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A: We accept most vehicles including but not limited to cars, trucks, vans, SUVs, motorcycles, trailers, RVs, and boats. There are a few conditions that must be met in order for your vehicle to qualify:
- Donation must be made by the registered owner, or their legal representative.
- Vehicle must be registered in Canada.
- Vehicle must be in 'complete' state with no major parts missing.
- We do accept vehicles with body damage.
- Special conditions may apply to motorcycles, boats, trailers, and RVs
- We cannot accept vehicles with insurance claims against them.
- We cannot accept vehicles with liens or encumbrances on them.
A: To donate your vehicle, follow the steps below:
- From the home page, select the tab 'Donate Now'. Here you will be asked to answer a few simple questions to qualify your vehicle.
- Fill out the donation form with your vehicle information, contact information, and select the charity you wish to donate to.
- Review the details you have entered, agree to the terms and conditions, and submit your vehicle for donation.
- Further instructions will be provided for either drop off or towing.
- Check your email for our confirmation email. If you do not see the confirmation message immediately, please check your junk mail folder.
A: There are many factors that go into determining this amount. For more detailed information, please click on this link: more info.
A: Yes, we accept non-running vehicles! Vehicles simply need to have all major parts intact.
A: Legal proof of ownership is required. Current or expired registration, a Bill of Sale, or a ‘proof of last vehicle registration’ letter from your local registry is acceptable.
A: If your vehicle is being recycled, you no longer require insurance on the vehicle once it has been picked up by our towing agent. If your vehicle is going to auction, we suggest that you keep insurance on your vehicle until the vehicle has sold. We will notify you by email when your vehicle has been sold.
A: You will be contacted by our towing agent for free towing within 48 hours. At that time, you can arrange the most convenient time for pick-up of your vehicle.
A: The license plates belong to the registered owner of the vehicle. If plates are left on the vehicle at the time of donation, the agent will store or destroy them. Recyclers typically crush, shred, or mar the plate to ensure that it cannot be used by a non-registered owner.
In some provinces a small rebate is available when license plates are returned to the provincial registries. If you wish to keep your plates, simply remove them at the time of pick up, or request that our tow support agents do that for you. They will be happy to help!
Please note: vehicles left un-plated on city streets will likely be impounded by your city parking authority. Although this rarely occurs, if your vehicle is left un-plated on the street prior to our towing agents arriving, the city may impound the vehicle. Donate a Car Canada cannot be held responsible for those impound fees.
A: We service most major cities and surrounding towns* across Canada! We are continually adding new locations. If we do not currently service your area, we will attempt to find an agent to pick-up your vehicle. Please complete an online submission form in order for us to do this.
*Please note: If you do not see your town or city listed on our donation form, choose the nearest location to you. You will be able to note your pick-up address further on in the donation form. We will promptly email you once the form is completed to confirm our ability to serve your area.
A: You do not have to pay for your vehicle to be towed. If the vehicle is recycled, the towing cost is included. If your vehicle is sent to the auction, the towing cost is deducted from the sale price of your vehicle.
A: Dropping off your vehicle at our selling agent is often beneficial for the charity. It can eliminate transport costs being deducted from your donation. We have various drop off locations based on whether we can auction or recycle your donated vehicle. We can provide you drop off locations and instructions once your online form is completed.
A: Yes! You can donate your vehicle to ANY registered Canadian charity. When you fill in your donation form, there is a prompt that states “If you would like to donate to a charity that is not on our list, Click Here.” This will allow you to type in the name and information of your charity of choice.
A: Yes, you will receive a tax deductible receipt for your donation. Guaranteed!
A: You will receive your tax receipt within 1 week of your chosen charity receiving your gift. This happens after the sale of your vehicle and our accounting process are both complete. We will send you an email confirming your donation has been sent to the charity. This is tended through our partnership with CanadaHelps.
A: As of 1980, all vehicle serial numbers are 17 digits long. If you have a vehicle manufactured prior to 1980, or if you are donating a boat, motorcycle, trailer, or another type of vehicle that does not meet this requirement, please add zeros to the end of your serial number to total 17 digits.
A: We do accept boats for donation via our resale process, though special conditions may apply for certain types. If any special conditions apply for your boat, we will address them by email once your donation form* is completed.
All boats must be donated with a trailer.
*Please note: Our donation form is set up to cover a large range of vehicle types. We understand that boats and trailers do not have standard serial/VIN numbers. When filling out this field on our donation form, please add zeros to the end of your serial number to total 17 digits.
A: Yes, we can absolutely assist you in donating their estate vehicle. Many of our Donors have questions specific to this, so we’ve created a helpful guide to answer them in more detail. This guide can be found by clicking here.
A: Donate a Car Canada is a business, serving Canadian donors and their chosen charities since 2005. Many charities are unable to accommodate this type of fundraising due to the labor intensive administrative process associated with Gifts in Kind donations. Donate a Car Canada does the work so that your charity does not need to spend valuable man hours administrating the many details involved in processing a car for donation.
A: While we do accept vehicles in virtually any condition, our agents require that they have all four tires for ease of transport. The tires do not need to be in good condition and may even be spares.
A: You will need to sign your vehicle registration/ownership document. Then, you will provide it to the tow agent when they arrive to pick up your vehicle.
In British Columbia, an ICBC Transfer Tax form will also need to be completed and provided to our tow agent.
In Quebec, our tow agent will provide you with the ATAC (Attestation de transaction avec un commercant) form that is needed in order to cancel your registration and insurance.
A: We would love to partner with your charity! We can help to raise funds for any registered charity within Canada. You can reach out to us through our Fundraising page by clicking here. We will be happy to connect with you to get your charity set up to receive vehicle donations going forward!
‘Not finding the FAQ information you are looking for? Perhaps you have a unique estate vehicle donation, or your provincial regulations are a bit confusing? No problem! Your questions are important to us. However unique they may be, you are just a step away from clarity and direction.
If you wish to get things rolling right away with your own vehicle donation, connect with us via our online submission form. Simply click the green “Donate My Car” button above to get started!
We also offer live phone support! If you prefer to connect with us in person, please call our toll free line at 1-877-250-4904, Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00 pm (MST). There, our Donor Support is at the ready to answer any further questions you may have. They can also take your donation over the phone in just a few minutes.
If you prefer to connect with us by email, please click the green button below. From there, our Donor Support team will return your emails from 8:00am – 5:00pm (MST) each day of the week. That’s right! We even provide email support through the weekend.
If you would like the added reassurance of donor reviews, check us out on our social media. Thank you for considering this way of donating to the charity you care about!
