Car salesman surprises woman with free Chevrolet for the holidays

By Scott Williams

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    BURLINGTON, Wisconsin (The Journal Times) — Suzanne Giloy uses her car to run errands for friends and neighbors who need help in her apartment complex for low-income senior citizens.

So when her 1980 Chevrolet Malibu was totaled in a traffic accident, it was a problem for a lot of people who could not reach their doctor appointments or the grocery store.

Then something unexpected happened.

Giloy’s name was called in a contest organized by a salesman who wanted to make someone’s holiday season extra special at the Lynch GM Superstore car dealership in Burlington.

The prize? A car.

Salesman Dan Dace solved Giloy’s problems and made her life easier by giving her a restored 2009 Chevrolet Impala right off the showroom floor at Lynch’s.

Dace, who has been selling cars for five years, said he knows how important it is for people to have reliable transportation. And he wanted to mark the holiday season by helping someone in need.

He received about 125 entries in a contest conducted via Facebook. But when he read about Giloy and her thoughtful practice of helping friends and neighbors, he had found his winner.

“I knew she was the right one,” he said. “She’s such a deserving woman.”

For Giloy, the free car is an answer to a prayer that she would be able to remain mobile without having to drain her modest savings to buy a new vehicle.

The 76-year-old Milwaukee woman was not even aware of the contest until friends lured her to the Lynch dealership in Burlington and told her that she had won.

“I was just stunned,” she said. “I still pinch myself to make sure it’s real.”

The life-changing moment was made possible by a chance encounter Giloy had months earlier while riding a bus to church.

Shortly after losing her old car in a traffic accident in September, Giloy discussed her dilemma with Amador Navarrete, the driver of a bus for Victory Outreach Church in Racine. Navarrete shuttles church members from Giloy’s apartment complex.

The church volunteer also happens to work as an automobile mechanic, and he knows how to find used cars. He told Giloy he would keep his eyes open for her.

Giloy, a retired office worker and divorced mother of three, had only about $2,500 to spend. So her options were limited.

Sitting on his couch at home in Racine not long after, Navarrete spotted a posting on Facebook about a free car giveaway. He entered the contest on Giloy’s behalf, submitting a heartfelt testimonial about her humanitarian nature.

“She does not have much, but always helps others,” he wrote.

The story touched Dace’s heart as the car salesman reviewed dozens of entries in his car giveaway.

A carpenter by trade, Dace experienced his own bad breaks years earlier when he developed arthritis that put him out of work temporarily. Financial difficulties followed until he landed at Lynch GM Superstore and learned how to sell cars.

Now selling as many as 25 cars a month, he decided to share some of his good fortune with a public-spirited gesture during the holidays. When a 2009 Chevrolet Impala came through the door as a trade-in, Dace bought it himself and had it cleaned and fixed up for his contest.

“I’m all about helping other people,” he said. “I know what it’s like to have hard times.”

The black four-door sedan looked like new Dec. 2 when friends from Victory Outreach Church lured Giloy to the Burlington car dealership. A crowd cheered her arrival, and Dace introduced himself.

He then handed Giloy the keys to her new car.

Navarrete was on hand to witness the moment. Unsure exactly what kind of car his friend would receive, he was impressed to see the shiny black Chevrolet sitting in the Lynch’s showroom.

“It feels good to be able to be part of something like that,” he said.

Through donations from others, Giloy also received a $200 gift card for gasoline, as well as free oil changes. For his participation, Navarrete received a gift card to a restaurant.

Back at her apartment complex, Giloy shared with her friends and neighbors the good news that she again was available as needed to drive them to doctor appointments, shopping trips and elsewhere.

With the $2,500 she had saved to buy a car, she paid off a few medical bills and other debts that had been troubling her. She treated some of her church friends to lunch, too.

She peeks out her apartment window occasionally to look at the Chevrolet Impala parked outside. She still finds it hard to believe that the vehicle belongs to her.

“It’s just wonderful,” she said. “It’s like a gift from God.”

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