Donating a car to charity .... (1 Viewer)

[Aurel Savin]

Just bought a new MINI Cooper and I cannot seem to sell my 90 Buick Riviera. It is in great shape excpept it needs transmission work badly. So since there are no takers .. was thinking to donating to charity as I will get more money in the long run this way by writing it off.

Did anyone do this in the past? How does it work? Do you know of any places in NYC? Do they take cars that need to be towed?

Any help would be appreciated...

 

[Eric Kahn]

the problem you are having is that it cost more to rebuild the tranny than the car is worth
there are usually ads in the paper about places that take car donations

 

[Carl Miller]

I donated my 88 Thunderbird last year to the American Diabetes Association...or something close to that name. Check out Diabetes Org for info on them.

The car wasn't running due to tranny problems and they took it anyway. They told me that as long as the BB value isn't less than their cost to tow, they usually take them even if they don't run.

It was quick and easy.

 

[Francois Caron]

Aurel, you went from a Buick Riviera to a Mini Cooper? Out of curiosity, how was the transition?

 

[Steven K]

I donated my 92 Honda Accord to Helping Hand charities last year... had 190k miles and needed major work. They came, picked it up, handled everything...

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Same here - had an '86 Buick Century that had been rear-ended. Car was still driveable (maybe not legally), but they towed it anyway. Donated to a local center for children with learning disabilities. Very simple to write off on taxes.

 

[Philip_G]

Aurel, you went from a Buick Riviera to a Mini Cooper? Out of curiosity, how was the transition?

No kidding, you could probably park the mini in the buick's trunk

how do you like it so far?

 

[Ralph Summa]

We donated an '85 Audi Quattro that we couldn't get through inspection without $3K in repairs. It was a local charity and we received a $2,500 tax credit for it.

The Kidney Foundation is another org that takes cars.

 

[Aurel Savin]

Thanks for all the tips so far. I will look for a Cancer Organization that takes them ...

how do you like it so far?

The Cooper is the most fun car I have ever had or driven. Solid build, handles like it's on rails, not too mention that the ladies really seem to be into it

Actually I got is because I needed a reliable small car with good warranty .. and it had to be cheap. I also had to fit in it comfortably. Japanese cars are cut a little small in the interior for me. Plus I like cars that look a little different, so this fit the bill.

 

[Karl_Luph]

Aurel, you should start a Mini Cooper thread. This exciting vehicle is selling like hotcakes down here in Houston. I absolutely had no idea they were that roomy inside til I saw your post on it. There's only one dealership in town(BMW, I beleive).For some reason, I thought Ford was handling all the British car manufacturers lines.

 

[Francois Caron]

Actually Karl, the new Mini Cooper IS manufactured by BMW. They purchased the rights to the name and created a vehicle that was engineered with the same caracteristics as the original Cooper. Low center of gravity, extended wheel placement, high performance engine in an incredibly light vehicle...

Supposedly, the Mini Cooper can corner better than a Ferrari. I've yet to see one actually accomplish this though...

 

[Karl_Luph]

No wonder these babies are selling like hotcakes. Kinda makes you want to go test drive one .

 

[Aurel Savin]

Supposedly, the Mini Cooper can corner better than a Ferrari. I've yet to see one actually accomplish this though...

The "go-kart handling" as they advertise it, is not a marketing gimmick. The freaking thing has ridiculously precise steeering. I acatually look for road imperfections (not that hard in NYC) so I can slalom between potholes and manholes


By the way, thanks for the info on the charities guys. Looks like the Cancer Society will be picking up my old car this week.

 

[Brian Perry]

So since there are no takers .. was thinking to donating to charity as I will get more money in the long run this way by writing it off.

I always wonder how this can be, unless there is minor fraud involved. (No offense intended for anyone here.) In other words, if a car's repairs are more than the car is worth, why should someone be able to deduct the value of a working car from their taxes?

If a car is actually worth $5,000 in the marketplace, I would think you have two choices: sell it for $5,000 or donate it for a $5,000 write-off, which would net you perhaps a $2,000 tax savings. Clearly you would be better off selling it, unless you inflate the value for tax purposes.

 

[Aurel Savin]

I always wonder how this can be, unless there is minor fraud involved. (No offense intended for anyone here.) In other words, if a car's repairs are more than the car is worth, why should someone be able to deduct the value of a working car from their taxes?

The thing is that when you donate the car, they only take into consideration the year/make/model and it's current Blue Book Value. Nothing is mentioned on its appearance and/or mechanics.

My car has a Blue Book value of close to $2000 right now, but I cannot get $500 for it if was to sell it as it needs major repairs. So obviously writing it off makes more sense then getting a few hundred dollars upfront.

 

[DaveGTP]

I worked at an independent auto auction for about a year, (Fleet/Lease dept). This is for anybody interested in what happens to a lot of these charity donations:
The car is auctioned off with other cheap and/or "fence" cars if they don't move (like the faulty tranny). Fence cars were the ones that wouldn't move, or that are dangerous to move. If it drives it is driven through the auction block like the other repos, etc. The towing fee (normally $30-$100 depending on tow distance) and auction fee (a negotiated rate, probably $80ish a car, at least a few years ago) is deducted from the final total, and a check is sent to the charity in question. If the car is too much of a POS to make any money, the auction may reduce the auction fee so that the car can be gotten rid of.

Just thought some of you might be interested. I saw a couple of real POSs (like no tranny, collision, wheels missing, etc) sold for just enough to pay off the tow fee, just to get them off the lot. It's amusing to see a check for like $5 mailed out for a whole car, knowing someone probably got a couple of hundred for a tax deduction.

 

[Randy Tennison]

Here is information from Clark Howard (radio consumer advocate) on where to donate your car.

CLICK

I've heard him warn you to be very careful who you donate to. Some organizations that take cars are not "authorized" to give tax deductions, and come audit time, you may see the entire amount disallowed. Thus, you have no car, and no deduction.

Good Luck!

 

[Tim Fennell]

I would suggest taking pictures of the car. I donated a Saab 9000 turbo with 190K miles to the Kidney foundation.

The APC broke which caused the turbo to be able to overboost. One day I pulled up to a light just as it turned green and stamped on it in 2nd. Phht - there goes the head gasket. Gasket is cheap. Installing it would have gotten into more money than I wanted to spend. Plus the A/C no longer worked and a few other annoyances...

However the interior of the car was quite nice (leather in very good shape) and the car had new tires and alloy wheels. (I drove this car everyday) so I took about 3/4 of the BB value for FAIR condition. I took 2-3 pictures so that I'd have something to fall back on in case of an audit.


Tim