All posts by Cars4Charities

Cars4Charities is a non-profit car donation center representing over 1,000 respected charities nationwide. http://www.cars4charities.org/
Automotive

Why are Used Car Prices so High?

If you are in the market for a good used car, you are probably experiencing something that is usually only associated with new cars, namely Sticker Shock. So, what is causing the price of used cars to be so high? There are many reasons for it, but they all basically boil down to the law of supply and demand. When the supply is low or the demand is high, the price will go up. Currently, the supply for used cars is very and the demand is very high, so both are happening. The demand for used cars in up because many people who would normally buy a new car are now in the market for a used car. Concerns about our economy are steering people away from large ticket items, like a new car.

The supply of used cars in the market has dwindled for many reasons. One of those reasons is the government’s recent Cash for Clunkers program. This was the program that was supposed to stimulate new car sales and thus our economy. Under that program, people were given vouchers of up to $4500 to use towards the purchase of a new more energy efficient car when they traded in their used less fuel efficient car that ran. About 700,000 cars were traded in under the Cash for Clunkers program. Since those vehicles were ones that ran, they would normally have gone straight into the used car market. Instead, under the rules of the program all of the Cash for Clunkers cars were destroyed. The result was a 700,000 drain on the used car market.

Another reason for the shrinkage in the number of available used cars is that many motorists are choosing to keep their used cars rather than trading them in for a new or newer one.  In addition, there is an extreme lack of cars entering the market from rental car agencies and companies that provide fleet cars to their employees. Those institutions normally trade their vehicles in for new ones every year or two. At this time, those companies are holding onto those vehicles longer due to our lackluster economy.

When the economy begins to sufficiently improve the sale of new cars will finally increase. When that happens, the supply of used cars will increase correspondently and the price of those used cars will start to come down. Until that time comes, the price of used cars will remain high.

Automotive

Don’t Get Stranded With Nothing but Spam and Pop-Tarts

It will not be long before the cold winds of winter will start to blow. Before they do; you’ll want to get your car “winter ready”. Otherwise, you might end up like those unfortunate travelers on that cruise ship; stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing but Spam and Pop-Tarts. 

First, you need to check your car battery. Extreme cold weather will rob it of much of its cranking power. If it is more than a few years old, you may need to replace it. Next, check the antifreeze in your radiator. You can buy an inexpensive tester at your local auto parts store. The tester will tell you if you have the correct amount of antifreeze. Of course, if your system has not been flushed in awhile, now is a good time to do that. Then, check your tires. If your tires are worn or you have high performance tires, you should replace them with snow tires. Also, make sure you maintain the proper amount of air in your tires. Cold weather will make the air in your tires contract resulting in them being soft if you don’t keep checking them.

Now is also a good time to change the oil in your car. Many car makers recommend using a thinner motor oil like 5W-30 during the winter months because it circulates better at colder temperatures and helps to reduce engine wear.  In addition, you should check your belts and hoses along with your brakes, heater, headlights and brakes lights, etc. to make sure all are in working order.

Once you have gotten your car ready for the cold, snow, ice and wind that winter brings, it’s time to stock it with all the items you will need to help you get through them. Those items include an ice scraper, a snow brush and small snow shovel, bag of sand or cat litter, road flares, jumper cables, blanket, etc.

If you don’t have confidence that your car will get you safely through the winter, now is the time to do something about it. You can spend a lot of money repairing your car, but that might not raise your level of confidence. You can attempt to sell your car. That might be difficult since the chances are good that if you don’t think it will survive the winter neither will a prospective buyer. You can trade it in towards a new or newer car. Unfortunately, if it is not in good condition, you probably won’t get much for it. You can avoid all that aggravation by logging onto http://www.cars4charities.org/ and donating your car to charity.

Cars4Charities will gladly accept your car in virtually any condition as long as you have a title, have not stripped parts off of it and have it parked where a tow truck can easily get to it. When you donate your car to charity, you get a tax deduction of the greater of $500 or the amount your car donation is sold for. No muss, no fuss! If you prefer to speak to someone in person, just call 866.448.3487 and they will be happy to give you the donate car details.

Non-Profit

Don’t Be Shy, Give Car Donation a Try

Have you been thinking about what to do with an extra car you no longer want or need? If you have considered car donation, but worried that the process is too complicated or that your car won’t qualify, there is some good news. Donating a car to charity is not hard or stressful; in fact it is quite easy.

Cars4Charities will gratefully accept your car donation no matter how old it is, how banged up it its or whether it runs or not.  They only ask that you have a title free of any liens for your car or other proof that you own the vehicle, that your car not be striped of any of its parts, and that your car is located in a place where it can easily be towed. Cars4Charities will pick up your car donation for free, too!

In return for your generous donation, you will get a tax deduction of the larger of $500 or what Cars4Charities manages to sell you car donation for. Cars4Charities also has a wide variety of much respected charities that you can donate car to. Some of those charities you can donate car to include A Home Away From Homelessness, the American Foundation for the Blind, the Arc of Massachusetts, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, Autism Speaks, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Cancer Research Institute, Canine Assistants, the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, Food for the Poor, Freedom From Hunger, the Fund for Peace, Helen Keller International, The National Association for Down Syndrome, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the New Jersey Association for the Deaf, Operation Hope, Partners in Health, the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Sunshine Ministries, Teach for America, Tropical Clinics, Wayside Waifs, and hundreds of other fine charities.

Cars4Charities makes the whole car donation process so easy that you do not even have to make a phone call. You can actually donate your car online anytime through their website, http://www.cars4charities.org/.  If you prefer the more personal approach, please call Cars4Charities at toll free at 1-866-448-3487 and they will gladly explain the entire car donation process to you.

Politics

Whether you are a Liberal or a Conservative, You Can Still Donate Your Car

Liberals and Conservatives disagree on almost every issue, from health care to the economy to immigration to cap and trade.  They all agree on one thing, car donation is a noble act. Of course they probably would not agree on which charity to donate car to. Fortunately, there are over a thousand respected charities a person can donate car to at Cars4Charities.

Their incredible list includes International charities like Aid for Haiti, Food for the Poor, Freedom From Hunger, the Fund For Peace, Helen Keller International, Partners in Health, the Smile Train, TropicalClinics, etc. They also have National charities like the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, the American Foundation for the Blind, the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, the American Parkinson Disease Association, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Autism Speaks, the Brain Trauma Foundation, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Cancer Research Institute, the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation, the Lam Foundation, the National Association for Down Syndrome, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the Prevent Cancer Foundation, Teach for America, etc. Cars4Charities also has many State charities and hundreds of local charities like food banks, homeless shelters, and various other fine charities.

In return for your noble gesture, you will receive a tax deduction of $500 or what Cars4Charities is able to sell your car donation for, whichever amount is greater. They will also provide you with all the forms you will need to file with your taxes so you can claim your valuable tax deduction.

Cars4Charities also lets you donate car at your leisure online through their website, http://www.cars4charities.org/. This option greatly lowers their expenses allowing them to send more of the proceeds from car donations to charity.  It is also beneficial for the environment since it reduces the use of paper and other consumables.

When you are ready to donate your car, please contact Cars4Charities at http://www.cars4charities.org/ or call 1-866-448-3487. They will gladly explain the entire car donation process to you and provide you with prompt and professional service. And, they will treat you with respect whether you are a Liberal, Conservative, Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever.

Non-Profit

The Phrase No Pain, No Gain is Not True for Car Donation

The expression; no pain, no gain is not true for car donation.  Donating a car is incredibly painless if you do know how to do it properly. If you have an extra car, you will get a very valuable tax deduction when you donate your car to charity.

The amount of your tax deduction will be determined by the fair market value of your car and what the charity does with it. If the charity sells your car donation, you can claim $500 or the amount they sell your car for whichever amount is more. If the charity keeps you car, gives it to a needy person or sells it to someone for much less that its value, you can claim the fair market value up to the amount you paid for the car. You should consult with your tax advisor or the IRS for complete details.

At Cars4Charities, you can donate car at your leisure by going to their website, http://www.cars4charities.org/. You can also donate car that is over ten years old, is in poor condition or no longer runs. Your car donation will be picked up fast and free too! And, Cars4Charities will give you all the forms you will need to file with your taxes in order to claim your important tax deduction.

Cars4Charities has one of the largest selections of deserving charities you can donate car to. Their list includes International charities such as Food for the Poor, Freedom From Hunger, the Fund for Peace, Helen Keller International, Partners in Health, the Smile Train, TropicalClinics, etc., National charities such as the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association Foundation, the American Foundation for the Blind, the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Autism Speaks, the Brain Trauma Foundation, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the Cancer Research Institute, Canine Assistants, the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation, the Lam Foundation, the National Association for Down Syndrome, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the SASS Foundation for Medical Research, Teach for America, as well as many State and hundreds of local charities such as food banks, homeless shelters, hospices, etc.

Please contact Cars4Charities at http://www.cars4charities.org/ or call toll free 1-866-448-3487 when you are ready to donate car. They will gladly walk you through the entire car donation process and provide you with outstanding service.

Automotive

Can I Keep My New Car from Rusting?

Car rust is caused when the metal is exposed to moisture over time. Keeping your new car waxed will help protect it from rusting since the wax forms a barrier between the metal and the moisture.

It is also important to keep moisture off your car. So, after you wash it, make sure the car and the undercarriage are completely dry before you put it in a garage. The undercarriage will dry simply by leaving the car outside for awhile.

You should also put mud flaps on your car to keep mud and other debris from collecting in the wheel wells. They will also protect your car from the dings caused by stones kicking up. Those dings will expose the metal to the elements and create an excellent place for rust to begin. If you do have any dings or small scratches on your car, you should address them before any rust begins. Some polishing compound and a little touch up paint will usually take care of them.

If you live in an area where it snows, you know how fast road salt will eat through the wax, paint and metal on your new car and accelerate the formation of rust. That is why it is very important to give your car a good coat of wax before the snow comes. During the winter, you only need to wash your car when the air temperature is above. Road salt is only active at temperatures above freezing, so you do not need to wash your car when it is very cold out. Besides, if you do wash your car when it is very cold outside, your door locks and power windows are likely to freeze. Of course, if you park your car in a garage, you will want to gauge when to wash your car by the temperature in the garage. When you do finally wash your car, you should pay special attention to cleaning the wheel hubs, wheel wells and undercarriage as these are the places where the road salt tends to stick.

You should also consider putting rubber mats on the floor of your new car during the winter months. These rubber mats will keep the salty water from melting snow from seeping into the carpets and rusting your floor boards.

Keeping your new car from rusting will take a little time. That time spend will be worth it by helping to maintain the appearance and value of your investment.

Environment

Is There is a Green Way to Donate My Car?

There are thousands of charities that will be happy to allow you to donate your car to them.  Unfortunately, only a few charities will handle your car donation in a green or environmentally conscience way.

Cars4Charities is one of those environmentally responsible charities. They will handle your car donation in way that is best for you, the charity and the environment. This is how they do it the green way;

Cars4Charities does not to pollute the airwaves with annoying radio ads. They also do not waste paper, ink, or other consumables on billboards or print ads. All those ads are quite expensive. They have to be paid for from the proceeds received through the sale of donated cars. Most donors want their car donation to support the charity, not the car donation company or others!

Cars4Charities lets you donate car anytime at your leisure through their website, http://www.cars4charities.org/. This option greatly lowers their expenses. It also significantly reduces the use of paper and other consumables thereby making it far better for our environment.

Cars4Charities re-uses the useful parts of older, non-working cars and recycles the rest in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations. All other donated cars are sold to licensed car dealers. Those car dealers are required to make sure the cars pass all inspection and emission standards before they are sold to the general public. The better a vehicle runs, the less it pollutes our environment.

Cars4Charities never uses any gimmicks like “free” vacations, hotel or travel vouchers to entice you to donate car. They do not use these gimmicks because “free” is never really free, there is always a catch.

You only have to contact Cars4Charities when you are ready to donate car by going to their website http://www.cars4charities.org/ or by calling them toll free at 1-866-448-3487.  You will not hear any hype; you will simply get honest and professional service.

Non-Profit

Some Very Good Car Donation Advice

There are a lot of good reasons to donate your car to charity. You get rid of a car you do not need, you get a tax deduction of $500 or more and you help a needy charity. It should be very easy and it is easy if you know how to do it properly.

Before you just hand over the title to your car to a stranger, you need to do some research first. Find out what the charity will do with your car donation. Most donated cars need a lot of expensive repairs. For that reason most charities sell car donations. If the charity you choose uses a car donation center, ask them how much of the actual sale price of your donated car the charity will receive.  The term “net sale price” means the actual sale price of your car minus the auction fees, selling fees, or other fees charged by the car donation center. In some cases, these fees will be more than the selling price of your car. If that happens, the charity you donate your car to will have to pay the car donation center the difference and will lose money on your car donation. You will not know if you do not ask them!

You should also make a copy of your cars title and make a record of the name and phone of the towing service assigned to pick up your car. You should also mail the title directly to the charity. It is safer for you to have the title in the hands of the charity rather than the hands of the towing service. If you have to give it to the towing service, make sure your only give it to them after you receive your receipt. Never, ever just leave the title in the car! If you do that, you may never get a receipt and in that case you will not be able to provide proof of your car donation.

You should remove your license plates and any stickers on your windshield of your car if you live in one of the many states that require you to do so. In those states, you will not be able to cancel your car insurance until you have returned the license plates to the Department of Motor Vehicles or transferred them to another car. You may also receive parking tickets from the next owner if you forget to remove the stickers from your car’s windshield.

You also need to keep all the correspondence between you and the charity. If you do not keep that correspondence, you will not have any record of your car donation and the IRS may not allow you to claim a tax deduction for your car donation. 

The donate car process will be a lot easier if you educate yourself a little first. Avoiding the pitfalls of the car donation process are more that worth the time you will spend on that education.

Non-Profit

Car Donation – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

As with everything in life, there are some very good car donation charities and some bad ones. If you are thinking about donating a car you do not use anymore, it is a good idea to do some research before you hand over your car keys. Many charities use a car donation center to handle their car donations. Many of those companies are for profit institutions. They often keep much of the proceeds from the sale of donated cars for themselves and only send the charity a minimal amount. You can find out how much money the charity actually receives from the car donation center by contacting either the charity or the car donation center itself.

There are a few car donation centers that are not for profit. Generally, these centers share a larger portion of the revenue with the charity. In addition, these companies are scrutinized much more closely by the government, particularly by the IRS. They usually are required to have their financial statements audited annually.  For profit companies do not have to their books audited. If you are not sure whether a car donation center is for profit or not for profit, you can find out through the IRS at irs.gov.

Another factor in the car donation process is the type of car the donation center or charity will accept. Many will only accept a car for donation that is less than 10 years old, runs and needs virtually no repairs. Some will take the good, the bad and the ugly with very few questions asked. Others, are somewhere in between.

In addition, the amount of your tax deduction depends on what the charity does with your car donation. If you donate car that is in good condition and needs no repairs, some charities will use it themselves or give it to a person in need. In this situation, you can claim the fair market value of your car as your tax deduction as long as it does not exceed the amount you paid for the car. In this situation, you can claim the fair market value of your car as your tax deduction as long as it does not exceed the amount you paid for the car. There are very few charities in this category.  The reason is simple; there is too much liability involved in a charity giving a car to someone. Most car donations that are in good condition are sold at auction. In this case, the donor can claim the sale price of the car as their tax deduction or $500 whichever amount is greater.

If you donate car that falls into the bad or ugly category, almost all charities will sell it. If that is the case, you can claim as your tax deduction the amount the charity or center sells your car donation for or $500, whichever is more. As always, you should consult with a tax advisor for assistance with determining the amount you can claim for your tax deduction.

All car donation charities and car donation centers are not alike. There are many variables in their structure and their procedures. Before you donate your car, ask some questions and do some research to separate the good, the bad and the ugly!

Home & Garden

Time to Get Ready for Winter

In most parts of the country, winter does not wait for December to arrive. Now is the time to get ready for the cold, snow and ice. You can start by winterizing your house. First check your storm windows and exterior doors for cracks, openings, etc. Seal any cracks and openings and caulk windows where needed.  Place weather-stripping around doors to keep the cold air out. Add extra insulation where needed. If you have an attic, adding insulation will not only lower your energy bill, it will help protect your roof from ice dams. There is currently a tax credit available on many of these energy saving items.

Have your furnace cleaned and change the furnace filters. It is recommended that you change your furnace filters monthly during the winter. Also make sure there no flammable materials near your furnace.  Installing a programmable thermostat will lower your heating costs. If you have a fireplace or wood stove, have it and the chimney inspected to make sure they are safe.

Also, clean your gutters and downspouts, and inspect your roof for any missing or worn shingles. Insulate any exposed pipes to prevent water in them from freezing and drain the garden hose. Service or tune-up your snow blower, make sure you have a good snow shovel, and a good supply of driveway salt. You should stock up on candles, flash lights, extra food, water, etc. in case the power goes out or you get snowed in for a day or two.

Next, winterize your car. Check the tires for wear or put snow tires on your car. Also check the tire pressure. Then, check the battery, belts, hoses, lights, heater, defroster, brakes, antifreeze, etc.  You should change the oil, replace the wiper blades and fill the washer fluid reservoir. You should also make sure you have a blanket, a first aid kit, tool kit, flares, cat litter, jumper cables, a snow brush, an ice scraper, a shovel, water and some food in your car. If you are not confident that your car will not get through the winter, now is a good time to consider replacing it with a more reliable one.

If you do decide to replace your car, there are many ways you can dispose of your present car.  If you donate car to charity, you will get a tax deduction of at least $500 and your car donation will help a very worthy cause.