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Donating car experiences? When to hold or fold on old car?


Pen
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I have an older car that is essentially baggage/ clutter in my life right now  

I had been saving it for ds to learn to drive with, but he is past 16 and seems not to be moving in a driving direction, though to be honest I am slightly hoping that seeing the car about to go bye-bye might motivate him some.

I am tired of paying its insurance (very low but adds up year after year) and other costs, and trying to keep its battery charged and moving it around to different positions. and it is covered with moss and leaves and is annoying me    Visually. When ds was 13 and driving practice seemed to be 2 years away keeping a known car with low mileage no accidents seemed sensible. But the years are passing and the car is getting more and more decrepit. Things deteriorate just from time 

I am thinking of donating to St Vincent d P or OPB. Neither seems user friendly over phone, however  

Other option seems to be a wrecking place, but that seems a shame for a car that still runs. OTOH a couple of wrecking places sounded much more helpful over the phone. I am not up to dealing with Craig’s list selling and dealer does not want it  .

Does anyone have any experience with working with any of these?

 

What would you do?

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We have donated a couple of cars over the years.  We were in a similar situation of having an old car that we thought would be a good "learning" car, but then our child was not interested in getting a drivers license as soon as we thought.  

How beneficial donating the car will be to you will depending on whether you itemize and your tax bracket.  There is a limit (I think it is $500 but that may not be correct) that you can deduct unless the organization that you donate it to can prove that the value is more than that amount.

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3 minutes ago, jdahlquist said:

 

How beneficial donating the car will be to you will depending on whether you itemize and your tax bracket.  There is a limit (I think it is $500 but that may not be correct) that you can deduct unless the organization that you donate it to can prove that the value is more than that amount.

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Yes,  this is true.  We do itemize and it was 500.  This was 3 years ago.

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We donated a vehicle to a local Alcohol and Drug rehab. It was very easy and you get a tax deduction. Rehab facilities that have occupational training as part of their rehab program will most likely take any vehicle so students can learn to work on them.

We usually get rid of a vehicle when repeated repair costs make getting a new / new used one a better option. If a certain degree of reliability is a given anymore it's more hassle than benefit because we commute.

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If it's still in good running condition, I would ask friends and maybe local churches or other charities if they know of a family that could really use it, and I would donate it to them (do a bill of sale for $1). That is what I have done with all of my old cars.

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3 hours ago, Pen said:

I have an older car that is essentially baggage/ clutter in my life right now  

I had been saving it for ds to learn to drive with, but he is past 16 and seems not to be moving in a driving direction, though to be honest I am slightly hoping that seeing the car about to go bye-bye might motivate him some.

I am tired of paying its insurance (very low but adds up year after year) and other costs, and trying to keep its battery charged and moving it around to different positions. and it is covered with moss and leaves and is annoying me    Visually. When ds was 13 and driving practice seemed to be 2 years away keeping a known car with low mileage no accidents seemed sensible. But the years are passing and the car is getting more and more decrepit. Things deteriorate just from time 

I am thinking of donating to St Vincent d P or OPB. Neither seems user friendly over phone, however  

Other option seems to be a wrecking place, but that seems a shame for a car that still runs. OTOH a couple of wrecking places sounded much more helpful over the phone. I am not up to dealing with Craig’s list selling and dealer does not want it  .

Does anyone have any experience with working with any of these?

What would you do?

 

I'm guessing they don't seem friendly because they are paid very little and are treated poorly... if you care a lot about the charity, you might consider working with them anyway. That said, we did cash for clunkers and got $500 and they towed it away. They are not just wrecking it. They part it out and make the most of the vehicle. That's why they pay for it. They recycle the rest. Some cars, I think they actually sell for you.

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We had a minivan that was still in great shape but needed some major repairs. (We were tired of fixing it & the manufacturer seemed to never figure out the real issue & fixed various "wrong" things & there were still issues.) It seemed a shame to "junk" it if someone had access to a mechanic who had the knowledge & was willing to fix it.

I ended up looking around & found two groups that were interested. Ultimately, we went with a local, no-kill animal rescue group. One of their main volunteers was a mechanic & he said he would fix it for them. The mechanic guy came & picked it up for them. They wanted to use it for taking multiple animals to pet adoption days, vet visits, etc. I'm happy it went to them.

Since it was fix-able & in good shape, I spent the extra time looking for a good donation place so that it could still serve a useful purpose for awhile longer.

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