Question About Donating.a Vehicle

[kc27]

I have one, maybe two vehicles that I am considering donate to charity. Is this a good way to go vs selling to an auto recycler? Neither vehicle is driveable.Vehicle one is a 2005 Chrysler minivan with 260,000 miles on it. Vehicle two is a 1990 Chevrolet Beretta with I think 150,000 miles.

[Dave1442397]

If you itemize your taxes, then it's a good way to go. I donated a '94 Honda Civic that had a blown head gasket, broken AC, and various electrical issues. It might have sold for a few hundred as a parts car, but I donated it to Purple Heart and got an $1800 tax deduction.

[Brother Esau]

I've donated 2 cars. The first one I was able to write off the blue book value which was way more than it was actually worth. The second one I could only write off what it sold for at auction.

[Catbert]

I've donated 2 cars. The first one I was able to write off the blue book value which was way more than it was actually worth. The second one I could only write off what it sold for at auction.

Yep.  Tax regs changed a few years ago.   Now you can usually only write-off what the charity gets for auction for the car, not blue book value.  The exception is if the charity uses your vehicle either directly (e.g., uses as delivery van) or gives to one of their charity recipient e.g., welfare to work charity gives car to welfare mom).

[Yankuba]

What's nice about donating vehicles is that someone will come to your house, put the car on a truck and take the car away. You turn over your title and take the license plates and they give you a receipt.
It's very easy.

However, the non profit doesn't get much money at all. The towing company has to get paid and the middleman that disposes of the car has to get paid. The non profit will only get what is left, which can be as little as $100. That $100 is what you can deduct from your taxes.

On rare occasions, what Catbert said applies. If the non profit uses your car or gives it to a needy person to use then you can deduct the full value of the car. But this rarely happens because most of the cars that are donated to charity are sold for scrap/parts or shipped overseas due to the age and condition of the car.

[Erica]

My sons car is in our driveway, he had it towed here. I am told Pick and Pull is coming to get it and paying $45

I guess scrap metal doesn't pay well right now

[Proud Foot]

I have one, maybe two vehicles that I am considering donate to charity. Is this a good way to go vs selling to an auto recycler? Neither vehicle is driveable.Vehicle one is a 2005 Chrysler minivan with 260,000 miles on it. Vehicle two is a 1990 Chevrolet Beretta with I think 150,000 miles.

Since they are not driveable my inclination would be to sell it to an auto recycler. If they were fixable and you could find a charity that focuses on helping people develop auto mechanic job skills. Otherwise you are most likely only hurting the charity as they will have to deal with expenses to take possession and dispose of the vehicles.

[kc27]

OK, thanks for the advice. I do not think the van will bring much at auction, and I did not realize that the vehicle could end up costing the non-profit. The van has 260,000 miles, body damage, rust - I drive on salt covered roads in the winter, broken rear leaf spring (from rust) that resulted in a torn brake hose and bent front strut(s). The Beretta engine had coolant mix with the oil, which damaged the engine internals. Body is mostly OK, but it has corrosion issues, too. I started the engine repair before I realized the extent of the damage. Another strike against repair of the Beretta is that the driver and front passenger's shoulder and lap belts are attached to the door, and not the interior framework of the car. The idea was that the motorist keeps the belts latched, then, when the door is opened, the shoulder and lap belt extend with the door, the motorist slides into the seat, then closes the door and is automatically buckled up. In the early 1990's, this was the manufacturer's way of implementing passive restraint without the expense of airbags.

I did some additional research and found a couple of links with more info I can use. Thanks again everyone.

https://www.edmunds.com/sell-car/does-charity-car-donation-still-make-sense-under-tougher-irs-rules.html
https://www.junkcarmedics.com/blog/junk-my-car-or-donate/

[SC93]

Go to Craigslist and search for guys that buy old cars. They will pay you an ok amount and haul it away..... sometimes within a few hours if you want it done that quick.