Vehicle donation

john70t · 04:42 PM

I've got a 33yo Subaru Legacy rust bucket where every single part on it is worn and damaged.
Everything has been cobbled together and it still goes A to B, um, barely.
Engine and trans are probably the only thing worth saving on it (150K miles) but the rest is scrap metal money.

What are the good donation places in Michigan?

I've been ripped off a couple times by 'charitable auctions' and hear most of these are just tax dodges.

bmcuscgr94 · bmcuscgr94's Garage

For what its worth, my SIL took his non running 1996 Ford to CarMax, they gave him $500 for it even though he wasn't buying anything from them.

Brian 162 · 09-27-2018, 04:59 PM

Up here we have Kidney Car Donation. They'll pick up the car and you get a tax receipt for the vehicle.
I'm not sure if they have the same program in the States.

A930Rocket · 09-27-2018, 07:13 PM

Kars4Kids.com !!!

I want to puke 🤮 when that commercial comes on.

id10t · 09-27-2018, 07:49 PM

Pull engine and trans, sell on c-list for $150. Sell rest of vehicle for scrap metal. Donate proceeds. Or buy beer.

drkshdw · 09-27-2018, 08:18 PM

Any high school or community colleges with automotive tech classes nearby? They can always use cars, engines and transmissions to tear apart, learn to rebuild, learn auto body on, paint, etc. Doesn't have to look pretty as long as it can be used as a learning tool.

LWJ · 09-27-2018, 09:29 PM

Lots of places do this here. I donated a CRX to the library about 20 years ago.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

donationline.com

I’ve used them several times with mostly good results. They are a decent organization to deal with and have many charitable causes you can forward the proceeds to, The network of subcontractors that you actually deal with to schedule things? Hit or miss.

onewhippedpuppy · 09-28-2018, 12:12 AM

Most of those places are massive scams. They give you a donation receipt for a small amount, sell the car for more, and then pocket the difference. A friend of mine with good intentions did it with an Excursion that I could have sold for $8-10k all day long, they donated $1k per his receipt and claimed that’s all it was sold for.

Carmax for cash or craigslist, donate the cash if you want.

kanadary · 09-28-2018, 05:47 AM

other than a 325ic that we traded in for a honda fit, we have donated all our cars. I donate them to npr. they use to give you a receipt for the blue book value but that ended awhile back and now its what they sell for so you get your receipt a few weeks later.

Pazuzu · 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Most of those places are massive scams. They give you a donation receipt for a small amount, sell the car for more, and then pocket the difference. A friend of mine with good intentions did it with an Excursion that I could have sold for $8-10k all day long, they donated $1k per his receipt and claimed that’s all it was sold for.

Carmax for cash or craigslist, donate the cash if you want.

Uh...that's the whole point of a donation. You DONATE something to them, they get to sell it, and use the funds. If they gave you $5000 for your donation, then sold it for $5000, they don't actually get anything...
Edit: I guess I see your point, but if a non-profit can get more for it than you think, they should. The tax deduction should only be the feel good part of it, not an actual monetary part of the transaction. I would hope that they could get 3 or 4 times what I expected out of my donation, that means I was able to "give" 3 or 4 times what I expected!

John70t, try your local PBS affiliate. I donated a car to ours once. It ran. Like, I was driving it to work the day before. The truck that came to pick it up was blown away that I was able to drive it right up on the flatbed, they normally get piles of burned out, completely worthless junk as "donations". I think I got a $500 tax deduction.

fastfredracing · 09-28-2018, 07:43 AM

If your not looking for maximum money, and it really is a rust bucket, it is probably worth 2-300 at the local scrap yard. Especially if you can drive it in . Easy peasy, my guys come pick it up, take a photo copy of my drivers license, and hand me a fistful of cash .

Craig T · 09-28-2018, 08:54 AM

There was an article in the local paper here about car donation charities. Many are pure scams.

A management team of a local one was paying themselves high six-figures and donating almost nothing to an actual charity. The loopholes are in the management, transfer, and admin fees. I think of the four profiled in the article, less than ten cents on the dollar actual made it to charity.

Sell it on CL and donate the money directly to a registered charity with a high through-flow to the cause (e.g. JDRF, ACS, Make-A-Wish).

onewhippedpuppy · 09-28-2018, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

Uh...that's the whole point of a donation. You DONATE something to them, they get to sell it, and use the funds. If they gave you $5000 for your donation, then sold it for $5000, they don't actually get anything...
Edit: I guess I see your point, but if a non-profit can get more for it than you think, they should. The tax deduction should only be the feel good part of it, not an actual monetary part of the transaction. I would hope that they could get 3 or 4 times what I expected out of my donation, that means I was able to "give" 3 or 4 times what I expected!

John70t, try your local PBS affiliate. I donated a car to ours once. It ran. Like, I was driving it to work the day before. The truck that came to pick it up was blown away that I was able to drive it right up on the flatbed, they normally get piles of burned out, completely worthless junk as "donations". I think I got a $500 tax deduction.

No, all you get for the donation is a tax receipt for a write-off. The "charity" takes your car, sells it for $10k (for example), donates $1k on your behalf, and pockets the difference. Remember that "not for profit" doesn't mean they can't make a profit.

Craig T · 09-28-2018, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Remember that "not for profit" doesn't mean they can't make a profit.

It also does NOT restrict compensation to its officers. They can avoid profits by increasing their compensation.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

I don’t really care if they do make money off of it. Sure I’d like to have a bigger tax write-off but the convenience of not having to deal with selling something, dealing with flakes and tire kickers and just generally stupid people is / was worth it to me. Firstly I can’t stand selling things in general (the whole process always seems so sleazy on some level even if I’m the most honest person and disclose absolutely everything - I just hate doing sales) and people are just cheap pains in the ass.

As a case in point I had a Toyota 4Runner I’d inherited listed on CL for $1,500. Book was $2,100 and it needed new tires but I just hated the vehicle personally (gas pig, soulless slug) and I just wanted it gone for what I felt was fair and giving someone a good deal. I had a half dozen people say they’d meet me and never showed, another couple came out and wasted my time (obviously no intention of buying it)... just a pain and a giant waste of time. I lowered it to $1,200 and I had someone come out asking me if I’d take $800. This is after saying “price firm”. Are you effing kidding me? After that I pulled the ad, called donation line and they sent a tow guy out a couple of days later, got rid of it and sent me a notice that they got $1,500 for it at auction, so I ended up with that amount as a nice tax write-off. Fine with me!

I just went straight to them for four more vehicles after that without bothering to sell. My time is more valuable than to waste it doing sales stuff that I can’t stand doing anyway, or the stupidity of human behavior that it seems to spawn. Easy, simple. Title and the keys on the dash, come get it while I’m at work. Have a nice day. I come home and it’s gone and I get get the benefit of being ripped off less by the tax man come April. Fine! I could care less if they make a little more off it at auction, it’s worth it to me!

Pazuzu · 09-29-2018, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

No, all you get for the donation is a tax receipt for a write-off. The "charity" takes your car, sells it for $10k (for example), donates $1k on your behalf, and pockets the difference. Remember that "not for profit" doesn't mean they can't make a profit.

Then be smart and donate directly to the charity, like PBS. I want them tog get all $10k, so if they can get that, I am happy.

I see the problem with giving to some intermediary company with a big advertising campaign and such, but if you go direct to the charity then it fixes your concern.