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Tips for donating your car to charity

Posted by Mike | January 19, 2010 .

Find the charity, don’t let them find you

As with many charities there is a lot of money spent on acquiring donations. In fact, some charities spend the majority of their funds on acquiring more donations – leaving a lot less for the actual charity recipients themselves. This is why some people choose not to give to charities that solicit donations.

With the car donations, it is even worse. There are many For-Profit companies that advertise as a means of donating your car to charity and they leave very little left for the charity. They typically leave the charity 50% to as little as 10% of the value of the car – and keep the rest as their revenue.

The better way to find a place to donate your car

Since the charity car donation thing has gained so much interest, quite a few charities now have this as an option – even though you may never see them advertise it. So, next time I donate a car, I am going to call charities that I am already familiar with and trust and ask them if they accept car donations. Not every charity will accept them, but you might be surprised how many do.

Buying a Car? Check Out These Resources

Posted by Mike | January 18, 2010 .

The resources below are just some of the professional resources for car shopping and research. If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars on a car, though, you need to find all the information you can on both the car you’re interested in as well as the competitors. Don’t go into the dealership unprepared, or else you may make a rash, uninformed decision.

Edmunds.com, purportedly “where smart car buyers start,” has a giant database of cars, including reviews, pricing, and specs. The site provides information on new and used cars, as well as advice on how to shop for and how to finance cars. Best of all, it can offer your searches tailored to your location!

Consumer Reports is pretty much the gold standard when it comes to rating consumer goods. Its website has a solid section on cars. Unfortunately, the most helpful offering – expert ratings – is available to subscribers only. But this site is still worth a look; there are many informative articles freely available.