donating a car

donating a car

TIPS BEFORE YOU DONATE A CAR TO CHARITY:

• Find out what the charity will do with your car. Will it be given to a needy individual or sold? Try to find a charity that will actually use your car in its programs or give it to a needy individual. If the car will be sold, find out exactly how much of the sale price will actually be kept by the charity. Be wary of claims such as "all proceeds will go to charity."
• Ask how much the charity will receive. The charity has a responsibility to best manage your vehicle donation. Ask how much of the gross proceeds will go back to the charity after you donate a car to them. If the organization will only list the percentage of net proceeds, then your car donation could be largely wasted. Several published reports have clearly established that most car donation programs return between 15 and 35% of the gross back to the charity, but they report it as 50 to 70% of the net. This could be the difference between the charity of your choice receiving $1,000 or $150 for your car donation. 
• Give the title to the tow truck driver when he comes (you will get an initial receipt.)
• Ask how and where the money will be spent. This question should be easily answered. You should search for the charity or agency that makes the best use of the funds from your auto donation. BEWARE of charity car donation programs that promise to send proceeds to any organization without having a direct relationship. All charities are not created equal, and all car donation programs are not run with the same attention to donor wishes.
• Make sure that you are actually giving your car to a charity. Some car donation programs are conducted by for-profit towing companies or used car dealers who claim to pick up cars on behalf of a charity when there is little or no charitable benefit. Do not donate your car if you cannot confirm that your contribution will go to a charity.
• Once you've decided to donate a car to charity, sign the title directly over to the charity or their agent. All states have very clear regulations about transfer of ownership for vehicles. DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRUCUMSTANCES, LEAVE THE ‘BUYER’ SECTION OF THE TITLE BLANK. By leaving the title blank, you allow anyone to transfer the title directly from you to the next buyer. There are two consequences of this oversight.
  1. The donor can remain liable for the vehicle. This means liable to the buyer and possibly liable for the actions of the buyer if the vehicle is never correctly transferred.
  2. The charity might not receive any credit for the vehicle donation. By signing directly to the charity or their legal contractual agent, you make it much more likely that the vehicle will actually be used for the charitable purpose that you designate.