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We used to donate cars to the Los Angeles Mission quite often. they use the cars as part of their education program - teach people to work on them, detail them, market them and sell them. They sell them at a huge discount to needy people and then use the moeny to feed and shelter other needy people. We were always able to deduct fair market value and that was often more than we really could have sold the car for.
However when my income increased I met the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax). Eventually all of my deductions were eaten away, so it did not matter what value we got. We continued donating cars, but stopped taking the deduction.
I am not sure whether AMT rules have changed. I do not think we hit it anymore. We do get deductions once again, so either the rules changed, or our lower income falls below AMT.
With a car that old, it makes sense to keep doing repairs you can do yourself. When it needs something major, junk it or donate it and get a different one. They are only good for so much and when a car has hit that point, it is not that costly to replace it with something a little newer/better. We have gone through a lot of those older cars (Family of 7 people), so we have learned the hard way when to recognize it is time to let it go. I had four down at one time and only really needed 1 for a spare, so I traded on craigslist. A mechanic came and fixed the one I wanted to keep and I gave him the other three broken cars in trade.
Now we do not really have a spare (the spare will be used by our youngest ho is in high school if he ever gets round to getting his license). I would kind of like to get another spare, but I am thinking I might get a Volt to drive to work and let my truck be the spare. However, I really like driving a truck all the time. It really lets me be prepared for anything that comes up.
It is not worth he cost of a Volt just to get the fuel savings, but there is a coolness factor to never having to fill up.
A Tesla never needs to fill up but a Volt still has a gas tank and shouldn't you run it so it uses the gas before it gets "old" and therefore need to fill up from time to time ?
We used to donate cars to the Los Angeles Mission quite often. they use the cars as part of their education program - teach people to work on them, detail them, market them and sell them. They sell them at a huge discount to needy people and then use the moeny to feed and shelter other needy people. We were always able to deduct fair market value and that was often more than we really could have sold the car for.
However when my income increased I met the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax). Eventually all of my deductions were eaten away, so it did not matter what value we got. We continued donating cars, but stopped taking the deduction.
I am not sure whether AMT rules have changed. I do not think we hit it anymore. We do get deductions once again, so either the rules changed, or our lower income falls below AMT.
In our local Pennysaver paper there are ads from people who pay cash for clunkers. I sold my dented and banged up 1999 SUV for $500.
A Tesla never needs to fill up but a Volt still has a gas tank and shouldn't you run it so it uses the gas before it gets "old" and therefore need to fill up from time to time ?
Friends and family members I know who have them fill up about twice a year, some three times. They put Stabil in to avoid gumming up. Of course they all work within range of the battery.
A well optioned Tesla S costs $120,000. A volt about $35,000 - $40,000.
I've started to see the Tesla SUV in the parking lot at work... electric cars are most definitely increasing here in the SF Bay Area...
I'm always amazed at what I learn about other countries...
In Austria a license plate can be used for up to 3 cars under the same ownership.
The owner pays the insurance and license based on the most expensive and simply moves the license plate from one car to another... only one can be on the road at a time... so that camper that gets used two weeks a year of the Oldtimer is all under the same license plate.
The only added cost is if you want the car insured for loss/damage.... no extra liability cost.
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