If you don't want to donate your car because the tax deduction just isn't worth it, consider trading your old car in for a new car instead. This can make a lot of sense if you'd only get a tax deduction worth $500 for donating your car, but you could get $2000 towards a new car if you traded it in.

You won't be helping anyone but yourself and the car dealership, but the extra $1500 might well make you feel generous enough to make a cash gift to the charity instead.

Here are seven tips for trading in a car:

1) Clean the car inside and out. Thoroughly. Consider a professional cleaning, and splurge on the deluxe cleaning package.

2) Know the value of your car - both the N.A.D.A or the blue book quote. See what similar cars are being offered for in your area. Go to the big car sales websites and find comparable cars near you. Print out their descriptions and what their owners are asking for the cars. Do the same with the newspaper. Bring this documentation with you to the car dealership. If you really want to be thorough, call a few of the people who are selling or have recently sold cars like yours and see what they got for their vehicle.

3) Shop around. Different car dealerships will offer you different trade in values for your old used car. This could be a sticking point if there's only one dealership in town that has a car you want. Even if that is the case, check out other dealerships and see what they'll give you for your car. This information could be a great negotiating tool when you go back to the saleman who has your dream car all polished up and waiting in his lot. If you're not going to donate your car, you should at least get your money's worth for it.

4) Be savvy. If you think it will help you stay objective while your talking to the car dealership people, bring your most street-smart friend. Don't fall for this classic car dealer line: "We have a buyer for your car". This is almost as bad as offering free undercoating. Don't buy it.

5) Don't let the car dealership overestimate the repairs that are needed on your car. You might want to spend $100 or so to have a good mechanic check your car and see what, if anything, needs to be fixed, and how much it would cost. Don't get left making a questimate on a repair in the middle of your negotiations. And if you are going to make any improvements before the trade-in, make visible ones. Visible repairs will get you more money for your trade-in than hard-to-see ones.

6) Know the code. Car dealers write numbers in code that they don't want you to know. That way they can show you one set of information, and easily see their profits in the same glance. Look for the code for figures like their profit on your trade-in, the cost for repairs, and your ACV. AVC is the "actual cash value" of your car.

Here's how to crack the code. Numbers are replaced with the first ten letters of the alphabet. A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4... all the way up to J=0. So if you see 'BJJJ' written on the appraisal sheet, you're getting a $2,000 actual cash value for your car.
Dealer frequently use this shorthand code in plain view - once you know how to spot it you'll have a major advantage.

7) Trade in the car before the odometer rolls over to the next 10,000 increment. 139,000 is better than 140,000.