Story at a glance
- The Smoczky family bought a van that is wheelchair-accessible from Tampa’s Ocean Motorcars in March, in order to accommodate their disabled son.
- Stan Smoczky says the dealer failed to register the van in their name, as is required by law, and stopped communicating with them.
- The dealer could not be reached for comment.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida family bought a wheelchair-accessible van for their disabled son, but more than three months after the purchase, they were forced to park it and can’t legally drive it.
Stan Smoczky and his wife love getting their 17-year-old son out of the house, but getting him in and out of their car is tough.
“He’s was born with a disability called porencephaly. Basically, he had a stroke while he was still in the womb, and it stopped the development of his left hemisphere,” Smoczky said.
The Smoczky family decided to invest in a van that is wheelchair-accessible. They paid more than $10,000 for the van from Ocean Motorcars in March.
Florida law requires dealers to register a car in the new owner’s name within 30 days and allows for only two temporary tags. When the second tag expired on May 25, the family had to park the car.
Smoczky says the dealership offered excuses and then stopped communicating.
“It’s frustrating, really frustrating because you know that we need to get him to doctor’s appointments,” Smoczky said.
No one at Ocean Motorcars answered phone calls. When WFLA visited the dealership, no one came to the door, and a sign indicated the business is appointment only.
Public records show the dealership’s license expired in April.
A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said they are investigating and will issue another temporary tag while they work on getting a permanent one.
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