My 83 year old dad has dementia and wants to have his car near him although he is not allowed to drive. I want to park the car outside his home so that he has the comfort of seeing his car and knowing it hasn't been stolen. But I cannot let him drive it; He doesn't have a license and is no longer insured of course. How can I disable the car to be sure it won't start but in a way that doesn't damage anything? The car is a 2011 Hyundai Sonata.
If you don't want him climbing in and starting the ignition, disconnect the battery leads.
There may come a point, you know, when he doesn't remember that he can't drive and he is enraged by his car not working. You'll need to look out for that and change tack if need be.
When ppl respond to a question, they are giving you their personal experiences, and/or outlooks on a situation because of their experiences.
Eg...My Mom is living with me for the last two months and feels aweful about loosing everything, her apartment, furnishings, privacy, Independence. She's doing her best to accept it but it's so hard for her.
I live 2.5 hrs from her former home. If I lived closer and passed her old building everyday, I can assure you it'd be "torture" for her. Especially since she cries after talking to her friends who still live there.
So this is my experience. I didn't answer your question because everyone already covered all the bases. And if you noticed, the answers have your dad's feelings front and center. That's pretty awesome ha? 😊
Your hubs is a mechanic, so it seems you had the answer to your question all along.
This is a wonderful site, and you are definitely in the right place! I'm sure you have a lot of wisdom to share, while benefiting from others, too.
Snapping at the same ppl your asking to help you will only cause ppl to avoid you. You weren't judged. I haven't seen anything on this site but compassion, patience and honesty. What more could we ask for? 😉
My solution to your issue is that you could put the car in "storage" for him (for real or not - you decide) and tell him the car needs to be kept safe and he's saving a bundle on his insurance (even though he doesn't have any insurance) by not driving it right now.
Sometimes it takes us a while as well to accept that our loved one isn’t going to drive again.
You will be able to tell after awhile if seeing the car is a comfort to him or a painful reminder. Cars represent so much more than transportation.
My aunt told me if the car was there she would drive it. We had at first thought she might like to go for a ride in it occasionally. She knew better and although she hasn’t driven for several years she will occasionally say she regrets stopping.
Someone told about their elder calling AAA and requesting a new battery so remember on a clear day what you choose to do to disable the car can be undone.
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