Help my retired mother replace her stolen car.

Hello and thank you for checking out this link.

My name is Johan Andersen. My Mother, who is retired and on a fixed income, has had her car stolen.

On the morning of Sunday, September 15'th 2024, my apartment's secured garage was broken into. After smashing the window of one of my neighbor's cars, the intruder popped the ignition switch out of my mother's car and drove away with it. The car has yet to resurface, though it would be fairly easy to spot should it turn up. My Mom, my Sister, and I spent an afternoon together splatter-painting it with home touch-up paint to give it a fun jawbreaker-like appearance. It got amused comments fairly frequently at stop-lights and parking lots. Even if it were to turn up, though, the damage done to the vehicle so far would likely cost nearly as much as we paid for the vehicle in the first place.

The car was a 2001 Toyota Corolla we had purchased used with a small loan from a Credit Union, last October. It was an older car with some minor mechanical issues, but was otherwise reliable enough for going around town. The plan was to have it entirely paid off before 2025, so that it balanced out on the household finances with me no longer providing my own contribution to the budget as I am in the process of moving out. My mom had been counting on this car to last until she could no longer drive, however many years down the road that might be.

She currently has access to a running vehicle, but it has many expensive mechanical issues and is likely to not last the winter at this rate. It's good enough to get her to church, the store, and the food pantry she volunteers at, but she cannot confidently take it on the highway which limits what parts of town she can reliably travel to.

Breakdown of contributions:

As of right now, we still carry a balance of approximately $700 on a small unsecured loan. I'd like to at least be able to get that paid off right away, since we no longer have the vehicle that loan paid for. The loan itself does not have any early closure fees to be concerned about. I would also like to raise enough money to purchase a replacement vehicle that she could confidently take on trips out of town. Local used car prices seem to have some reliable used vehicles from a dealership ranging from $6000-$8000. Even paying off the loan early would be a huge help and give us a great head start in saving for a new car.

As such, I'm looking for around $8,000 to start. This is to cover the remainder of the $700 loan, a reliable enough replacement vehicle, and any processing fees and registration needed. Money raised beyond what is spent replacing her vehicle and paying off the loan may go to help reinforce savings for emergencies in the future or potentially cover unexpected moving expenses on my end.

Again, thank you so much for clicking through to hear out our story. We deeply appreciate any support, monetary or otherwise.

UPDATE: Sep 20, 2024:

We've raised enough to pay the loan!* Massive thank-you to a very old friend who would like to remain anonymous. This alone will be a huge help and he has my deepest thanks.

A member of my mother's church has given us an old truck! Another huge thank-you! We are currently deciding how to best use this truck, as it is quite old and has some significant mechanical problems. The previous owner expressed he'd be fine should we use it as a trade-in toward a vehicle more suitable for my mother's needs. The truck is valued around $800, and we spent ~$250 in fees and registration to legally take possession of it today. Should we decide to keep it, it would need significant repair work so we will be keeping the fundraiser going for now.

*unfortunately, the unexpectedly large fees for transferring the truck means we don't have quite enough to pay it off now from donations alone, but it's still enough to ensure this next payment we make is the last.

A public thanks, once again, for everyone who has supported this fundraiser! It truly means so much.