Donated My Cars To Charity

crobinso

crobinso

The Grand Marquis Man
I just donated the first new car I'd ever owned to charity after owning it for almost 17 years. In October, I donated a 1987 Grand Marquis. Last Thursday, I donated my 1988 (my first new car). My wife took pics, which I am shring with you.

It felt bittersweet parting with this car. I drove it and drove it and drove it (208,000 miles worth). They weren't trouble-free miles, but they were memorable just the same.

If you'll look closely, you may be able to notice clearcoat failure. The paint was faded down to the primer in places, too. I had planned to practice buffing it with my new Cyclo, but time ran out (I had to donate the cars before 2005, when the tax laws change).

:notpossib This icon describes my feeling for my old boy. But notice that the car passing it is my NEW, red 2004 Grand Marquis. (Three Grand Marquises - now y'all know why I call myself "The Grand Marquis Man"!)

Here are the pics: (click here)
 
I am suprised that they took a car that old.

I have donated a number of cars, but I had a problem with my last one because it was older than 15 years. I wound up donateing it to my local fire dept. so that they could practice car fires with it.

May I ask who they charity was, I'm sure it was a worthy cause.

Happy Holidays,
"J"
 
yea, my mom donated her 1989 toyota cresedia with 150k miles on it. i think it had some air conditioning trouble, but they took it anyway, and quoted it very high and gave us a huge tax rebate. it felt good that our car was going towards a better cause, and we avioided the hassle of trying to sell it.
 
It's always sad to see a car go, even though it is "just a car". My dad donated his 1987 Ford Aerostar with 220k miles on it in the beginning of the year as well and they quoted it pretty high. The heater core had been leaking and it got to the point where you couldn't drive it very far, but they took it in.
 
jaybs95 said:
I am suprised that they took a car that old.

I have donated a number of cars, but I had a problem with my last one because it was older than 15 years. I wound up donateing it to my local fire dept. so that they could practice car fires with it.

May I ask who they charity was, I'm sure it was a worthy cause.

Happy Holidays,
"J"
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Sure, you can ASK. :) Seriously, United Charities Of Maryland (located in Waldorf, MD) takes cars of any age, in any condition. They fix them up and sell them right on their lot. Some organizations, such as The Salvation Army, do have restrictions such as you mention.

Charles
 
zesty-man said:
yea, my mom donated her 1989 toyota cresedia with 150k miles on it. i think it had some air conditioning trouble, but they took it anyway, and quoted it very high and gave us a huge tax rebate. it felt good that our car was going towards a better cause, and we avioided the hassle of trying to sell it.
Click to expand...

Hey Zesty! What happened to your other avatar? The BMW logo is cool, but I miss the bouncy-bouncy girl. BRING HER BACK! BRING HER BACK! [Hey!] BRING HER BACK! [Hey!] BRING HER BACK! [Hey!]

So that I can get distracted when reading your posts. :naughty

Charles
 
tkr128 said:
It's always sad to see a car go, even though it is "just a car". My dad donated his 1987 Ford Aerostar with 220k miles on it in the beginning of the year as well and they quoted it pretty high. The heater core had been leaking and it got to the point where you couldn't drive it very far, but they took it in.
Click to expand...

Wow, if that's all that was wrong with it, the charity must have relished it, because it didn't cost them that much to repair it. They probably got a pretty penny for the sale...

Charles
 
zainoshine said:
crobinso,

Just out of curioustiy, what made you choose Grand Marquis?
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Sorry for the late, late response!

"Once upon a time", as they say, there was the Mercury Marquis. It was a big old, Ford-looking boat of a car. In a TV commerical, a Cartier diamond cutter splits a diamond perfectly while (supposedly) riding in a Marquis. He exclaims, "Perfect!" The way he says "perfect" (PAIR-fect) is memorable. I always said that I'd like to own such a smooth-riding car someday.

Then the Marquis was shrunk down to a Fairmont-sized car. Boo, hiss! But the same year, the GRAND Marquis was born. They still looked too much like Fords, to me. But in 1988, the Marquis, excuse me, GRAND Marquis got a fresh, new look that I fell in love with. I said, "I've GOT to have that car!"

Just to make sure I wasn't buy for pure lust's sake, I compared the Grand Marquis to all of the available full-sized cars of the era. The Cadillac Brougham was certainly a more powerful car, and it had more leg room. But the ride was no better than my old 1976 Chevy station wagon. It wasn't a BAD ride, but it wasn't as smooth as the Grand Marquis.

I even compared the Grand Marquis with its big brother, the Lincoln Town Car. The Town Car had a few more gadgets, but the ride was no different than the Grand Marquis. (It was verrrry smooth.) Since the Town Car cost $5,000 more than the Grand Marquis, I bought the Mercury.

I put 208,000 miles on it before buying my new 2004 Grand Marquis in October 2004. I could have bought a 2005, but the newer car was cosmetically the same and cost $4,500 more. The Town Car, the ultimate ride for large-assed people such as myself, cost $7,000 - $12,000 more. So again, I bought the Mercury.

I do not like SUVs, or I might have bought an Expedition. The Navigator is too expensive, and Mercury doesn't have a similar SUV. The SUV would certainly be roomier, and they are quite smooth for such heavy trucks.

Charles
 
Well you certainly do keep it looking good. Hope you get many good years of service out of this one, as you did the others.
 
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