Wheels of Fortune
John Perkins needed a major overhaul, and he’s getting one by helping the Los Angeles Mission fix up and sell donated clunkers.
Tired of being strung out on drugs, the 35-year-old found sanctuary and job skills at the Los Angeles Mission. The shelter is one of a growing number of charities--including Volunteers of America, Ventura Union Rescue Mission and the Salvation Army--with auto sales programs.
“I’ve had lots of hands-on training, from tune-ups to brakes to transmissions to water pumps,” Perkins said.
Last year, the mission’s auto sales earned about $1.5 million, which covered overhead costs and helped fund food and shelter programs. Since it started in 1995, the project has trained 40 people and sold about 4,000 cars.
An increasing number of charities in the area have taken notice and are supplementing the usual cash donations with similar business ventures. Based on the success of its auto program, the Los Angeles Mission recently expanded into sales of donated computers, clothing and property.
“Giving is seasonal,” said Dean Claiborne, a car aficionado who launched the mission’s auto program and serves as the charity’s business manager. “There’s Christmastime, and then the rest of the year you starve. The idea behind these business developments is to bring in another source of income that will help fund the mission.”
Every day, four tow trucks fan out across the Southland picking up cars, about 250 donations a month. Pickups include everything from a Studebaker to a Buick to a Mercedes limousine. The mission takes care of the paperwork, and donors get a tax write-off equal to the blue book value of the car.
About a quarter of the vehicles can’t be fixed and are hauled off to salvage yards, but the scrap metal fee is enough to cover towing costs. And if a customer ends up with a lemon, the mission will help find a better car, officials said.
“It was the best use for the car,” said Mike Flanigan, 42, a Laguna Niguel resident who donated his 1984 Pontiac Firebird after the engine conked out. “We could have sold it, but we wanted to give it to the mission. It helped people out by giving them something to work on.”
The auto donation program helps the mission fulfill its goal to provide job training. After recovering from an addiction, people with few skills have difficulty finding employment, said John Winters, the mission’s senior vice president of business development and vocational learning.
“They have the spiritual foundation, but we need to help them build the rest of the house,” Winters said.
Work Start participants receive free housing and board while working in maintenance, security, food preparation, car or computer repair for up to six months. Trainees initially receive minimum wage but are eligible for raises.
Claiborne hopes to increase the number of auto repair trainees from five to 25. More staffers could fix more cars and tackle more extensive projects.
Hired mechanics, volunteers, and trainees resuscitate transmissions, replace missing parts and smooth dents. A week or two of work may double a vehicle’s value.
“They’ve been told all their lives they can’t do anything, but it just takes a little encouragement,” said volunteer Lee Percy, 65, who teaches auto body and equipment repair. “They amaze me.”
Prospective buyers stroll through the mission’s Boyle Heights sales lot crammed with cars, mobile homes, boats, hubcaps and tires. The cavernous underground garage holds even more cars, a fleet of motorcycles and the repair shop. Prices range from $100 to $10,000, with the average vehicle selling for about $1,500.
An Inglewood mother purchased a Ford Festiva in November with the help of her pastor.
“I love my car. It was the first good one after a lot of bad ones,” said Angela Rousseau, 33.
