Donating a Car

[Seahawk]

Just thought I'd share my very recent experience.

I owned a 1999 Izuzu Trooper with 187k on the clock....bought it new in 98. Our last Au Pair drove it for five years and brought it back to us two weeks ago. She is a great young gal. We put her through college (4.0) and other folks in the area helped get a job, housing, etc.

She got her own car so she returned the Izuzu.

I really didn't feel like going the Criagslist route with the vehicle...it is well worn, had some cosmetic damage and isn't worth much.

I decided to donate it to Breast Cancer Survivors: Cars for Breast Cancer.

I have no affiliation with them other the this recent transaction.

It was as smooth and positive experience as I have ever had. When I called they were polite, professional and very thorough on what I should expect, timelines and what documentation they would need at pick-up.

The tow truck arrived on time. He was great, funny and professional. The paperwork was perfect, and off he went.

I received the tracking status email for true value of the car for tax purposes and was assigned a log-in and password. Their website is easy to navigate and very straight forward.

If any of you folks ever consider going this route with an old car, I can highly recommend this group.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I think that's a good cause and more importantly it sounds like they didn't misrepresent what they really do.

There have been a rash of "donate your car to help a needy person" charity drives in recent months that have popped up but I've been told on good authority by someone I know affiliated with one of them that such charities are distorting the truth and that donated cars almost NEVER end up directly in the hands of needy people. They're either sold at auction (with the proceeds going into the charity's general operating budget - including administrative costs) or sold for scrap metal and crushed/destroyed (again, with the proceeds going into the charity's budget). At the end of the day the charity does benefit, but it's a bit disingenuous how a lot of them represent themselves... You're not "donating your car to help a needy person", you're donating your car so the charity can make some money off of it (less auction fees and other parties' cut).

This organization sounds like they were pretty up-front about the whole thing (were they?)

Anyway I'm glad they and you both got something out of this.

[rcecale]

Isn't that such an awesome feeling: Giving?

Been cleaning out my garage and, while I haven't given away a vehicle, I have been giving all sorts of things to The Salvation Army. Boxes of clothes, computers, printers, a gas dryer, living room furniture and lots more. My next batch includes a 10" Craftsman table saw, a couple of bicycles, couple of table lamps and more clothes. All stuff I could easily move on Craigslist, but just don't want the hassle. Much easier to just give it to someone who can get some use out of it!

Randy

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

...but I've been told on good authority by someone I know affiliated with one of them that such charities are distorting the truth and that donated cars almost NEVER end up directly in the hands of needy people. They're either sold at auction (with the proceeds going into the charity's general operating budget - including administrative costs) or sold for scrap metal and crushed/destroyed (again, with the proceeds going into the charity's budget). At the end of the day the charity does benefit, but it's a bit disingenuous how a lot of them represent themselves... You're not "donating your car to help a needy person", you're donating your car so the charity can make some money off of it (less auction fees and other parties' cut).

This organization sounds like they were pretty up-front about the whole thing (were they?)

POP,

The car will be sold. They were very upfront about percentages of the cars value that goes for admin versus direct support: 20/80. They said that the 20% includes the towing, fees, etc. unless the car sells for under $400.00.

The folks on the phone were very specific to year, type, model and mileage, options and condition.

The interesting thing is that they will show me where the car was sold, the buyer and the wholesale price paid.

As we all know, there is the magic leap of faith, pressing the send button that inevitably has to happen in these matters. It is funny that my BS Meter was set to stun on the first few phone calls, then set to kill with the tow folks being on time, communicating schedules, etc.

Tow guy called twice the day before, called the next day to confirm his arrival and was on the dot.

In the end, if BCS's make some money, I'm good.

[T77911S]

there is a program here that will take your car and they donate it to foster kids that have aged out of the system. i think they do a screening of the kids to give the cars to the kids that earn them.
the good thing for the donor is, you write off the book value of the car AFTER they have fixed it, so you get more off your taxes.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by T77911S

there is a program here that will take your car and they donate it to foster kids that have aged out of the system. i think they do a screening of the kids to give the cars to the kids that earn them.
the good thing for the donor is, you write off the book value of the car AFTER they have fixed it, so you get more off your taxes.

Share the organization My comments were only that the BCS was sooo well run it was seamless.

If there is a better way, I'm in.