Normally you might sell it to your dealer in part-exchange for the new one, or you might try to sell it yourself through local advertisements – something that costs time and money, not to mention the added cost of insuring two cars at once.

But have you ever considered car donations? ie. donating your used car to charity? Not only do you have less hassle getting rid of the car itself, but you could receive a nice tax receipt into the bargain.

A website for car-owners in the United States called Donate Car can help you do just that.

The idea is quite simple: you fill out a form on their homepage with your personal details and details of the car that is to be donated. If the car is no longer in a fit state to be driven, then they will arrange for it to be towed away. You can even specify a charity that you would like a portion of the proceeds to be given to. If you don’t then the site has a long list of charities that they support, so you can be sure that the money will be going to a good cause.

They also support projects such as “Donkey Ollie” – a series of animated films aimed a young children and available on DVD about a Donkey that lived in biblical times. The films use modern animation and songs to put across a Christian message. Thanks to the car donations the DVDs can be distributed free of charge.

Other projects include the anti-drug documentaries “Dope The Movie” and rehabilitation homes for teenagers.

So if you live in the U.S., consider helping the environment and people in need at the same time by switching to bio-ethanol and donating your old car?

Oh, and the scheme doesn’t just take cars – you can donate a house or property as well!