Wrecked Car Still Good As a Car Donation

We all have bad days that we wish we could forget. For me, that day was the day I wrecked my dream car.

I always dreamed of owning a 1977 Firebird Trans Am, just like the one I saw in the movie Smoky and the Bandit when I was just a kid.

You see, I am what you would call a “car guy” or a “gear head” if you will. So I searched for a Firebird that was still in decent shape and still running. My goal was to drop a big fat engine in it and use my talents to make that bird purr like a kitten.

I live in the country and had to travel into the city to find her, and find her I did.

The day I picked her up I thought I was the luckiest guy around. I got a great deal, the Firebird was black like the one in the movie, in great shape and I even managed to line up the engine I wanted to complete my little project.

Unfortunately, my luck was short lived.

On my drive home I was feeling great and wearing what should have been a permanent grin on my face. Driving just a little faster than I normally do, I rounded a corner and had just enough time to react and miss the deer, but not enough time to avoid the tree at the side of the road.

Luckily I wore my seatbelt and survived the wreck with just a few scratches, but the Firebird was a mess. There was no hope.

The TA’s body was a complete ruin and I was no body man. Put me under the hood anytime and I am like a kid in a candy store, but when it comes to bodywork, I haven’t a clue.

I can respect the guys who have the patience for that kind of work but that was outside my capabilities and I didn’t have the money to hire anyone to do it for me.

Anyway, I didn’t know what I was going to do with this wreck until one of my buddies suggested I make a car donation to charity.

My friend said that I could write off the value of my car donation on my taxes and that there were car donation service companies that accepted car donations on behalf of charities. They would even take my car just as it is. I wouldn’t have to get it towed on my own; the car donation processing center would do that for me as well.

This sounded like the best choice for me. I mean, I know I could have got it towed and sold it for parts. I might have even been able to find a body guy that would be willing to give me a few hundred bucks for the car. Or, I could have kept it for parts – but I really planned on changing out everything under the hood, anyway, so keeping it for parts wasn’t something I wanted to do.

So instead of going through the hassles of trying to tow the car, trying to fix it up and then trying to sell it, I decided to donate my car to charity. The charity I chose was the National Veterans Services Fund, since my grandfather was a veteran.

I am really glad I made the car donation to charity and the tax write off was a bonus. I also felt good that the money my little Firebird fetched at auctioin was going to help out Veterans and veteran families.

Even though I barely got to own my dream car, I still miss that Firebird.

I plan on fulfilling that dream someday. I intend to go back out and find another Firebird Trans Am. And when I enjoy that sweet ride again, this time I’ll be a lot more careful.