Donating Your Vehicle in California

The proof’s in the price tag. There’s a reason why the state has the most expensive cars in the country.

Forbes Magazine looked at data by Experian Automotive, an analysis and consulting firm in Illinois that evaluated luxury car purchases, brand-for-brand and state-by-state. For one year they compared the number of cars sold with the total number of luxury vehicles purchased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Not surprisingly, California was at the top of the list. They found that 15.9% of car sales were luxury brands. The weather may be a big reason that California drivers spend a lot on their cars – they don’t develop rust and other damage because of snow and extreme temperatures.

Another coveted item is a tax receipt in California, and the good news is there’s an easy way for vehicle owners to get one: a car donation.

Why Donate a Car

One of the top reasons to donate a car in California is it’s a swift and easy way to get rid of the wheels you don’t need. You spend months trying to determine if it’s time to make a change – do I invest in a new vehicle or keep paying for repairs?

There are lots of reasons people replace their vehicle, including:
• Cosmetic deterioration
• Too many miles on the odometer
• Unreliable transportation
• To impress clients
• Birthday or anniversary gift
• Too much time in the auto shop
• Want/need new features
• Growing family
• Shrinking family
• Going green

There are a lot of routes you can take to move along the car you no longer need. But with a California car donation you get a tax advantage, plus you get to benefit a favorite charity.

For a person who already serves the nonprofit world, either as a board member of a 501(c)(3) organization, a big-hitter donor or a faithful volunteer, it’s an easy choice. You know where proceeds from your car donation will go.

When you choose a local company, such as Cars2Charities, you have the opportunity to support California charities in whatever arena you want to. From children and education to patients with serious illnesses, you can become a part of providing comfort or solving a problem for others.

Proceeds from Cars2Charities vehicle donations have supported hundreds of California charities. Funding has benefited such California-based nonprofits as:
• California Fire Foundation: The fund supports firefighters, their families and communities affected by wildfires throughout California.

• NAMI California: It stands for the National Alliance for Mental Illness and it’s the foremost nonprofit supporting the families of individuals suffering from mental illnesses.

• ACLU of Southern California: Famed defenders of legal equality, the American Civil Liberties Union fights the obstruction of Constitutional rights including freedom of speech and assembly, the right to religious freedom, due process of law and right to privacy.

Advantages to Car Donations through Cars2Charities

Like other local donations, one of the rewards for your generosity is a tax receipt in California. When donating a car, you receive the paperwork to apply the deduction to your taxes.

When you donate your car in California through Cars2Charities you’re supporting a small business in your state that has been serving their client base for decades. Established in Los Angeles, California, the company has satisfied thousands of customers, processing their vehicle donations and awarding nonprofit groups of all kinds with money for their causes.

Cars2Charities is based in California, but over the last 10 years the company has grown to serve donors and nonprofit organizations all across the nation.

When we’re contacted by a donor, we send a towing professional to pick up the donation car. Our process includes a method that benefits both the charity and the vehicle owner. Of course, you obtain a tax receipt in California, but there’s more. Because we assess our donation vehicles for necessary changes, we tend to sell them for more. Your car donation tax deduction is based on the sale price; therefore, your write-off is typically higher.

How to Donate a Car in California

Though it’s easy for a vehicle owner to make a car donation in California, there are certain things to help the process move forward smoothly. While you’re considering your options and plotting out how you wish to obtain your next car, you are advised to do the following:

Have your title ready. If you don’t have a pink slip you can order one through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Call Cars2Charities. Not only do we handle nearly every detail throughout the process, we walk you through it along the way, so you stay informed about your car donation in California.

Let us handle it. Our comprehensive process includes the title transfer, so we handle the DMV paperwork. You don’t have to make an appointment or stand in line – we process the transaction and let the department know about the sale of your car.

Choose your charity. If you have a favorite, this is the fun part. And if you’d like some suggestions, turn to our “Causes” page for nonprofits we’ve worked with in the past. We process car donations to any nonprofit, so you can even look one up on Charity Navigator.

Collect your tax receipt. Once again, we provide you with the necessary paperwork, with the totals for your accounting purposes. But you can prepare your taxes on TurboTax or add our paperwork to your stack of records for the CPA.

Benefiting California Charities

There are a lot of needs in the state of California, and many are unique to citizens on the West Coast. The best car donation in California adds resources to meet the greatest needs, which span categories from the environment to medical issues.

Climate Change: The key threats to California due to climate change, according to National Geographic, are drought, wildfires, coastal dangers, bad air days, spreading disease and loss of native fish. 

Health: The leading cause of death in California is heart disease, as it is country wide. There are many effective charities that educate Americans to curb the incidence of heart attacks and strokes. You can donate a car in California and send proceeds to one of these charities.

Cancer is directly behind heart disease in causing fatalities. There are many different types of cancer, and therefore, you can choose from thousands of nonprofit charities in California devoted to specific categories.

At Cars2Charities we’ve worked with foundations for children with cancer and contributed to support groups for cancer victims. We’ve processed California car donations including:
• Michelle’s Place Breast Cancer Resource Center
• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
• Childhood Leukemia Foundation
• Cancer Support Community Pasadena 

Many of our donors have chosen to support breast cancer research and women battling the disease. 

California ranks 14th in the country for incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease, another condition where you can help victims and their families with a car donation in California. We have partnered with Alzheimer’s Los Angeles to provide them with funding from California car donations.

Nothing says California like animal advocacy, which gives a person many choices when they donate a car to charity. You can designate proceeds from your California car donation to benefit such a cause as the Humane Society.

In Los Angeles you can help felines with Kitten Rescue or Ruff Patches for dogs. 

A California car donation to veterans and active members of the military is easy to do – there are nonprofits all across the state that are associated with our sailors, soldiers and veterans. There are 32 military bases in California and plenty of support for their families too. Former members of the military can turn to any number of organizations providing mental health services for PTSD they are battling and safety nets for their families.

The list is endless. Other popular California charities gain support the same way, including resources for seniors, young moms and disaster victims. A car donation in California is simple, easy and contributes to a cause you care about.