Your car’s a wreck and you’re ready to give it up, but… you don’t want to part with the wheels.
We get it, it happens.
For whatever reason, some people prefer to keep the tires of a vehicle even if they don’t want to keep the rest of it.
It might be because the wheels are expensive, brand new, resaleable, or they’ve just got sentimental value for you.
Can you donate a car without tires?
If you want to donate the rest of the car, though, make sure the charity in question is okay with it.
At Kars4Kids, we need to approve the cars first, and they usually need to have at least two wheels.
Other organizations may be different; make sure to do your research.
If you do decide to keep your wheels, make sure it’s worth your while to do so.
- You’ll need to remove the tires from the car and store them (vertically, if you can, in airtight plastic bags) in a cool, dry, ventilated place.
- Keeping them in the open air isn’t a great idea, as the sun doesn’t do the rubber any favors.
Donating a car without wheels: Is it Worth it?
The first thing is to know the prices:
If you’d like to sell your tires, you’ll need to:
- Make sure that they’re in good enough shape for resale.
- Check for holes and look at the treads (if they’re an eighth of an inch or more, you’re good to go). The more tread, the higher the price you can ask.
- Take pictures of your wheels for reference.
- There are several places you can try to sell them – Craigslist, a local dealer, eBay, or anywhere else you can think of.
Selling or keeping the wheels may be hard and expensive, and the maintenance cost is usually not worth it in comparison to just donating the car. For this reason, donating the car with all 4 wheels is usually a better decision.