Donating a car in not-driveable condition? (or only sort of driveable)

[Anonymous]

Our car was in a fender bender, and while it will move, there's something scraping weirdly and its missing a headlight, etc., so it's not in a condition to be driven by anyone for any real distance, and it's probably not worth fixing. Are there charities that take such a car as a donation for scrap metal or parts? Thanks. We've donated cars before, but they were always in driving condition so we looked for charities that would give them to someone that needed a car to get to work.

[Anonymous]

You should drive it to a mechanic and get a free or low-cost diagnostic and quote for repairs.

Then you'll know exactly where you stand on whether you can donate it or scrap it, OR repair it and use it!

[Anonymous]

You can still donate it. Look for a charity that will use it for job training (like as a mechanic), or for parts.

[Anonymous]

You can donate it. The organization will probably sell it at auction (for parts). I donated a non-driveable car to NPR.

[Anonymous]

Yep, NPR will take it, and so will most others. All they do is auction them off for cash anyway, so this won't be any different (just a smaller donation than, say, a working luxury car would fetch).

[Anonymous]

how about a local high school for vocational training

FCPS has auto body shop classes

[Anonymous]

We had a similar situation and NONE of the “we’ll take it it any condition” organizations wanted it. So much for “charity”.

We ended up getting in contact with a scrap yard. We said we just wanted it done, didn’t want money, and didn’t want to pay for the tow. They came for it, gladly. And then we drove there to handle the title.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a similar situation and NONE of the “we’ll take it it any condition” organizations wanted it. So much for “charity”.

We ended up getting in contact with a scrap yard. We said we just wanted it done, didn’t want money, and didn’t want to pay for the tow. They came for it, gladly. And then we drove there to handle the title.

*gone, not done.

[Anonymous]

Please consider donating it to your local fire department. They will use it in a variety of training drills such as auto fire, extrication, etc.

These guys are always in need of such donations that allow them to save lives.

[Anonymous]

Mine wouldn't pass the VA safety inspection without some pricey repairs. The NPR program took it. I got a $500 donation credit. A sad end for a noble car. I still miss you, my 1998 Saturn!

[Anonymous]

You can donate it to the Arlington Public Schools for their auto/shop class. The kids fix the cars up and they sell them at the end to raise money for the school. We donated a car that has some expensive repair issues and they were thrilled to have the challenge. We got a nice tax break.

We would never donate a car to a charity like the Salvation Army again. They sold the car for next to nothing and our tax break was a joke. It would have been better to see it to the junk yard for $200.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:how about a local high school for vocational training

FCPS has auto body shop classes

Arlington county has a mechanic class for kids too. They need cars to work on.

[Anonymous]

Now I have the dreaded ear worm in my head:
1-877-KARS-4-KIDS

[Anonymous]

If you can get it to carmax, they will buy it from you for the parts.

[Anonymous]

I am lazy.

I have a broken down car and it is parked on a public street.

I moved it tonight and right when I reparked it, it broke down for the 1Mth time.

I hope never to see that money pit again so am tempted to just abandon it there.

But being a responsible citizen dictates that I will likely have to PAY to get it towed away.

Good riddance.