If you have a vehicle that you want to get rid of before you buy a new car,  but are not really trying to make money off of, car donation may be a good choice for you. There are a variety of different organizations that accept donated cars. The key is to find the right organization for your vehicle.

When you donate a car, if you want to experience a tax write-off, make sure that the organization you are donating your vehicle to is a charitable organization with a tax number recognized by the IRS.

Trade Schools

One place that you can donate a used car to is a trade school that offers mechanic classes. Trade schools that offer mechanic classes are always looking for vehicles that they can use as teaching tools. Your vehicle can become a perfect training tool, teaching students about the different components on vehicles and how to repair certain vehicles as well.

Local School District

If you have a local school district that still has an auto mechanic program, you can donate your car to your local school district. Many school districts that have auto mechanic programs have small budgets that depend upon donations to keep them running. Your vehicle could help multiple classes of students learn how to work on vehicles and how vehicles work.

Give to A Family

There are multiple organizations that allow you to donate a gently used vehicle to an organization that will then give the car to a family or person in need. These organizations are looking for vehicles that are in working condition, or that can be back in working condition with a little work. They are not looking for vehicles that are junk and not drivable. These types of organizations fix-up vehicles and allow your vehicle to help out a family or individual who needs a vehicle.

Donate The Proceeds

Finally, you can find an organization that will sell your vehicle and then use the proceeds to fund their charitable operations. These types of organizations take a wide variety of vehicles. They resell working vehicles to individuals who need them, often at a discounted rate. These organizations will also accept junk vehicles and put the money they get for the parts and scrap metal back into their organization.

There are lots of different types of organizations that take donations of working and junk cars, such as trade schools, public schools, and a wide variety of other charitable organizations that give the cars to individuals who need them or sell the vehicles and use the proceeds to fund their organizations efforts. Just be sure that the organization is registered with the IRS as a charitable organization and get a receipt with your donation so you can write it off on your taxes if you choose to do so.