wheel.

Talk to the Police, lay a compliant if necessary, go to a reporter. Consider the moral and legal ramifications when he goes out and eventually causes damage to property, injury or worse.

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#2564327 15-Sep-2020 13:14

surfisup1000: Put him under surveillance and call the cops whenever he drives... let them know about this clown.

This is what should happen before he kills someone

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mdf

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#2564331 15-Sep-2020 13:20

Had a very similar sounding issue with a very similar sounding relative.

We had a word with both the local police and the car yard concerned - both were pretty understanding and sympathetic and the transaction did fall through. Your GP can get an existing licence revoked, but sounds like it would be the powers of persuasion in this case if the licence is already gone:

https://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/supporting-older-drivers/#5

Declining mental health is a horrible thing to deal with. Reason didn't really work with us; substitution and distraction worked much better. That said, we didn't want said relative driving a mobility scooter or golf cart either.

Tockly

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#2564348 15-Sep-2020 13:53

So I have just rung the car yard and explained the issue to them.

They're extremely unhappy that he's mucked them around and hopefully they decide not to continue with the sale of the car to him.

He had told them he had no license, which I guess is a start, but he told them he was buying it for his daughters to use. Both of whom have nothing to do with him. But you have to wonder about a car yard that will sell a car to an old man, with no license, without questioning things. Sigh guess they're just there to make money.

miked

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#2564353 15-Sep-2020 13:58

If they need to get from A to B, then perhaps you can show them something like Uber or regular taxis? It is much harder to allow somethign to be taken away from you if you have no alternatives available, but if you can get what you need by a different means, then you might be much more amiable. Depends how much they go out,... but Uber might even work out cheaper when you factor in all costs of car ownership!

Tockly

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#2564356 15-Sep-2020 14:07

miked:

If they need to get from A to B, then perhaps you can show them something like Uber or regular taxis? It is much harder to allow somethign to be taken away from you if you have no alternatives available, but if you can get what you need by a different means, then you might be much more amiable. Depends how much they go out,... but Uber might even work out cheaper when you factor in all costs of car ownership!

As mentioned in my OP he has been banned from using the bus for his abusive nature. He's had his phone cut off, as he thought Spark were ripping him off, so he can't call a taxi and using Uber would be completely out of the question.

One of his daughters was happy to drive him around, until he was extremely abusive towards her in front of his lawyers no less, so she now wants nothing to do with him. It's an extremely difficult position to be in. He is not a very nice person when he doesn't get what he wants. And NO ONE wants to help! Ambulance at the bottom of the cliff as always!

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