Donating a vehicle?

[Guest]

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[3113]

We're thinking of donating our oldest car to the American Council for the Blind

You're gonna give your car to the blind to drive?

(couldn't resist)

 

[Guest]

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[Carnevil9]

Hey! That's why they have seeing eye dogs!

Yeah, but dogs are lousy drivers, because they keep sticking their head out the window.

 

[Guest]

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[slyc_willie]

I'm not going to get any help with this thread, am I?

Nope. Just a laugh.

Actually, my grandpaents, long time ago, donated their venerable Buick Riviera to a charity once my grandafther could no longer drive. They were able to write off the blue book value of the car in their taxes. Don't know much about the process of donating the vehicle, but I do remember that they had to seriously clean it first.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

We're thinking of donating our oldest car to the American Council for the Blind or another worthy cause. OK, we have TWO oldest cars, but this one is the most ancient. (AND we recently got a newer vehicle.)

Anyway, it still runs, and rather than trade it in or try to sell it we figured we'd donate.

Has anyone ever done this?

We did this once after purchasing another vehicle. It will be tax deductible, so make sure you get a reciept, noting the value of the vehicle.

 

[Guest]

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[Chantilyvamp]

Yeah, but dogs are lousy drivers, because they keep sticking their head out the window.

lol, thats why you have those 3 cute little porcupines from the 'over the hedge' movie drive.

Seriously I havent done it myself but we roped a few people into doing it for some charities at University. Wasn't much to it then.. they signed over the cars and the place auctioned them. Another place put your car up for auction and you signed it over to the new owner and the organization got the money.

 

[minsue]

I've done it twice. It's very easy. Both times they came to pick up the car while I was at work and I just left the car with keys and title in the glove box and they left a receipt in the mailbox (if I remember correctly). Simple and painless.

 

[Guest]

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[glynndah]

I've donated two of them to the American Lung Association. I got back the blue book value as a tax deduction which was more than either of them were worth. It's been a couple of years, though, and I think the rules have changed a bit. From what I remember, now you might now be able to claim the deduction until your car sells and then for that amount, instead of blue book value.

 

[rgraham666]

Ah, thank you, everyone.

I like simple and painless.

Really? That's not what I heard.

 

[NoJo]

Nope. Just a laugh.

Actually, my grandpaents, long time ago, donated their venerable Buick Riviera to a charity once my grandafther could no longer drive. They were able to write off the blue book value of the car in their taxes. Don't know much about the process of donating the vehicle, but I do remember that they had to seriously clean it first.

One of my favorite American cars, and a real collectible nowadays

 

[Guest]

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[rgraham666]

Who told?

Not telling.

Lean over here so I can whisper it in your ear

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Who told?

I could have sworn it was you...

My brother and father donated cars that didn't run. They just had to sign them over as the tow truck hooked them up to be taken away.

Simple and easy is better than easy and painless

 

[elsol]

My GF just did it.

They do make it painless; keys in the glove box and park it at the end of the driveway. They leave the forms.

Check about the tax benefits though... she was not allowed to deduct the full blue book value, only up to a certain $$$ amount.

 

[shereads]

I wish I had donated mine.

Neighbors noticed my old car sitting at the curb, while I waited for the state to send me a copy of my lost title.

I had fully intended to donate the car to Habitat for Humanity, one of many charities who would have handled everything with one phone call. They'd take it in any condition, as long as there was enough air in the tires to drive it onto a flatbed truck. I got talked into selling it instead, for less money than the hassle has been worth. Because I was trying to be neighborly.

He said his in-laws needed a car and had a mechanic who would do the necessary work. I really didn't want anyone I knew driving the car; too many safety issues for my own peace of mind. I'd rather see a charity sell it for scrap than have somebody get hurt in it. But I relented, and sold them the car for a couple hundred dollars. Since then, it's been one hassle after another:

I forgot to remove my tag when they towed the car. One phone call didn't get it back. Neither did two. I finally got my tag back, four weeks later.

The buyers never had the time to meet in person, so my neighbor took the paperwork to them. He had my signature as seller on the title, and was to get the in-laws to add their signatures, then bring me back the top half - the part I'm supposed to send to the state of Florida within 30 days of the sale, to avoid being liable for any accidents.

After multiple phone calls to neighbor and his wife, I finally got that top half of the title back - without the new owners' signatures. More hassle...Just barely made the deadline, after which I could have been sued for any injuries to people or property caused by a car whose title hadn't been officially transferred to the new owners.

Donate the car, by all means. If you value your time and peace of mind.

 

[Edward Teach]

Whomever you donate the car to should be able to handle all the details for you, Sarahh, and make it easy and painless. J

ust remember that you will not come out as well money wise donating the car as you will selling it. However, hassle wise and satisfaction wise, you will come out smelling like a

And that's hard to beat. I'm proud of you and you should be proud of yourself.

 

[john-the-author]

I've done this twice. Two used cars I had over the years blew head gaskets (a design flaw in early 80s Accords, apparently) and I ended up donating them to charities. They sent me a letter that confirmed the Blue Book value for the car (they were very generous) and I took it off my Schedule A the following year. It was good.

There are a lot of charities that do this.

John

 

[tickledkitty]

We were going to donate a car a couple years ago and talked to our accountant about it. His advice was to donate the car, which wasn't really worth much, but not write it off. He said it would be a red flag for the IRS, and we might get audited. He said the risk wasn't worth the small amout we might get back.

 

[Lisa Denton]

You can just call a few charities and inquire about which one will be the most hassle free for you. After all, you are doing them a favor out of the goodness of your heart and shouldn't have a hassle.

And remember, if all else fails, you can take off the wheels and put it up on blocks in your front yard. It will double as a wonderful lawn ornament and inventive playgroung equipment for the neighborhood children for years to come.

Think out of the box.

See ya, Lisa.