3-Car Family Makes A Charitable Car Donation

We were a three-car family for far too long. I wish I had learned about how to make a charitable car donation a lot sooner.

When my husband and I found out that we were expecting twins, our minds were all awhirl.

Having two kids already, we knew that neither his sedan nor my small SUV would be large enough to hold our entire growing family. We just never pictured ourselves as the mini-van type. In fact, we both refused to accept the idea that a mini-van was necessary, so we just went out and purchased a larger SUV.

Even though I loved it, we soon realized that the larger SUV just wasn’t going to work for us. The older kids had to climb over the second row of seats to get to the third row and we never realized what a gas guzzler that thing was going to be.

Eventually we finally broke down and accepted the fact that we would have to get a mini-van for our family and so we traded in the larger SUV.

Throughout this entire ordeal, we remained a three-car family; we still had my smaller SUV and my husband’s sedan. Yet it would be months before we found out that in America, car donation programs are always looking for used vehicles to raise funds for worthwhile registered charities.

Part of the problem for holding on to so many vehicles for so long was that I loved that old SUV. I always wanted to have one and I refused to give up it up. I also refused to accept the fact that I was destined to be a mini-van “soccer” mom for the next 18 years...at least until the reality of our situation finally sunk in. It became abundantly clear that the mini-van was simply a better choice for our large family.

Trying to cram all of the kids into the small SUV verges on inhumane as they sit shoulder to shoulder in the back seat. And it just didn’t feel safe. And, my husband’s large sedan was decidedly more appropriate as a second family vehicle.

So, as much as I loved my old SUV, the fact was, I never got the chance to drive it – practically every time I was on the road I was taxiing the kids from one place to the next. So, my husband and I decided to look into our options to get rid of the third vehicle. That’s when we found out about the America charitable car donation service programs.

We finally were at a point where the mini-van was almost paid off and we certainly were not looking to take on any new car payments, since the sedan was still working well for us.

We decided we would sell the small SUV, but with four children and two full time jobs, months went by and we still hadn’t done anything with it. There was always something else that seemed like more of a priority.

It was only by chance that we found out about the charitable car donation services in America. A friend of mine mentioned that she had heard of people donating cars to charity and using the car donation as a tax write off. It didn’t hurt that tax season was right upon us. The timing couldn’t have been better.

I knew right then that donating the SUV to charity would be the best choice for us. Not only could we donate a car to charity, but it would also clear out our garage and make room for our mini-van plus, we could write the car donation off on our taxes which were coming due very soon. The whole car donation process was a lot faster and a lot simpler than I imagined. The charitable car donation center took care of everything for us.

It just seemed like it was the perfect option! The car donation itself didn’t take any significant amount of time, someone in need got some much needed help and we were still able to claim the car donation on our taxes. It was a perfect solution.

Now I’m happy to say that the kids are happy. They absolutely love the mini-van and it just feels so much safer for my family. The kids are free to sprawl out in the mini-van as they haul around their musical equipment, sports equipment, and anything else they may happen to be interested in at the time.

Do I miss my old SUV? Absolutely, but a two license family really doesn’t need three cars. I’m glad I made a charitable car donation on behalf of a registered charity in America.

I am now able to keep the mini-van in the garage…there’s room! I still don’t have to like the mini-van, but I have accepted that for better or for worse, I will have many years ahead of me as a loving, supportive soccer mom, with the vehicle to make it all happen.

Tabitha S.