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have you donated a car to charity in the recent past? (u.s.)

15 years ago

I'd like to read about your experience and which charity you chose.

I sooooo don't want to deal with selling my car on my own (I won't get very much at all if I traded it in). It's old, it needs work, I don't want to deal with strangers and them wanting to take the car to their own mechanic (even tho I'm not trying to pull anything over on them), and possibly an unhappy buyer coming back to me.

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Comments (14)

lesterd
15 years ago
On a Sunday morning 3 yrs ago, my 13 yr old car experienced it's final mechanical problem with me as owner - the water pump exploded. The car was undriveable so I left it at the scene of the explosion.

On the Monday, I called a technical school that had an auto mechanic training program and offered it to them. They would have to come and get it. They agreed and said they'd send me a donation receipt for it's blue book value. We cleaned out all personal items that night.

On Tuesday morning, they came with a flatbed truck and removed the car.

On Friday, I received a donation receipt in the mail.

It was painless!
breenthumb
15 years ago
We donated my old Pontiac Bonneville to the Vietnam Vets. It was leaking oil and after sitting in the driveway for quite a while we couldn't get the hood open. I told them that when I called, thinking they would need to tow it. When they came for it, all he had to do was give it a good thump in the right spot and they had it open and running. Very easy and polite.
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cynic
15 years ago
I tried to donate a car to the tech school one time and they wanted it but I had to deliver it to them. I didn't have the way and wouldn't pay for a tow truck. The school had access to a truck so I figured they didn't want it that badly.

It's been several years now but I donated my pickup to a public TV station. They have an organization they deal with who handles it. They called me and arranged to pick it up. They asked if it could be driven, I said, well it probably shouldn't - the brakes were bad. No problem. They sent a tow truck and loaded it up. He even looked around, checked the visors and said "you wouldn't believe how many garage door openers we wind up getting!" I had it all cleaned out already though. They handled the paperwork and gave me my receipt for the vehicle. I had a choice of taking a flat rate $500 receipt for the donation or wait and get the value of what they sell it for. I took the $500 and said be done with it. Didn't expect they'd get a lot more. I also took the license # and description of the truck and driver, put it on the receipt with date and time just to document.

I understand now though that they've changed it so the flat rate option isn't available anymore, but I haven't checked it out. Was going to donate my van but wound up selling it.

A caution though. Be sure to get a receipt for the vehicle and the corner of the title. The intermediary businesses usually do not transfer the title into their name, much like car dealers, which I guess they are. They wait and transfer it to the end buyer. If you don't get the receipt, you are potentially liable if something happens. Also it's best to also contact the state and notify them that it's no longer yours. Think nothing can happen? I transferred my van at the license bureau when I sold it. 3 weeks later the buyer got a ticket left on it, he says he never got the ticket (and it could have blown away) but the state said I still owned the vehicle so I'm liable and since it hadn't been paid I had to go to court or lose my license. I had to contact them to prove I didn't own it anymore. They also said I had to notify the state that I no longer owned the vehicle before I could ask them to leave me out of it. Apparently they don't transfer titles too timely and/or one division doesn't communicate with the other! But this incident has nothing to do with donating - it's something that can happen anytime.
sue_va
15 years ago
When my 21 year old Honda Civic was gasping it's last breath I gave it to the mechanic I had always used. It sat on the lot for several months and a fellow whose Honda had been in an accident, doing severe body damage, saw it he asked the mechanic about it. He only wanted the body. So at least that much of my little Honda got a new life.

Used to be the junk yards would give you a few dollars for an old car. Not now; they wanted me to pay them $100 to come and get it. Giving it away helped me and one other person. I don't know if the mechanic sold it to the fellow or gave it to him. I never asked.

I bought another Honda Civic.

Sue
marie_ndcal
15 years ago
According to Consumer's reports, they do not recomment just donating it because of the many problems others have listed. Also, the IRS has changed some of their rules and you might not get the entire donation. You can check their web site.
pattico_gw
15 years ago
not really....

we bought a "Datsun" in 1979 new. I drove it 10 years...It had a problem when I'd drive it and get up to 35 mph, it would start shaking.

Denny was not a mechanic and didn't want to fix it. We bought a different car. And he sold my Datsun to a guy he knew that needed a car, for $25.00.

The problem with the car.......it had steel belted tires and the steel belt in it had broke. He bought new tires and drove it for another 10 years.

So I'd say we almost donated it....lol

Now life has changed and I'm the one that needs the donation...lol

patti
joyfulguy
15 years ago
Remember my little red '90 Dodge Colt, made by Mitsubishi, that I bought about '97 and drove for about seven years: it had a standard tranny and when I drove out almost daily to look after uncle's farm before it was sold that I found that I could coast over 16km. of the 20 km. trip? At something over 200,000 mi. the mechanic told me that I shouldn't drive it any more.

I took it to a TV evangelist-related drug rehab "Teen Challenge Farm" nearby and they gave me a receipt for $400. for it.

A friend at the investment group was surprised at my story, "What? They gave you a $400.00 receipt for that piece of _____!".

They'd given one to him for something not too far over $100.00 for a newer (Ford, I think) that was in better shape, some time earlier, so his nose was rather out of joint over that deal.

They signed the portion of my vehicle registration paper that's to be used for transfer, I took the plates off and took them home.

A few days later I got a receipt in the mail for the $400.00 ... and had no trouble with it from the income tax people when I claimed it.

ole joyful
gardenspice
15 years ago
I don't want to deprive your local charities, but even if you don't get much on trade in, you will certainly get more than what you will as a tax deduction.
susanjf_gw
15 years ago
used to be you were given the kelly blue book price, but as the ladies mentioned no more...

we have donated to purple heart, who picked up, left a $ amount and recept..don't know it they still do that, or not..
gardenspice
15 years ago
I don't know if my post was clear. My point is that the tax deduction does not not really add up to much. If Kelly Blue book Value is 1000 and that the value given, that simply means that you won't pay taxes on 1000. If you are in the 20% tax bracket, you will avoid paying 200 in taxes, versus getting 1000 (or whatever is offered) in trade in.
You are better off taking the trade in and giving your favorite charity a cash donation.
cynic
15 years ago
I have never seen or heard of a car dealer give blue book value on a trade-in! And if they did, they inflated the cost so on that car valued at $1000, you'd be lucky to net $200 in actual cash vs what you would do on a cash deal.
pammyfay
Original Author
15 years ago
There is very, very low trade-in value on a 1997 car with nearly 115,000 miles on it and needing some work done. Run a Carfax report and any accident will show up, obviously further decreasing what a car dealer would give you -- and that's factoring in the truth of what Cynic says. If you itemize (and I do), any tax deduction is worthwhile.
gardenspice
15 years ago
Pammyfay, There's no way that your deduction will yield as much as a trade in, because the deduction ends up yielding a fraction of the value. It is not as if it is a tax credit, which comes off the bottom line, it is a deduction.
joyfulguy
15 years ago
Hi pammyfay,

Do you have a friend somewhat familiar with cars who's had experience at selling them privately, including incipient problems that need to be forestalled, who'd be willing to do the selling for you, for a fraction of the amount realized?

Sounds like a better deal than settling for a "mere" (as some alluded to) tax deduction.

ole joyfuelled

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