Donating a car in the Bay Area

March 6, 2008 1:15 PM

DonateYourCarFilter: While there seem to be plenty of places that are willing to take your dead car as a donation, what if it's still got some life left to it?

My brother, who is in the process of moving to Hong Kong from San Francisco, is trying to figure out how to pass our junky, but much beloved and still very functioning 1995 Plymouth Neon to a responsible organization. The only issue the car has is paint that is rusting on the roof - purely physical, nothing mechanical.

A little bit of background: The car belonged to our mother who passed away from colon cancer. We'd both like to see the car come full circle, i.e. donating it to an organization that is involved in cancer research or is in some capacity dedicated to making the lives of cancer patients better. If at all possible, please offer suggestions in the Bay Area.

Thank you, hive mind =)

posted by chan.caro to grab bag (7 comments total)

Not colon specifically, but Kidney Car donation is pretty close.
posted by Nelsormensch at 1:20 PM on March 6

While there seem to be plenty of places that are willing to take your dead car as a donation, what if it's still got some life left to it?

I recently donated a car (in NYC, and not to a cancer charity). The charities I researched did not require the car to be dead. A car with "some life to it" will be accepted.

I'm sorry for your loss.
posted by JimN2TAW at 1:26 PM on March 6

what if it's still got some life left to it?

Most donated cars are brought to used car auctions where the charity gets what the car fetches at auction minus some expenses (towing, auction costs, etc.) A working car should fetch more money than a junk car, but it all goes to the same place. I'm sorry for your loss as well.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 1:29 PM on March 6

Further, you should carefully compare the paperwork required by the respective charities you contact. With one (promoted by NPR's Car Talk program) it was ridiculous, with multiple notarized documents having to be sent around by mail. With the Volunteers of America, which I selected for my car, it was utterly simple, with most everything being handled by the tow-truck driver who picked up the car.
posted by JimN2TAW at 1:32 PM on March 6

I used Cars4Causes last year. They let you pick the charity you want, and have a few cancer based orgs. Also, they will take a still working car, and will in fact be happy to do so. Their cars go to auction and then they donate what they get at the auction to the charity.

And they seem to do most of their work out of California, as well, so SF should be no problem. The guy who came to get the car had me fill out a form, and then they handled everything else.
posted by dogwalker at 1:39 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

I donated my old car many years ago to a local charity (I think it was for kids with cancer) fronted by the local public radio station. Something similar may exist in your area.

It was easy, and the tow truck driver had all the paperwork. The parts went to a junkyard (eventually), and the body was used in a public demonstration by the fire department and local paramedics on driving safety the same day. I had the unmitigated pleasure of seeing my old car literally torn in half by the 'jaws of life'. It was awesome. You can write some (if not all) of the donation on your taxes too, although that may be a bit more complicated (getting it appraised and all that).
posted by elendil71 at 3:42 PM on March 6

Good News Garage is based in New England, but has a list of other non-NE agencies, including some in CA.
posted by so at 7:11 PM on March 6