Minneapolis Car Donation Program
When you donate your car to The Lift Garage, you help keep even more cars safe and on the road in Minneapolis! Your car donation supports our mission of providing low-cost, quality car repair to low-income Minnesotans, so they don’t have to make impossible decisions like choosing between getting their car fixed or buying groceries for their families.
What kind of vehicle donations does The Lift Garage accept?
The Lift Garage accepts the following vehicle donations thought our partnership with Charitable Adult Rides & Services (CARS):
- Cars
- Trucks
- Motorcycles
- RVs
- Boats
Have a different kind of vehicle? Contact CARS to see if The Lift Garage can accept it!
How To Donate Your Car
Donating your car to The Lift Garage is quick, easy, and free with our CARS partnership. Through CARS, your vehicle is liquidated and the net cash proceeds are given to The Lift. (Sorry, your car cannot be donated to our customers directly!) Simply follow the steps below to donate your car today!
Complete the Form
Fill out the secure CARS vehicle donation form below or click here to register your vehicle. Where specified, choose The Lift Garage as your nonprofit of choice for your car donation.
Schedule a Free Pick-Up
A CARS vendor representative will contact you via call, text, or email based on the information you provided to schedule a pickup by a licensed tow company at no cost to you.
Note: A Certificate of Title will be required at the time of vehicle pickup.
Get Your Tax Receipt
The tow company will give you a pick-up receipt to use for tax purposes, which will include the donor’s name as well as the year, make, model, and condition of the donated vehicle. Once your vehicle is sold, you will receive a tax receipt within 30 days of the sale.
Car Donation Form
If the form isn’t displaying properly, please click here to start the form process.
Why support The Lift Garage with a car donation?
When you donate a car to The Lift Garage, it can help make 5, 10, or even 15 cars safe to drive for our low-income neighbors! As a Minneapolis-based nonprofit auto shop, we provide low-cost car repair for all Minnesotans who meet the 150% Federal Poverty Guideline. When faced with an unexpected car repair, The Lift customers simply cannot afford market-rate repairs. Customers at The Lift pay $25/hour for labor and receive the parts at cost at a 7.5% markup.
Car Donation FAQs
You will need a current and clear title. Any lien holder listed on the title must be cleared and/or released by the bank. This law varies by state.
There is no cost to the donor. All expenses are deducted from the gross sales price, and if the costs ever exceed the price, those costs are covered by our vehicle donation program provider, CARS (Charitable Adult Rides & Services).
When you are contacted by the towing/vendor company, you will most likely be given a time period to choose from for your pick-up window. These windows are based on your needs as a donor and what fits the realities of the traffic and volume in the Minneapolis area of the vehicle.
The entire sale process can take approximately four to 12 weeks. The net cash proceeds from your generous vehicle donation are sent to The Lift Garage within five business days upon the receipt of the sale proceeds from the auction or direct buy vendors.
Yes! We can accept most vehicles, running or not. However, it must be in one piece and towable, have an engine, and be tow truck accessible. To find out if we can accept your vehicle, please choose a nonprofit, complete the secure online vehicle donation form, or call CARS. The CARS Donor Support Team is available seven days a week during regular hours of operation.
No. Vehicle Donors do not pay for towing; it’s free! The vehicles are picked up at no charge to you. All expenses are deducted from the gross sales price, and if the costs ever exceed the price, those costs are covered by CARS (Charitable Adult Rides & Services), our vehicle donation program provider.
Please remove all personal belongings from the vehicle and have the title ready at the time of the pick-up (unless otherwise directed). The tow operator will pick up the title, keys, and vehicle. Please wait to mark the title; the towing vendor will assist you in signing the title. In most cases, the tow operator will also provide a donation receipt. Should you not receive a receipt, please give the CARS Donor Support Team a call and they will get one out to you.
Depending on the registered state of the vehicle, the next step for you after your vehicle is picked up is to notify the state about your recent vehicle donation and that you are no longer no longer in possession of the vehicle. Please only notify your state after the vehicle is picked up. Click here to learn the steps required for notifying Minnesota that you’ve donated your vehicle.
Only cancel your vehicle’s insurance AFTER you have notified the state that you’ve donated your vehicle. If your state requires notification, please be aware that you should never cancel your insurance prior to reporting to the state you are no longer in possession of the vehicle. This is a general rule for States/Motor Vehicle Departments that require notification be submitted or license plates returned.
The title transfer is different in each state. Our vehicle donation program and our vendors/auction yards will help you take the correct steps to ensure that your title paperwork is transferred correctly at the time of your vehicle pick-up.
Once your vehicle sells, the CARS Vehicle Donor Support Team will either email and/or mail a thank-you letter on behalf of the nonprofit receiving your donation, which serves as a copy of your tax receipt. Please note that if your vehicle sells for more than $500 and your tax identification number has been provided, an IRS Form 1098-C, ‘Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes’, will be mailed to you within 30 days of the sale stating the amount of gross proceeds received from your donation.
The entire sale process can take approximately four to 12 weeks. However, there are times when the sale process can exceed 12 weeks. This occurs if CARS is holding onto the vehicle for a better sales price, etc.
Yes; vehicle donations are tax-deductible. Individual tax situations vary. For specific tax-related questions, please consult your tax advisor or refer to IRS Publication 4303.
For more FAQs about the car donation process, please click here.
We are changing the world one car at a time – join us!
At The Lift, car repair is a vehicle for repairing lives! With your gifts, we are able to create more secure lives for low-income Minnesotans through low-cost car repair.