Driving along yesterday, I could not help but notice that so many of the commericals on the radio seemed focused on getting me to donate my car. There was the "Donate your car to the blind" commercials, and the "Donate your car for the kids" commmercial, and I heard both probably a dozen times easy yesterday.
Well you know, I'm as charitable as the next guy, but I'm really not keen on the idea of all of those blind people and kids driving around in cars. I'm just saying...
Oh, and in other news, my trusty SUV is totalled. The enemy insurance company is suppoosed to call me back tomorrow with their determination of it's value. Gee, I can't wait to find out how much a 12 year old SUV with 200,000 miles is worth.
And I just put a new used driver's set in it a week ago, not two hundred miles before it was destroyed. Sigh...
Drat, that doth suck.
ReplyDeleteCars.com has a lot of used Jeep Cherokees up for sale, so hopefully you can find a worthy replacement.
Good luck car hunting.
Aaron beat me to it. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThat does suck out loud and off key.
ReplyDeleteWhat would it take to make it back from the dead on top of the totaled price?
You are not *hurting* anywhere are you?
You may have the option of buying the wreck after the settlement.
ReplyDeleteIt will have a salvage title, most likely, which hurts resale value.
Evaluate the cost of repair, and the price to buy back, and decide if you still want to keep it.
Since the ins co won't be paying for the repair, you can choose how much of it you want to do. (paint, etc)
How bad was it crunched? I guess I missed the post while I was away for work....
ReplyDeleteKnowing the scrutiny my former colleagues at the IRS give to car donations, and knowing the abuses which are beyond the donor's control but which can nevertheless come back to haunt the donor, and knowing that the car donation industry has a disproportionate number of scoundrels in its ranks, I wouldn't want to have a car donation on my tax return.
ReplyDeleteHeh... I thought the "donate your car" commercials were a local thing here. They run about every other commercial on AM down here this time of year.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your ride.
@ Owl: Yep. Nothing like a big red flag on the tax return, esp. with all of Obama's new IRS auditors coming on the job.
ReplyDelete@ drjim: Whole right front corner destroyed Much body work. See previous "women drivers" rant. There needs to be a law confining them to the kitchen, at least during times when we menfol are out driving around.
It is really sad when a vehicle that is serviceable and you are comfortable with is damaged. The vehicle has a small retail value, but the replacement value is very high. Also, you know all the ins and outs and noises your old friendly vehicle makes and dread learning a new one. I hate that.
ReplyDeleteAfter you do all the fighting, don't forget you are entitled to prorated taxes, plates, and sales tax on the amount you settle for.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't buy a Jeep now... They let all the dopers and drunks go back to work...
ReplyDeleteOh, yuck. Sorry to hear that.
ReplyDeleteI went down a few posts and found it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the broad that you "hit" was quite a piece of work.
I'm a Cherokee guy myself. I had a 1996, ran it for about 100k (don't drive much out here) and traded it on a 2006.
The reason I got rid of the '96 was the interior was starting to have some problems. The soft plastic 'skin' on the door panels was pulling away from the foam core, and was looking pretty tacky. Couldn't find an upholstery shop that would repair it, and couldn't find any good door panels locally or online.
Bruce donated a car to, I think, it was the local PBS station. It was a great deduction and no, it is not "flagged" automatically by the IRS. So long as you donate to a legit and relative well-known outfit, it is fine. The issues arise when not so legit or well-run organizations do not properly transfer the title. But, that was all very smooth with Bruce's donation. One way to sort of see how well run orgs. are is to look at the CFC book and see their Admin costs. My general rule of thumb is high admin not so legit, more interested in paying some Exec big bucks than actually doing good.
ReplyDeleteI realize PBS would not be your org. of choice (which I do not understand as it is the most well rounded newscast) but anyway . . . don't pass up the deduction if you want it just because some of your readers illegitimately fear the tax man.