Has anyone donated their car to charity?

[beckmrk04]

Have you ever donated a car to charity?

We're thinking of doing this with our older car, and I was wondering what other people's experiences were.

Our car is a 1999 Cavalier with 140,000. The A/C isn't working, there are some minor cosmetic blemishes, but overall, it still runs fine.

It's worthless as a trade-in, and we could try to sell it outright, but really- it's not even worth all that much, and I'd rather give it to a good cause.

Any ideas or experiences would be appreciated.

ETA- I'm also looking for suggestions of reputable places to start my donation inquiry. I know the Salvation Army accepts car donations, but I was also curious to see if anyone donated elsewhere, and why you picked a specific charity.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Sorry, I thought it said "cat". Have you donated your cat. I opened quickly thinking there was some way to donate a cat I hadn't heard about yet. What a serious disappointment that was.

No, haven't donated a car. Sorry.

Good luck.

 

[GJM]

Yes, I did a couple of years ago. It was a 1987 Toyota Celica with 160,000 miles on it. I loved that car!

I donated I think to a Childrens Cancer group, it was something to do with kids. They came and picked the car up - it was very easy.

 

[democrat08]

Have you ever donated a car to charity?

We're thinking of doing this with our older car, and I was wondering what other people's experiences were.

Our car is a 1999 Cavalier with 140,000. The A/C isn't working, there are some minor cosmetic blemishes, but overall, it still runs fine.

It's worthless as a trade-in, and we could try to sell it outright, but really- it's not even worth all that much, and I'd rather give it to a good cause.

Any ideas or experiences would be appreciated.

Yes I did. I donated our minivan whose engine had seized this past spring. The car was 10 years old and not worth enough to fix it. The mechanic wanted to charge me $150.00 to get rid of it.

I called Goodwill which was advertising they wanted cars even in non-working order. A company - Cars for Charity came and got it. They only thing I did differently (which I read as a tip on the goodwill site) is that Cars for Charity wanted me to give them the title with the buyer info blank. I insisted on putting Cars for Charity in the buyer portion. I wasn't going to have a blank title with me still responsible for the car floating around not under my control. They weren't happy with it but did give me all the information to fill out the title successfully.

The tow truck that picked up the car gave me a receipt. About a week later I got a formal receipt that they had picked up the car. About a month later I got a receipt for my taxes that the car had sold for, therefore my donation equaled $550.00.

It was pretty painless. And instead of having to shell out $150.00, I now have a tax receipt, in accordance with the new IRS donation rules, for a $550.00 donation. And the money went to a good cause.

Here is Goodwill's webpage that gives you details on donating a car:
(just google goodwill+car donation - can't post links yet)

About Donating Vehicles

Many Goodwill agencies accept vehicle donations. Some vehicles are used as part of Wheels-to-Work programs that provide reliable transportation to help people stay on the job. Other Goodwills use the proceeds from the sale of your vehicle to fund important job training and employment programs for people with disabilities and other disadvantaging conditions that keep them from being successful in the workplace.

Beginning January 1, 2005, taxpayers can deduct only the proceeds the charity gets from the sale of the car. Donors must receive a written acknowledgement from the charity that includes the sale price of the vehicle. If the charity uses the car for a charitable purpose, such as a Goodwill wheels-to-work program, donors may deduct the fair market value of the vehicle, and must obtain written acknowledgement from the charity that states how the car will be used. The charity must provide you with written acknowledgement within 30 days of the sale of the car or, if the car is to be used for a charitable purpose, within 30 days of the donation.

If you are donating your car:

Give to charities you know and trust.

Find out which nonprofit organizations accept car donations, and whether or not the car has to be in working condition.

Find out how your donation will be used and what percentage of the charity's revenues fund mission-based programs versus administrative costs. Goodwill Industries channels 84 percent of its revenues into its job training and career services.

Ask if the charity uses a third party to sell the car and, if so, how much of your donation the charity keeps.

Sign the title over to the charity or its agent. Do not leave the title blank under any circumstances: many illegitimate charities ask that the title be left blank, making you liable for the vehicle months after you donated it.
Valuate your car based on the fair market value, taking into consideration your vehicle's condition. For guidance, use the “private party” or equivalent category in one of the accepted used car guides, such as the Kelley Blue Book, or consult with your tax advisor. (This will change after January 1, 2005). The charity is not permitted to determine your vehicle's fair market value; the tax receipt is proof that you made the donation.

Keep the records of how you valuated your car, as well as photographs, maintenance records, and other evidence of its physical condition.

 

[tar heel]

We donated a mini van to our local hospice. It was a great deal for us b/c it was under the old rules where we could deduct fair market value. I worked with the accountant to come up with the value, which was abut $3,500. The current law allows you to deduct only what the charity gets, usually at wholesale.

Lots of charities take cars. You might contact your local United Way office to see who does in your area. The Kidney Foundation is one of the most prominent.

 

[beckmrk04]

I just found out that RAINN and NCADV (charities near and dear to my heart) both accept car donations!

My DH and I have discussed the possibility of donating at length, and we finally decided that it would be a great way to pay it forward, because we have been very blessed. It's not much, but we want to do something, you know?

 

[Disney Doll]

I donated my 1985 Toyota Corolla SR5 to the Sepcial Olympics a few years back. It was quite easy. They came and picked it up on a flatbed and gave me a tax thing, since it is a donation. They told me to look up its value and use that as my donation amount. I don'tknow if thet's till how it's done...as I said, this was a few years back.

They do not sell the car whole...they part it out.

 

[IDoDis]

The charity will sell your car at an auction for a wholesale price and then they'll mail you a receipt that you can use as a tax deduction. My friend did this a couple of years ago and was under the impression that families would be using the donated car while in town receiving cancer treatment. That is not the case. It is a very worthy cause if you don't want to sell the car yourself, but know that if you sold the car yourself you'd get more money that you could then donate to your favorite charity and have an even larger tax deduction.

 

[driftwood]

We donated a car to Goodwill this past Spring. At first we had trouble with a lack of communication between different Goodwill places in town. The one store closest to home wanted a title from our state, but the title was from Alabama (we are the one and only original owners). We went down to the DMV to change state titles, but they said we needed a Vin inspection, which I could not get because we had taken the insurance off the car and I will not drive uninsured regardless if the closest car place for inspection was a mile away. This was going to cost us for the inspection and the title change.

At home, I found a number in the phone book to the main Goodwill store and they transferred me to the person who actually does all the paperwork for car donations. I told him of my problem and how to go about getting this done and donated. He stopped me in mid-sentence, said he'll be right out to my house and it's really easy. No need to have state title, we'll just sign the original title (Alabama) over in front of him. That's it! He came, we signed, the car was already parked at the Goodwill store with plates off and it was done! If the car was parked here, or it wasn't drive-able, they'd come with a tow. I think they even towed the car from the Goodwill store. He gave us a form for the car for donation, and then sent the official charitable contribution form later after the car was auctioned off (it was about a month later we got the form). Goodwill people get very excited at any car donation, it's a big boost for them.

 

[mickeysgal]

We donated a car. Same experience as the others have stated so far. We have a tax receipt showing what the car had sold for at auction. We live on the east coast and it was sold at auction in California. We recently traced the VIN# (we belonged to one of those services) and found that after the car was sold in California, it is now resident in Mexico.

 

[LaraK]

We also donated our car before the tax laws changed. We donated to Salvation Army twice. Very little fuss.

 

[Aisling]

We also donated our car before the tax laws changed. We donated to Salvation Army twice. Very little fuss.

What has changes with the tax laws?

I ask, because I've donated 4 cars to the American Diabetes Association over the years, and we always got a nice little amout back with our tax refund, more than I would have gotten if I sold it.

I now have another car that I'm ready to donate, so I'm wondering about the tax laws. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The current tax law regarding donations of vehicles to charities has two separate rules.

The most common is where the vehicle is immediately (within 30 days) sold off, usually via auto auction. In this situation the charity will send you a letter or form acknowledging the contribution and stating the net amount they received after all related expernses have been deducted. That is the allowable deduction.

However, if the charity uses the vehicle for it's own purposes you are allowed the fair market value at time of donation. You will get a letter to this effect. There tend to be two reasons for this.

One is if the charity actually uses it for transportation, either administrative or programmatic.

The other is where they charity will fix it up and sell it at a very deep discount to a beneficiary who will be able to use it. I know one such charity iin the DC area that will take cars no more than five years old, have them but in almost perfect operating condition and then sell them to "working poor" people recommended by other organizations to provide these people with reliable transportation. They have said that their typical beneficiary will increase their income by about $8,000 per year once they have reliable transportation.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Sorry, I thought it said "cat". Have you donated your cat. I opened quickly thinking there was some way to donate a cat I hadn't heard about yet. What a serious disappointment that was.

No, haven't donated a car. Sorry.

Good luck.

I donated my Toyota SR5 to the Make a Wish Foundation back in 2002, or something like that.

I miss that car.

 

[Aisling]

The current tax law regarding donations of vehicles to charities has two separate rules.

Wow, thanks for the information!

 

[beckmrk04]

So far the charities I have looked into pretty much do all the work.

I'm going to contact one of them as soon as we get our new car.

 

[Todd&Copper]

If you are looking to maximize your tax deduction, try to find a charity that will give your car to a needy family, rather than sell it at auction. I was looking into donasting my car to a charity like this, until a neighbor offered me a fair amount for it.
The charity I was considering works in the DC/MD/VA area and I was told they will put about $700 or so of work into a car to re-gift it to a needy family. If the car needs more work than that, it will be sold.

 

[Cee]

We've donated cars to Goodwill and Purple Heart. You call them, they come and
get it and all you have to do is sign over the title and make sure it's in the car.
They give you a tax deduction form. It's easy.

 

[bigolive9]

We donated my husband's old car to CarTalk- the money went to our local PBS affiliate. It was very easy. We filled out the info on the website. Once they received the title, they called and set up a day to tow it away. very easy, and I will donate mine when it dies. we have not yet received the letter stating how much it was sold for.

http://www.v-dac.com/cartalk/

 

[kirbsam]

op. dont know where in illinois that you are, but rawhide is a great place to donate your vehicle. they will fix it up and sell it and maximize your deduction.