Donating a car, any reccomendation on charity

[jacksmomtobe]

So I am donating my car to charity and was looking for recommendations on which charity to choose. Last time I donated to the American Lung association as it was easy to do. One of the dealers recommended another charity because all the money goes to benefit kids. The guy who started the charity covers all the admin costs. However it looked like I would have to take my car to a certain location to make the donation and that place is about 45 min away from my house

[ShanaMama]

1877 Kars 4 kids that advertises on 880 am is based in my town. The money goes to help kids as well & I believe they make the process really easy.

[lizzywednesday]

1877 Kars 4 kids that advertises on 880 am is based in my town. The money goes to help kids as well & I believe they make the process really easy.

I've heard at least one or two positive things about them, but their jingle is worse than nails on a chalkboard for me.

[kijip]

Call me a cynic but general claims of "helping kids" or "helping vets" or "helping cute puppies" make me wonder if the place is legit. Charitable dollars go further locally at organizations that do something specific and concrete for their clients.

This organization let's you choose the specific place where the fund go, rather than donating to a handful of generic causes. Lots of small, locally run charities are registered to receive donations through this car donation service:

http://www.donatingiseasy.org/

[pharmjenn]

I've heard at least one or two positive things about them, but their jingle is worse than nails on a chalkboard for me.

:yeahthat:
My DS5 is adamant that they are spelling the words wrong, and sings the song "correctly" He says we should call them and let them know.
I used to change the station as soon as the jingle came on.


I donated my car in 2003 but don't remember to whom. The actual donation was simple; they sent a tow truck, I gave the driver the forms and my pink slip and he gave me a receipt. The problem came when the new owners called because the pink slip had my husband as lien-holder. When I had paid off the loan, the bank/state changed the lien holder from the bank to my husband and I hadn't noticed. The new owners were not English speaking, we had to go through their teenage son. My DH was out of the country, so couldn't sign. I had POA, but it was a huge annoyance to try to get it straightened out.

[ccather]

Our last donated vehicle went to our local fire station for rescue practice. The were all a twitter since it was an older Suburban. All that good old fashioned steel to cut into and many doors to go to town on! The tax laws changed a few years back regarding car notations and what you can deduct. It changed from Blue Book value to the value the organization receives if/when the resell the vehicle (as many do) with the latter usually being significantly less. Because the fire house was going to use it themselves and not resell it, we were able to claim Blue Book value.

The Suburban had chronic electrical issues and was stranding us every where. I couldn't, in good conscience, sell it and strap someone else with it. I think the fire house may have used it themselves for a whie before they went to town on it. They had in house mechanics who could fiddle with it.

Anyway, if you care about the deduction value, be sure to look into that!

[crispychicky]

We gave our last 2 cars to Good News Garage (http://www.goodnewsgarage.org). They fix up donated cars to give to families in need so they have reliable transportation to commute to work. (In our area, public transportation is really lousy). The first car we donated was too far gone and they auctioned it. The second one they gave to family.

I guy I work with just donated his old car to "breast cancer research." I'll have to ask him specifically who he donated to and how the process was.

[mommylamb]

I donated a car to NPR a couple years ago. It might not be the kind of charity you're looking for, but I'm a listener, and I felt good about it. It was really easy.

[Snow mom]

We donated DHs car to our local NPR station.

[bcafe]

Habitat takes cars or at least it does here.