Anyone have any experience with Kars4Kids?

[Kim&Chris]

We have a '98 pickup truck, in very good shape, that DH no longer uses. He doesn't want to sell it (he hates the thought of people coming to the house to look at it, bargaining & negotiating, etc). So he is thinking of donating it to Kars4Kids.org. You may hear their jingle ALL THE TIME on your local radion station (annoying but catchy).

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with them? Seems they'll come and tow your car away, along with your signed title. Afterwards, you must call them and request the tax donation paperwork.

Any experiences you'd like to share?

 

[IDoDis]

A friend of mine did this a couple of years ago. The agency sold her car at a car auction and then sent her paperwork showing the amount it sold for so she could use that as a tax-deductible donation. She kind of wished afterward that she had tried to sell the car on her own first and then donated all of that money to charity. She would have been able to give more and get a bigger deduction. I think she thought the amount the car brought at auction was not very much. If you have a clunker, it sounds like a great deal though.

 

[dis75ney]

We used them to get rid of our Toyota Corolla. Very easy, although being kept on hold for up to 20 minutes and hearing that Kars 4 Kids jingle was enough to make me pull my hair out...

All we had to do was leave the keys and signed title in the glove box, and they came and picked up the car while we were at work. We got the tax donation stuff about four weeks later, but since we don't itemize, that part didn't matter to us. Also, if your car is in need of any repairs (ours needed a new battery, new brakes, and at least one tire), they will fix it up before offering it to a family...

 

[JessicaR]

I don't know of them but did find this.

Not all donated cars are "a piece of crap." The problem with Kars4Kids is their false advertising about crediting the donor with the actual value of the car. They seem to VALUE ALL DONATED CARS AT $500.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/339/RipOff0339862.htm

http://mikefrancesa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3159

http://donttellthedonor.blogspot.com/2007/11/konfused-by-kars-for-kids.html

 

[Heidict]

We used them to get rid of a car also. It needed some electrical work done on it and we knew that selling it would have been a major pain.

I did it all online and it was super easy and convenient. They came, took the car when we were at work and I didn't have to worry about a thing.

I didn't care about the tax deduction since we don't itemize so the amount that they valued it at or sold it at didn't matter to me.

After the fact I started hearing things about some shady practices with them, but I didn't have a problem. I believe they are also for profit. If I would have known that in the beginning I would not have donated through them but would have donated directly to an organization.

Here are some.

Kidney Foundation http://www.kidney.org/support/kidneycars/index.cfm

Habitat for Humanity http://www.habitat.org/carsforhomes/

Juvenile Diabetes Research http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=103627

AIDS research http://www.aidsresearch.org/donate/vehicledonation.html

 

[Kim&Chris]

I don't know of them but did find this.

Not all donated cars are "a piece of crap." The problem with Kars4Kids is their false advertising about crediting the donor with the actual value of the car. They seem to VALUE ALL DONATED CARS AT $500.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/339/RipOff0339862.htm

http://mikefrancesa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3159

http://donttellthedonor.blogspot.com/2007/11/konfused-by-kars-for-kids.html

Thank you JessicaR!!

 

[Aisling]

I donated my 1999 Dodge Caravan to them a few months ago. It drove, but had lots of problems (no AC, power windows didn't work, very squeeky breaks, dented-in side door, and dirty!) They came two days after I made the call, towed the car, and I later got the tax paper saying they repaired it and sold it at auction for $800, with the proceeds going to the needy. I would never have thought it was worth that much.

Then I received the vacation voucher, which we haven't used yet.

I'm now wishing I could have sold it myself for $800, I could use the cash! But I'm happy it's gone.