How to Donate Your Car to Charity:

What is Cars2Charities?

Cars2Charities is a family and female owned Los Angeles based commercial fundraiser and is registered with the appropriate business and governmental entities. Cars2Charities operates under the umbrella of Riteway Charity Services, Inc. alongside its sister company, Riteway Car Donations.

Our mission is to help others in need. We help donors by making car donations safe, easy, and ideal by offering them the chance to maximize their tax deductions. We help charities by facilitating a lucrative source of supplementary and additional income to support their worthy causes. We want to help as many individuals, families, animals, causes, and communities as we possibly can by using our 45 collective years of knowledge about car donations and the used car industry. We also believe in providing transparency about what we do and encourage future donors and charity affiliates to ask us about any part of our program. In addition to effectively handling car donations within the USA, it is our mission to spread love, kindness, and generosity to others.

How does Cars2Charities work?

Cars2Charities is designed to provide donors with a simple, fast, and secure way to donate their vehicles to nonprofit organizations. Because most charities are not able to process their own vehicle donations, we take care of the scheduling, pick up, sale, and paperwork for each donation on their behalf.

The best part about donating your vehicle is that you receive a tax receipt and the charity of your choice receives the money*. We always try to add or maximize value to each donation. This creates higher tax deductions for donors, and a bigger check for charities.

If you have additional questions about how Cars2Charities’ vehicle donation program works, our friendly operators are here to guide you through the entire process!

*Proceeds from each donation are subject to service and processing fees, as well as other possible expenses. Each charity agrees to our fees and policies before receiving donations.

Simply complete our brief “donate online” form on the right side of this page or call us at (855) 520-2100. If you aren’t sure who you’d like to designate as the proceed recipient, please visit the “Causes” section of our website www.Cars2Charities.org and browse the hundreds of non-profit organizations we proudly work with.

We accept almost all vehicle donations, including rare, classic and custom vehicles.  Examples include: cars, trucks, SUV’s, RVs, campers, trailers, motorcycles, -- and a surprising number of golf carts.  Boats and jet skis are also very welcome -- as are snowmobiles and ATVs.  We even accept donated buses, commercial vehicles, construction- and heavy-equipment   In fact if it has wheels, we'll probably take it.  Running, or not.

We prefer you to have your title/registration, VIN, and details of the condition ready to go as it helps to expedite scheduling a pick up for your car, making it more convenient for you. BUT, if you don’t have it we can still start the donation process. We understand life gets busy, sometimes you may be out of state, or are helping someone else donate their vehicle and may not have all the required information. That’s okay, give us a call and we can get the donation process started!

You provide: The Certificate of Title, or Registration (no lien holders). However, if you don't have it, please contact us anyway. If you can't locate or have lost the certificate of title, we may be able to obtain it on your behalf. Call one of our friendly Vehicle Donation Coordinators toll-free at (855) 520-2100.  In most cases, we can complete the easy steps in just 3-5 minutes.

**Disclaimer: If you do not provide us with proper, valid paperwork for your vehicle OR if your vehicle arrives in a worser condition than disclosed (ie. excessive damage from an accident, no keys, rust, infestation, etc.) we will be force to take action. Option 1. We will return your vehicle at your cost to the address we have on file. Option 2. Your vehicle will be junked or considered abandoned and you will be sent a bill for all expenses including towing, storage, etc., and you will not receive a tax deduction. Any unpaid expenses for returned, excessively damaged, or abandoned vehicles will be sent to collections, and your credit may be affected. If you leave personal affects in your vehicle and decide you want them after the vehicle has reached the auction yard, you will be charged for the recovery of those items and for postage. 

On your first call, the Vehicle Donation Coordinator assisting you will immediately create an account for you with a reference, or as we call it, a donation number. We recommend you write that number down so you have it handy and then call us back when you have the paperwork listed in the question above. If you don't have it that is okay too. After you call us back, we will pick-up where we left off and get your donation ready for pick-up!

We can almost always pick up your car donation without a vehicle title -- and then obtain the title on your behalf after that as part of our service to you and the non-profit you choose.  Please call one of our friendly Vehicle Donation Coordinators at (855) 520-2100.

**Disclaimer: If you do not provide us with proper, valid paperwork for your vehicle OR if your vehicle arrives in a worser condition than disclosed (ie. excessive damage from an accident, no keys, rust, infestation, etc.) we will be force to take action. Option 1. We will return your vehicle at your cost to the address we have on file. Option 2. Your vehicle will be junked or considered abandoned and you will be sent a bill for all expenses including towing, storage, etc., and you will not receive a tax deduction. Any unpaid expenses for returned, excessively damaged, or abandoned vehicles will be sent to collections, and your credit may be affected. If you leave personal affects in your vehicle and decide you want them after the vehicle has reached the auction yard, you will be charged for the recovery of those items and for postage. 

The vehicle does not have to be registered in your name.  Simply contact one of our friendly Vehicle Donation Coordinators at (855) 520-2100.  We will help you quickly and easily.

**Disclaimer: If you do not provide us with proper, valid paperwork for your vehicle OR if your vehicle arrives in a worser condition than disclosed (ie. excessive damage from an accident, no keys, rust, infestation, etc.) we will be force to take action. Option 1. We will return your vehicle at your cost to the address we have on file. Option 2. Your vehicle will be junked or considered abandoned and you will be sent a bill for all expenses including towing, storage, etc., and you will not receive a tax deduction. Any unpaid expenses for returned, excessively damaged, or abandoned vehicles will be sent to collections, and your credit may be affected. If you leave personal affects in your vehicle and decide you want them after the vehicle has reached the auction yard, you will be charged for the recovery of those items and for postage. 

Yes. Different states require different paperwork. Usually this involves a copy of (1) the death certificate, (2) documentation that you are the official inheritor of the vehicle, and (3) the signed title. Please call us at 855-520-2100 to confirm what is needed in your state.

No. Unfortunately, we are not able accept abandoned cars.  Contact your local municipality regarding removal of abandoned vehicles.

No.  There are absolutely no costs to you.  For anything.  After determining the resale-ability of your donated vehicle, and in some cases after making some necessary repairs, it heads to auction or private sale. From there the net proceeds (after sale) are paid directly to the charity of the donor’s choice. For more information, please contact us directly and we can schedule a pick-up, or answer any Vehicle Donation Program questions you may have.

Most likely! We accept most vehicles, running or not. During our initial phone conversation, we gather as much information to assess if the vehicle will qualify for one of our premiere resale programs, or weekly charity auctions. In many cases we can add resale value to your donated vehicle, by detail cleaning and making necessary mechanical repairs and bodywork, if needed.

The value of your vehicle is determined by the exact amount your donation sells for, including instances where we’ve improved it. And if it’s a high value vehicle, we market it to a specialized buyer, which means an even greater tax deduction for you!* In many cases we can increase the value of your vehicle through our one-of-a-kind vehicle donation platform!

In a few cases, a vehicle may have little or no remaining value, but we will do our best in determining if it qualifies for our auction program and if it does, we will accept it – at no cost to you! In addition, we highly recommend you also thoroughly read the following two IRS publication articles:

1. Publication 4303, “Determining the Value of your Car”
2. Publication 561, Regarding “Fair Market Value” (FMV)
3. Publication 526, "Charitable Contributions"

*Disclaimer: Although we do our absolute best to increase the value of your donation, we make no guarantees that we will be able to do so. Accessibility to specialized buyers is not available to all donations. Eligibility is based on the vehicle's location, year, make, and model. Due to the constantly changing market of auto sales, year, make, model, condition, location, along with other factors out of our control, your vehicle may not qualify for repairs or improvement and may sell below auto guide estimates. We recommend that donor expectations reflect IRS regulations and policy. Per IRS guidelines, deductions are only allowed for the fair market value of the vehicle, which in most cases is less than Kelly Blue Book value. Please also be aware that in some cases, a vehicle will have little to no value and you will be granted a minimum deduction of $500. 

Yes, the deductibility can be applied in the year it was contributed. Giving to a charity is an amazing gesture, and being able to write-off the donation is a definite bonus! For every car donation, you deduct $500 or more.

In addition, we highly recommend you also thoroughly read the following two IRS publication articles:

1. Publication 4303, “Determining the Value of your Car”
2. Publication p561, Regarding “Fair Market Value” (FMV)

Yes, we can. If you are not present, we prefer you to let us know in advance, along with the name of the person you designate to meet the tow truck driver and release the vehicle.

Our average pickup time is usually 24-72 hours from your first contact with us. In some rare instances, a donor will need a quicker pickup time. Please know we do our best to accommodate these immediate requests, but if it occurs on a weekend or holiday we cannot guarantee we will be able to confirm. Thank you for your understanding.

Click here to learn more our vacation vouchers.

No problem! We contact new charities every day about receiving donations from our company. When you schedule your pick up over the phone, please inform the Donation Coordinator that you would like us to contact your favorite charity. Please provide us with the charity's name, address, and phone number. For efficiency, we also ask that you please provide a contact person within the charity, their phone number, and email as well. Having this information, helps us expedite the process of getting the charity set up with our program, and ensures that your tax deduction will be sent to you in a timely manner. Please note: We will reach out to your new charity up to 3 times. If the charity has not completed our Service Agreement by the third time, we will ask you for a second choice. For your convenience, we will give you a reasonable amount of time to choose a second choice of charity. If you do not respond to this request, we will choose a charity for you from our existing list of charity affiliates. The Cars2Charities selected nonprofit will be from from one of the following causes: Children/Family, Disaster Relief, Animal Rescue, or Veterans Services.

It’s possible! We have handled many donations that were specialized, custom, or classic! Some examples are high-end race cars, unique muscle cars, fancy hybrids, vans that were altered to offer handicap access, even airplanes! In many cases these donations garnered a higher tax deduction than the “Blue Book” value of the vehicle. However, not all unique donations will create a higher tax deduction, even if other websites have them posted at high prices. Here is the thing with these types of donations- just because your vehicle was expensive, or you spent a pretty penny to install specialty parts or handicap add-ons, does not necessarily mean your vehicle is worth more money. After conversing with multiple vehicle appraisers, they have all said the same thing: A vehicle is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. The IRS describes this as Fair Market Value (other conditions apply). Classic cars and specialty vehicles are no exception. We do our very best to find the perfect buyer for each donation, but we can make no guarantees that we will be able to get the price you expect for your vehicle. In fact, the IRS even talks about donor expectations in their publications, and we highly advise that you read up on car donations before choosing to donate your vehicle.

For IRS Publications see 14. How do you determine the value of my donated vehicle.

Not to worry! Please call us at 855-520-2100 and one of our operators will confirm with the towing company to make sure they are still on the way. Due to traffic, weather, emergencies, or situations out of our control towing dates and times are not guaranteed.

We will do our best to pick up your vehicle within 24-48 hours based on availability. Please be aware that your pick up details are subject to change. Our subcontracted towing companies handle services ranging from police sanctioned tows to traffic collisions, even road side service. In cases of emergency, please be aware that there is a slight possibility your pick up date and time will be altered by the towing company out of necessity. We value your donation, and sincerely appreciate your understanding and flexibility. We will try to have your vehicle picked up as quickly as possible.