Donating a car to charity.

Has anyone ever done this? I have heard that the rules for this changed this year. We want to donate a car we no longer use and also want the tax deduction for it. Some auction them off and others fix them up and give them to needy/less fortunate people. How do you figure out which is which and who to give the car to? Have any of you ever donated a car to charity?

We've never done it, but know that it must be a listed charity...some Catholic charities take cars in all kinds of shape...they don't have to run....I don't know that much about it, but have heard through the 'car grapevine' that they are a good place to start. You might call someone local and ask.

Thank you Melody. I'll have hubby check into that. Most of them did say it has to run, which it does. He finally got a new car and this one is just sitting.

My DS donated a car through the Cancer Society years ago. Can't remember if it still ran,but he did need to have the title. Call the DMV...they might could give you suggestions and details.

Thank you Ginger. We do have the title sitting here. It has been paid for for several years. We have to do something with it before June, my birthday when it would have to be licensed again. LOL

Here's info on the IRS law: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=131660,00.html

We donated a used car about 4 years ago...can't remember the name of the charitable organization (America something) I would have to pull out all the tax papers. It didn't even matter if the car was driveable or not. Guy came with a flatbed tow truck and took it right out of our garage. Got a small tax refund for it.

Google "car donate charity". There's some infor there.

T.

We usualy donate our cars to a school that teaches kids how to repair them, then they sell the cars. The kids learn a skill and by the time we get rid of a car its usualy pretty old or we just dont feel like putting any more money into it. We also get the tax write off for this. I like doing it this way because I still get some money while kids, usualy ones who would be on the street, are learning a trade to better themselves.
Try looking into the trade schools in your area and see what they say. We dont have a car this year to donate, wich is really strange for us, so I cant tell you about any new laws. I would think a CPA in your area should be able to tell you what you can do.

If you know someone who needs it you can also donate it thru their church.
We donated quite a few years ago to MHMRA- mental health mental retardation assoc.
They also came and got it with a flatbed.

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

We buy and recondition some vehicles that have been donated, because of a connection we have with a salvage yard. But we buy from the salvage, who bought them from the charity. With the latest rule changes from IRS, the salvage is getting fewer cars, simply because if someone donates, and the charity sells it to the salvage, it is at salvage prices, and then the donor only gets a deduction for the amount the salvage paid, which isn't much.

If you need the deduction, be sure it goes to a charity that is NOT just wholesale selling them to a salvage.

I don't know about your area, but some vo-tech schools take things for the students to work on?

BS, I know that The Goodwill Industries and The Salvation Army down here take used cars for the needy. I dont know if they do there but that might be a good place to look


Good Luck and God Bless you for doing this,

Char

We bought a mercedes thru an auction, when we got the title we saw that it had been donated to a local charity. We bought the car for about $200, the only reason I think we were able to get it so cheap was because it wouldnt start, it needed a battery. The charity will get the proceeds from the auction wich is much more than they would get from salvage, but some money is better than none.

Yes, I have donated 2 cars to a charity..then you got to deduct the fair market value of the car..but now you only get to deduct the price the charity gets when they sell it. At least that is how I understand the change.

The IRS is getting more unfair unless you are rich it seems.

We were given a car as ours was going capoot 6 years ago. Now this one going there, so glad when people want to do great things like this. Sorry they won't give atleast fair market value. Salvage isn't much. We had a car we gave to guy who we call when we break down.
He towed it in and got 45.00 but for a car that is totally not runnable that may be alot, but not for one that runs.

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^


This message was edited Apr 23, 2005 11:13 PM

I get more than that for a vehicle for scrap. I take them to the crusher and get $60 a ton.

You guys have great ideas and information! One other time I had a car that I sold to a 'friend' really cheap. He drove off in the car for free and I never got a thing. I had only asked for a small fee anyway. I guess I kind of thought I would never see the money so I wasn't horribly upset...There are a few people at work that are interested in having the car but I don't think I would ever see the money. :( One girl wanted it for free and was willing to take it right away. LOL It needs a few small things if we want to sell it but hubby said he doesn't have the time to mess with it. So, it is still sitting here.

earthling is exactly right- previously you would have been able to deduct FMV (or the Kelley Blue Book value) and now you can only deduct what the charity gets for it. So if they sell it for scrap and got $100 for it, that's all you could deduct. Even if the market value was $1,000. The whole thing seems strange to me b/c it seems to be saying you have to wait for the charity to do whatever they are going to do with it, and then ask them how much $ they got. And what if they don't sell it but rather use it or give it to a poor family? What's the value then? I have never had a spare car sitting around so I have never had to deal with this personally. :)

Jamie

I don't get it either. It is getting harder and harder to give to charity. I called about getting rid of some clothes and they wanted them all freshly laundered and on hangers. I understand wanting clean clothes but do they have no hangers or people to hang them?? It is far easier to give to the charities that will pick them up!

The car is still sitting here. It is a 94 Mazda Protege with around 105K miles on it. I bought it brand new then gave it to hubby when I started running through minivans and vans. LOL We decided to retire it. We may be better off to put 100 bucks into and sell it to a kid or something. Gee. It is missing a rear dummy window from someone breaking into it and it is filthy but the tires are new. LOL

New tires! Now that's something!

My best friend and I volunteered at a Catholic church's thrift store for our community service hours for our scholarships when we were just out of high school. Our job was to sort and hang all that donated clothing! We sat in a freezing cold warehouse with literally HUNDREDS of boxes of stuff and sorted and sorted and sorted. A good deal of the "donations" weren't fit for a trash can and most of it was not clean. And NONE of it was on hangers! I am a big fan of the Goodwill or Salvation Army bins you see in parking lots. I dump bags of clothes and household goods in them all year long. Maybe you could park your car out in front of one? Ha! Just kidding!

Take a look at this:

http://www.800charitycars.org/donationprocess.htm

I donated a car to the Cancer Society several years ago and got the fair market deduction, but got a HEADACHE as well.

One day I received a letter from the Prince George's county police department, saying the car had been towed from a street in Washington DC. They said I owed a couple hundred dollars impound fee. ( I live in northern Maryland and have never even been to Washington.

I sent them a letter saying it had been donated and the title signed over to the cancer society. I thought that would be the end of it, but, a while later received another letter, with more money racked up from impound fees and a threat that if not paid , my drivers liscense would be suspended.

I immediately called them and was told I had to have the cancer society call them verifying the donation, which I did. I never heard any more from them after that.

The police had looked at the vin number and when checking with DMV the title was still listed in my name.
Don't think I'll be donating any more cars, LOL

Well you know what they say gin- no good deed goes unpunished! :)

Jamie

LOL Jamie! You are bad!

Hey now, I didn't come up with that saying! :)

Well, I think I have about run out of nice and caring. LOL We called charity cars and arranged for them to pick up the car. It was pretty simple and forward, you give them the info they want and they come for the car. A few days later, I find out a friend of the girls, has a family in need, had to move into an apartment and lost their family car. So I tell them they can have the car. Blah blah blah, that would be great, what a Godsend, that would be wonderful. I talk to them a few times over the week. They never come. It does not bother them to ask me every week and sometimes twice to take their daughter to soccer and yes, they still want the car. After a week, I finally tell them if they do not come in the next two days, it will go to charity. Well they go back to the thank you very much, yes we want it, what a nice person blah blah. I called the charity car people back and they came to get it. The family is still asking me to take their daughter to soccer??? I really wonder if it is not a DUI or drug problem. How do you turn down a free car that runs, and looks nice when you have NO car????

Uninsurable perhaps?

I don't know Chele- maybe they were waiting for you to bring it to them or something! Or they just don't want to be bothered, I mean it's much easier for you to just haul their kid around right? For them I mean! :)

Badseed, perhaps it is time for you to have "car trouble" next time they call to be hauled around? People like that take but never give. And the more you help them the more "help" they want. The only real way to help some people is with "tough love". I hate to do that sort of thing, but there comes a time when you have to. There is also a time when being "nice and helpful" becomes "being a sucker." Good luck. Dotti

I love you guys! The dad told me he had 'lost the car for them'. That is why I felt so bad for them. I figured it was hard for him to tell me that. They could have just said no thanks or they had something lined up. I just got irked because they kept saying they wanted it. I had my hubby go sweep it out, etc. It was just a week longer I had a hard time weed eating the curb, a week longer it was insured, a week longer to wait for it to go to auction, a week longer.....Gee, they could have just said "No thank you.". I'm over it but I did want to let you guys know it went to 'Charity Cars'.

My husband and I need a car really bad. one got repoed and the other is barely running. Just had to have a water pump put on and that is payments to the mechanic. He is so nice.

He always does the bare minumum as he knows our situation and that the car is not worth it. 350.00 this time.

I would have to say they would rather depend on someone than take the car. It is hard to receive something that big from someone, but at the same time it is stealing the blessing of the one giving. Also i feel they would not offer if it wasn't something they wanted to do.

The car we have now was given to us 7 years ago when we were driving a 74 datsun.

I don't hesitate to accept something I need. I would rather be selfsuffient than continue to ask for rides.

I don't ask now for rides and can not even drive this car because of my back.

You did a great thing and will be blessed for it. All we can do is offer then the ball is in their court.

I don't understand but I guess I am not suppose to.

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

Thank you Sandy. :) I think with this particular family, there is more going on than I am supposed to know. The little girl is very sweet and ate like a vulture when she was here. It really makes me wonder but she is a happy little thing and seems well adjusted so I am minding my own business until or if they want some other kind of help.

You are very welcome.

Sandy

Bad,
My 7 y/o eats like a vulture all the time. I swear, w/in 20 min of eating, she is asking for more. Perhaps it is a growth spurt, but she is in the 99th percentile for height, for her age. Maybe that little girl is going through some growth spurt as well...

That was great of you to donate. Actually, I find I have an extra car trying to figure out what to do with it. It's parked in Elyria, OH. Loaned it to my step-bro, then they bought one and he said mine not running well enough to get back here. Title... still trying to get them to send me the paperwork to clear the loan. Paid off years ago, but seem to not want to send duplicate paperwork. Then, need to sell it or part it out. I need a break!! LOL ~ Suzi :)

I have six daughters so I am a pretty good judge of little girls and their actions. LOL These people lost their home, lost their car, don't answer their phone or their door and the kids climb in and out of a window. I'll leave it at that. It's not my business really. I just wish they would have taken the car if they needed it.

Charity cars was very easy to deal with. We just gave them the vitals over the phone and they sent a tow truck for it even though it runs. That might be some sort of liability thing. I just hope someone that really needs it will get it. :)

Bad,
In my heart, I figured that too, but I have always tried to think the best of peo, until they prove otherwise. Tough times coming for some little ones... ~ Suzi :)

I haven't read all of the responses, but I have donated 2 cars to the "blind". One in 2003 and one in 2004 and deducted them both on my taxes. You do need to determine the fair market value , not just go by the NADA. And you do have to complete the paperwork like you would if you were selling it. In other words you need to complete a SELLERS REPORT OF SALE. I believe you might even be able to do this on line now. But this is for your protection. And you need to sign the title etc. They list everything and all you have to do is follow the instructions line for line. Very easy.

Both went very easily. It helped that they both were in working condition so they did not have to have a tow truck. I highly recommend it. Also, I believe they even take cars that are not running. Sure helps the countryside not to have one more junker sitting around.

Jeanette