Profit from donated cars

Profit from donated cars

Article by Bryon Blakey

A lot of people, for whatever reason, will donate their cars and trucks to different not for profit organzations. These car donations are great opportunities for profit.

Someone has a car that they bought new and passed it down to their teenager who is now off to college with a new car. They no longer have a need for it. They hate the idea of selling it to an individual because they can remeber giving 28 grand for it new. Then they notice an ad in the newspaper that says “Donate cars to charity”. They call the organization and schedule a pickup time. They give them the car and the title and they get a tax deduction. Last I read the IRS only allows deductions of the amount the car brings at sale, unless it is sold directly to a needy person at a reduced rate or is used by the organization themselves to deliver meals etc.. (in which case they would get a fair market value deduction). By the way I’m not a tax attourney. So, when the donated car leaves the hands of the original owner, the percieved value is far less than before. The Donees have no vested interest in what the Donors perceived value was.

That’s where you come in. Generally these vehicles are liquidated at public aucitons. Most vehicles at the sales are sold with a reserve. But, with these donation cars, it is common practice to sell them as is with no reserve or “sure sells” as they are called. If you can ask the auction reps in advance for a list of these charity cars and find out if they are sure sells, you will have the upper hand in bidding. Others may miss a great chance for a real sleeper.

By donating cars the original owner gets a warm fuzzy feeling inside, the non-profit gets some much needed capital to continue doing the good work and you get a great deal on a one owner vehicle. Many times information is the key to great opportunities and knowing the status of these donated cars in advance will give you the upper hand.

About the Author

Founder of Vprojectcar.com an online auction for Project Cars For Sale