Ask the f-list: Virginia vehicle donations?

[geekchick]

The HOA is planning on towing my old Protege on Sunday unless it's inspected and the tags are renewed by then; seeing as how the car doesn't actually start at the moment, I don't think that's going to happen. Sadly, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the best approach is either to donate it or scrap it because the cost of a storage unit plus whatever it's going to cost to get it repaired is going to be more than the car is worth at this point. Does anyone have experience donating a non-running car? Would you recommend any particular organization? I don't need the write-off since I don't itemize, but it was my first car of my own and I'd prefer it go to someone who could use the money from parting it out or whatever. *sniff* For that matter, if any of y'all think you want a 1996 Protege for parts or a project (it needs serious engine work at a minimum), let me know and you're welcome to it.

Comments

[easy-living.livejournal.com]

Several years ago, we donated an elderly non-running Geo Prizm to Melwood. As I remember it, they showed up when they said they would, towed it from our driveway and left the paperwork in our mailbox. All completely painless, except for the nuisance value of having to return the plates to the MVA.

The only issue you might have with donation is whether you can arrange to have a charity pick it up before the HOA tows it. Would the HOA be amenable to leaving it there an extra couple of days if you told them that arrangememnts had been made to donate it?

[geekchick]

The timing is the thing that I'm concerned about. They slapped a warning on the car sometime during the day yesterday, which doesn't leave me much time to make arrangements. I am not sure if the HOA is amenable to letting it sit any longer, and I'm not sure if I could even get an answer from them before Sunday. In the worst case, I can call someone to junk it and probably get it removed tomorrow or Sunday morning.

[easy-living.livejournal.com]

Well, Melwood has a phone number for vehicle donations - might be worth giving them (or whoever you choose) a call and seeing if they could pick it up tomorrow.

Here's the Melwood info - phonelines are open till 7pm tonight.

Simply call our toll free number 1-877-MELWOOD (1-877-635-9663) with the year, make and model of your vehicle, the general condition, the vehicle identification number, and with title and lien in hand. We will handle the rest.

[geekchick]

I called them after I posted the previous comment; they don't pick up on the weekends at all, and it usually takes 2-5 business days.

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

My employer doesn't make a big noise about it, but will take donations of vehicles. I'm not sure if they absolutely have to be running, though. If you are interested in donating to UUSC, let me know and I'll give you the info.

[geekchick]

My biggest problem is going to be timing. The car essentially has to be gone sometime tomorrow, and at 4:30 on Friday afternoon I suspect that's going to be difficult to arrange with a charity.

[nixieq.livejournal.com]

you might check with your local vocational school -- sounds perfect for an automotive program, and i believe they'll usually take donations. i would imagine it not running wouldn't be an issue, as that would be a good project. >:)

[geekchick]

I thought about that, but unfortunately I wouldn't begin to know who to contact and the timing is terrible. Essentially it has to be gone sometime tomorrow. =(

[kmusser]

I'll 2nd the vocational school - I donated a non-running car to our community college, I had to arrange the towing, but one of the towing companies would tow for free if it was a donation (that was a Frederick co. so probably not useful for you).

[geekchick]

Like I said to nixie, the biggest problem is the timing; the car essentially has to be gone sometime tomorrow or else it's going to cost me $150 just to retrieve the car from the lot at Henry's. (Henry's doesn't let other towing companies onto their lot, not surprisingly, but I'll be damned if I give those jerks any more money for any reason.)

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

I donated my last one to the Kidney Foundation, who have a cute "you can make a kidney machine" campaign (and they're an organization I strongly support). They were pretty professional. Red Cross also accepts cars, and may be quicker to make a pickup.

[geekchick]

I've put a reservation on a storage unit over in Chantilly, and I think I'm going to try to move the car over there for a month and get some breathing room while we decide what to do with it. The HOA gave 72 hours, starting at some random time during the day on Thursday. Not terribly helpful, and I'm kinda thinking "Y'all can DIAF.". :-P A temporary storage space gives a little more time to figure out if it should be donated or fixed.

[rdhdsnippet.livejournal.com]

Probably the best idea if you're interested in getting it fixed at all.

I donated my Tercel to Melwood as well - it was marginally running but not well. If I had a running car to get rid of again I would donate it to Vehicles for Change in a heartbeat.

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

You can stash it in one of my backyards for a bit if you like.

[geekchick]

Oooh. Really? That would be pretty great, although I suspect the towing from here to there will come close to the price of the storage unit. ;)

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

Yeah, unless you have towing insurance or AAA Plus or somesuch.

[geekchick]

I don't, sadly. I've still got to tow it over to storage though, plus $129/month for the unit and wondering if they're going to be twitchy about the fact that the gas tank hasn't been drained. If you're going to be around tomorrow, I may try and take you up on your quite generous offer.

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

I'll be around. Either at the old house or the new one, in which case I should have my cell phone with me.

[geekchick]

Awesomesauce. I thought I had your number in my phone or my gmail, but I can't seem to find it. =( Could you text it to me (on my userinfo page) or email it to me again?

[penguinet.livejournal.com]

Didn't this same thing happen last year?