When you donate your vehicle, proceeds go right back to helping families in Northeast Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, and the San Gabriel Valley build or repair their own home. Running or not, every vehicle donation makes an impact and helps families gain independence. It’s fast and easy through our donation website and better yet – you may qualify for a tax deduction.
Vanessa and her daughter, Josefine, stand next to the family’s old sedan.
Purchased in 2007, this Honda Civic in Galaxy Grey metallic paint was my first new car. I was about halfway into my undergraduate degree and felt like the commutes for school and work were becoming too much for my old 1991 Toyota Wagon. It was a proud moment made possible thanks to my cosigner – my grandmother, Josefina.
Fast-forward to late 2012 and just over 100,000 miles later. My sister Vanessa was having problems with her car and kept having to borrow mine. Not that it bothered me, but I felt bad that my sister had to suffer – so I went back to the same dealer I purchased my Civic from and bought myself an Accord. That day, my grandmother accompanied me once more, only to find that I was now able to finance my own car – and she could not have been prouder.
As I waited for my new car, I called my sister and asked her to pick me up from the dealer. Little did she know, I was waiting for her with the keys to her “new” car. She was ecstatic and no doubt relieved that she would finally have reliable transportation.
Fast-forward to 2016, and about 70,000 miles later, my sister graduated with a Master in School Psychology. My old car had allowed her to do internships, work, and do grad school – all at the same time. Today, she’s a school psychologist, a wife, a mother of one (and another on the way), a homeowner, and I am a marketing manager in nonprofit – all thanks in part to the reliable transportation we had growing up.
Now in 2021, after a total of 182,918 miles, this very same Civic sits waiting to be taken on its latest journey to help build more homes for families through the Cars for Homes program. We are saddened, but we are happy that in a way, this vehicle will continue to serve – just as it has since 2007. We are delighted to know that more families will benefit from the over 14-year-old four–door sedan I so proudly purchased so many years ago thanks to my grandmother’s help.
In a way, it’s a testament to the mindset of giving that my grandmother, Josefina, instilled in us for so many years before her passing in 2014. Her memory lives on (in one shape or another) in the dining rooms that will one day allow families to celebrate birthdays and holidays, in the walls that will see parents tucking in their children night after night, in the study areas that will foster the innovators and leaders of the future, and in the homes that will help families thrive for generations to come.
We accept almost all vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, farm equipment and construction equipment. If you want to donate your car or truck, please go to our donation wizard. If you want to donate any other type of vehicle, please call us at 1-877-277-4344.
The State of California will require a Certificate of Title in order to donate your car. To complete your car donation, transfer your title by entering the name of the agency that processes our car donations, ADVANCED REMARKETING SERVICES in the buyer/purchaser field. Then, PRINT and SIGN your name in the seller/owner field EXACTLY as it appears at the top of the title.
Our partners at Advanced Remarketing Services return a higher percentage than any other vehicle processing entity. On a monthly basis, more than between 78% and 82% of the gross revenue generated from vehicle sales comes to Habitat for Humanity.
Your vehicle will be sold on behalf of Habitat through a national network of auctions and direct buyers. After the vehicle has been sold, you will receive an acknowledgment letter providing your vehicle sale information.
All the auctions and direct buyers used by Habitat are licensed, insured and bonded in the states where they operate. By signing the title directly to Advanced Remarketing Services, you are legally transferring ownership of your vehicle to Habitat for Humanity. When your title is received and your vehicle is picked up, you are no longer responsible for the vehicle.
About half of our cars are sold to licensed dealers at wholesale auctions and are reused for transportation. The other half are typically transported to auto salvage yards where all reusable car parts, batteries, tires and fluids are removed. Vehicles that can be recycled are crushed, shredded and recycled into steel.
Recycling cars keeps a huge amount of steel out of landfills – enough to build nearly 45,000 steel-framed homes every year. The energy saved each year is enough to power approximately 18 million homes!
Habitat receives funds for each donated vehicle, although a car sold at auction generally generates more revenue than one that is recycled. Every donation makes a difference and the families that partner with us are extremely grateful for your help.
They are Habitat’s authorized national agent that processes all of our vehicle donations. ARS handles title transfer, towing and reporting of all vehicle donations. Vehicle donations may be made online through CarDonationWizard.com and via their call center at 1-877-277-4344.
The vehicle does not need to be registered in your name, and the name on the title may often differ from the name on the registration documents. Please call 877-277-4344 for more information.
We’re happy to answer them! Contact Paul Van Ast by calling (626) 340-2280 or by emailing paulv@sgvhabitat.org