Giving away cars to people with no money??

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I have given away quit a few old cars to people in need. They were good old ones that I had gotten in the best shape I could before giving them away. They could have lasted for years. Most were with miles below 160,000 and all had no major problems.

The very disappointing part was that in almost all cases they only lasted the people a matter of months because they ran them out of oil because of not checking it or totaled them. I think the record was one lasting two years. When I gave then away I would show them how to check the oil etc. and tell them how important it is to do so.


Your thoughts?
 
I don't wish to sound harsh but people tend to be in their life situation for a reason. It's the same reason a lottery winner is broke in a few years.
 
Stop worrying about what happened to these cars if you really intended to give them away. Either give and forget, or don't give at all. It's the same when people talk about giving money to beggars on the streets -- why would you care what happens to that money.

These things should not be subjects for moral superiority exercises.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish.


hah,, teach a man to fish and he'll never work again
smile.gif
 
The two things (having no money, and not taking care of what you have) are certainly correlated.

Perhaps they're even causal....
 
if you put in m1 ap, then it should've at least made it a year instead of months. Did you get an uoa on the oil?
 
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Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Stop worrying about what happened to these cars if you really intended to give them away. Either give and forget, or don't give at all. It's the same when people talk about giving money to beggars on the streets -- why would you care what happens to that money.

These things should not be subjects for moral superiority exercises.


Exactly, once its gone its gone there is nothing more to think about,
 
When I had my own shop, I had many customers that had very little money, and old cars not worth a lot of money. I found that they were very reluctant to do preventative maintenance as they said the cars weren't worth it. I tried to tell them that the minor repairs/services would extend the life of the cars greatly, but they just couldn't see spending money on an old car to keep it going. But they sure cried when the car became unusable and they needed another one.
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
Give a man a fish vs teach a man to fish.


Did someone around here use to say “Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”?
 
Originally Posted By: raytseng
if you put in m1 ap, then it should've at least made it a year instead of months. Did you get an uoa on the oil?


Yeah, and he should have made sure it had new tires and brakes, and...
 
dont forget fuel additives and making sure they use proper maintenance doses after shock doses.
 
It is very kind/noble what you have done however the two things that come to mind are: 1. if someone gets something for free they don't value it as much and 2. once you have given it don't think about it anymore, its the new owners decision. Given what you have seen happen to the cars, you may be better off donating proceeds from the sale of the car to a organization that does job training / transportation for people in need.

I personally only donate to animal charities, since I am a huge animal lover as well as
God bless you for "being the change you wish to see in the world"
 
Certain people follow certain patterns and never change and will run the vehicle into ground. They should pay for them.

I think giving a car away to certain people who fell into really hard times is valid. It happens like losing a partner for whatever reason, family health issues related financial burden, job loss etc.

Certain people equate free with junk and treat it as such. It is better to charge people a paltry amount and they likely will be more apt to take care of it.
 
Once you give the car away, you no longer have any interest in the vehicle. You did your good deed. What they do with it after that is on them.
If you are going to worry about what they do with what you give them, then you will be in for a lot of grief. I agree it is frustrating when you try to help someone out and they take advantage of it (which is what they do if they don't care for what you gave them), but it does not help you any to waste any thought over it.

I have been on the receiving end of getting vehicles given to me, but I got vehicles not working and made them work, and used them for years (my primary vehicle was given to me with a blown engine, but 4 years later I am still driving it, and it is in better shape than when I got it).

If you can't give it away and forget about it, then maybe you should not be giving them away.
Another option is to donate it to charity. That way it is given away to somebody in need, and you don't know who gets it and what happens to it.
 
In today's litigious society, my concern about giving away a vehicle is they come back to sue you because it breaks, they have an accident, etc.

I'm not going to go as far as suggest that all are poor because of poor choices, because some are just born into impossible circumstances and have no real help out.

But, I'm not naive enough to believe that the set of those who take no personal responsibility is the null set either.

It's not a risk I'm willing to take.
 
I have been given free cars back in the days when I spent all my money like a drunken sailor. I appreciated all of them.

But I am willing to bet there are many poor folks who would not be willing to drive around in the type of old jalopies that would be given away for free, even if in good shape and repair for their age.
 
There are people who are educated, have jobs and life advantages who will trash property of any kind.

Throw in any of the above mentioned factors ( a. got it for free, b. possibly stupid or resentful, c. horribly ignorant ) and it only gets worse.

You're allowed to be dismayed over your charitable efforts being squandered but as suggested above, find another way or stop doing it.

Want to hear a good one? You do?
I found a brand new, premium vacuum cleaner in the trash in front of a house which was being modified and I KNEW there was nothing wrong with it.
I was right. A chunk of drywall was all that was wrong. Wealthy people just trashed it.
I gave it to my friend's son who was just starting out. He loved it. His father saw it and loved it.

The lad simply left it in an apartment when he moved. I was a bit rattled and angry but knew I had to ignore it.
 
if you do give to charity, and you care about it, be sure to look up the charity rating and how much goes to programs rather vs how much goes to cushy salaries and charity ads themselves.

Also dont think they actually use your car unless they are requesting your car (e.g. a junior college automotive trade school)
The majority of charities that advertise they take vehicles just send it to auction or scrap and use the proceeds into their general fund.
 
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