Free car causes problems

1992 Pontiac Grand Prix needs repairs

BY STEPHANIE BRIEN
Journal Times

Saturday, April 5, 2008 12:38 AM CDT

When Fred Jaffee heard he won a car Saturday night at a Racine wrestling event, he called it “a miracle.”

He and his wife, from Zion, Ill., did not feel the same way two days later when they discovered the car would cost more to fix than its actual valuation.

“I’d call it a disappointment,” said Jaffee’s wife, Barbara.

Jaffee, 57, did win a car last Saturday night as advertised for the Wrestling Superstars — Live! at Memorial Hall, 72 Seventh St.

GREGORY SHAVER Journal Times This is the 1992 Grand Prix that Jaffe won at the wrestling event.

But it wasn’t a new car. It was a white 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix that needed to be fixed.

Instead of taking the car, Jaffee was told he will be sent $300, the value of the car, and two tickets to two Brewers-Cubs games at Miller Park. The show’s executive producer, Jon Stewart, promised Jaffee the money and tickets. But Jaffee had not received it as of Thursday and Stewart did not say a specific day the money would be sent.

Jaffee is happy about the tickets and cash, he said, but it’s not a car.

“You can’t drive tickets around,” Jaffee said.

Jaffee has been out of work since July and it’s been hard for him to find another job while sharing a van with his wife and her handicapped sister.

“I’m trying to get a job and you need a good car to get around,” Jaffee said.

The night before the wrestling match, Jaffee said he and his wife were talking about how great it would be to have another car. Jaffee had seen the information about a free car on posters for the wrestling match, but he didn’t think he would win it. He was just there to see the Honky Tonk Man, a former WWE wrestler dressed as Elvis with long sideburns and an elaborate jumpsuit.

When the winning ticket, “Section C, Row A, Seat 1,” was announced, Jaffee didn’t even hear it over the noise of loud fans getting autographs of the Honky Tonk Man. It took almost six announcements before Jaffee finally heard it.

Suddenly his dream of getting a car and a job were real. Without winning a car, he could never afford to buy one, Jaffee said. They can barely afford the payments on their van, which is specially designed to transport his sister-in-law, Jaffee said. Jaffee’s sister-in-law can barely walk due to a combination of gout, back problems and arthritis. So, at age 57, she needs to get around in a scooter.

“She can walk a little, but she cannot walk very far,” said Jaffee’s wife, Barbara. Through human services, she gets paid for some of her time helping her sister, but not all of it. She has to help her sister with bathing, dressing and eating.

“It’s only supposed to take three and a half hours, but she is my sister.”

With Jaffee’s wife busy running errands for her sister and transporting her to the hospital, Jaffee said it is hard for him to get to a job.

The family is going to put the $300 toward payments on the van, on which they still owe $5,000. But that doesn’t help Jaffee find a job. He said he is going to keep trying.

“We’ll try to get by the best we can,” Jaffee said.

This was the first time a car was used to promote a wrestling event, said Stewart, the executive producer. He never promised a new car and joked about it on a radio station that it was “college-type transportation,” said Stewart. Stewart, who also works at Northwest Auto in Chicago, said he might promote a car again but will try to get a better car next time.

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