The ABCs of Car Donation – J is for Joyful

Car donation is a very joyful thing when it is done correctly. To make it a joyful experience, you simply need to follow the instructions given to you by the car donation charity. Those instructions are designed to make the entire process joyful for both you and the charity.

They will include the details on where and how to sign over the title as well as what to do with the license plates for the vehicle. The instructions will vary by the State the car is located in and where the car is parked. For example, if your car is parked on the street you may need to be there when the tow truck arrives. If you car is parked in a driveway, you may not need to be present as long as you let the towing service know where the car keys are.  Following these instructions will ensure that the title is joyfully transferred out of your name and will help to prevent you from receiving any unpaid traffic tickets which may be acquired by the next owner of your car. It is joyful for the charity since they will not have to deal with any title or ticket issues which could delay the sale of your car.

When you donate your car to charity, they will be very joyful because the revenue generated from the sale of your car donation will help them to further their mission. Those that benefit from the programs of the charity will also be joyful to receive that assistance. The poor economy is putting a lot of strain on charities to provide more assistance.

When you donate car to charity you will receive a joyful tax deduction. You will also be joyful because you will free up space in your yard, and not have to pay anymore for the car insurance, registration fees, inspection fees, etc. In fact, you may get money back for any unused insurance or registration.

Most charities are very joyful to let you donate car that is old, no longer runs, has a lot of body damage or needs a lot of mechanical repairs. That makes it joyful for you since you will not need to make any repairs to the car to continue to drive it or to get it to pass inspection or to be able to sell it.

When you donate car to charity, you will be joyful to know that your car donation will help to support a very good cause. You will also be joyful when you see the wide variety of charities you can donate your car to through Cars4Charities. They represent charities that provide international aid, or support research on many diseases and aliments, or help young people, or assist people or animals who have been abused or who are injured, sick or in need of food and/or shelter.

To donate car, just go to the Cars4Charities website, http://www.cars4charities.org/ or call them toll free at 1-866-448-3487. They will joyfully provide you with all the car donation details.    

The ABCs of Car Donation – I is for Investigate

Investigate the charity or car donation center you are thinking about donating your car to. All charities and all car donation centers are not alike. As with everything is life, there are some good ones and there are some unscrupulous ones. You will not know if you do not investigate them. There are some relatively easy ways you can do that.

Before you donate your car to a charity or a non-profit car donation center, you should check out their tax filings by simply logging onto irs.gov. Once you do, click on the charities and Non-Profits tab and then the Search for Charities button on the left. You can also check them out through sites like Charity Navigators, GuideStar, etc. You should also check with the Attorney General’s office for your state to see if any complaints have been filed against the charity. In 2010, the New York State Attorney General launched an investigation into several alleged “scam” car donation charities in the New York City area. One of them was actually shut down because it used less than two percent of the money from car donations for charitable purposes.

The other thing you should investigate is the tax deduction you will receive when you donate car. Most charities sell car donations because there is too much liability involved in giving a car to a needy person or selling it to them at a really low price. In addition, charities rely on the proceeds from the sale of car donations to help them fund their mission.

If the charity sells you donated car, you can claim the greater of $500 or the amount the charity actually sells your car for. To maximize your tax deduction, you will need to investigate how the charity or car donation center will sell your car. Some charities sell all car donations to the same vendor. This is never a good idea as the more competition there is the higher the sale price is likely to be.

Other charities auction all cars. This is a good thing if the donated car is in decent shape. However, if the car needs repair or is in poor condition, it may not bring the best sale price. The reason for that is because the buyer has to pay a fee to enter the auction and another fee to purchase a car at the auction. Buyers often take these fees into consideration when bidding on vehicles.

Often, the best sale price comes from using multiple vendors for selling donated cars. Here’s why. If the donated car is in good condition, it makes sense to sell it at auction so that more buyers are allowed to bid on it. If the car is in fair condition, selling it directly to a used car dealer may bring the highest price since they may be willing to pay more money for the car to avoid the fees charged by the auction facility. If the car is really in poor condition, a parts yard may be willing to pay top dollar for it so that they can re-sell the useable parts and the scrap metal from the car.

Investigating the method the charity or car donation center will sell your car for will help you determine whether they will get you the best tax deduction for your donation.

The ABCs of Car Donation – H is for Help

If you have a car you no longer want or need, please consider car donation. When you donate your car to charity, it helps in a lot of ways. If your car donation is in good shape, the charity may decide to use it themselves. This helps them tremendously since they will not have to spend money on a vehicle to use. If your car donation is not in good condition or the charity does not need it for themselves, they may sell it.

The sale of your car will help many people. The charity will use the proceeds from the sale to help them further their mission. They may use it to conduct research on a variety of illnesses or issues. They may use it to provide information or services to those inflicted with illness, or they may use the proceeds to provide counseling services or for education. They may also use the proceeds to help provide shelter, food and medical services to needy individuals or animals.

In addition, if your car donation is sold it will help your community. Most car donations are sold through auctions, or directly to used car dealers or salvage yards. Auction facilities charge a fee to sell donated cars. Those fees help them employ more staff. The used car dealers have to repair car donations so that they are road worthy before they can sell them to the public. This helps provide a source of revenue to the dealer as well as the repair shops. It also helps to provide reliable transportation to the public. If your car donation is in poor condition the charity will probably sell it to a salvage yard. The salvage yard will sell all the useable parts from it for a price that is a lot less than the cost of new parts. That will help people who do not have a lot of money keep working by keeping their car on the road. Once all the useable parts are removed from the car, the salvage yard will crush the rest and sell the scrap metal. That will help provide construction materials both here and in other countries.

In a few cases, charities will give or sell donated cars at a greatly reduced price to help a needy person. Usually, they do this so that the person will have adequate transportation to and from work. This helps the person become independent, which in turn helps the economy since they will be purchasing more goods and services. A person who is working is paying taxes instead of receiving assistance from the government. That helps their self esteem and helps all of us taxpayers.

When you donate car to charity, you also help yourself. You get rid of a vehicle you no longer want. That helps to clear your yard. You will also help your wallet when you donate car since you will probably get a rebate on your car insurance, registration or license fees. Best of all, you will be helped by getting a valuable tax deduction.

The ABCs of Car Donation – G is for Good

There are good car donation centers and there are some not so good ones you can donate your car to. In 2010, the attorney general for New York State launched an investigation into several possible “scam” car donation charities in the New York City area. One car donation center was actually shut down because it used less than two percent of the money from car donations for charitable purposes.

You can easily find out whether the car donation charity you are thinking about donating your car to is a good one or not a good one. You can check them out through the attorney general’s office for your state. You can also check them out through the internet. With all of the really good car donation centers out there you can donate car to, there is no reason to choose any center that is not good.

Once you do find a good charity to donate car to, you will feel good about your decision. Your car donation will do a lot of good as well. If your donated car is in good condition, the charity may decide to use it themselves for their own charitable purposes. They may even decide to sell it to a person in need at a greatly reduced price or even give it them.

If your donated car is not in good condition, but is easily repairable the car donation center may repair it before they sell it. If your donated car is not easily repairable, the car donation center will sell it as it is. You can still feel very good about donating a car that is rusted or is basically junk. Since the price of scrap metal is up, the charity will be able to sell it for good money.

Most car donation centers sell all donated cars in the condition they are donated in. They do it because it is good for them. It is good for them because they do not have the expense of making repairs, they do not have any liability issues and they get the cash for the cars quicker. Improving their cash flow is a very good thing for the charity.

Another good thing about car donation is the good tax deduction you will get when you donate car. In general, your good tax deduction will be the amount the charity sells your donated car for or $500, whichever is more. However, if the charity uses your car, sells it to a needy person for an extremely low price or gives it to them, your good tax deduction will be the fair market value of the car.

There are a great many good things about car donation. You get rid of a car you no longer want or use. That alone is a good thing. The charity you donate car to will either put it to good use or get some good money for it which will help them do good things. You will also get a good tax deduction when you donate car. Car donation is truly all good.