Do a 15-minute sweep before free pickup. Remove garage-door remotes, spare house keys, toll transponders, parking permits, disability placards, insurance cards, registration copies, glovebox papers, and all personal items. Check under seats, visors, seat-back pockets, the center console, trunk, and spare-tire well. Factory-reset the infotainment system so Bluetooth pairings, HomeLink, saved contacts, and your saved home address are gone. Leave the keys and the signed-over title with the car.
Your pre-pickup checklist
Remove security items
Start with anything that can open a door or identify your home. Pull the garage-door remote from the visor, console, or key ring. Remove spare house keys, mailbox keys, gate cards, storage-unit keys, and key fobs that do not belong to the donated vehicle. Check the ashtray, cup holders, door pockets, and any small tray near the steering wheel.
Pull billing items
Remove the toll transponder from the windshield, dash, glovebox, or license-plate mount. Then sign in to your toll account and remove the donated vehicle from that account, so future charges do not follow the car. Also pull paid parking stickers, employee parking permits, campus hangtags, apartment passes, and any prepaid fuel, car-wash, or service cards.
Clear the documents
Open the glovebox and take out your insurance card, registration copy, maintenance receipts, loan papers, warranty paperwork, inspection records, and any envelope with your name, address, phone number, or account number. Look through the owner’s manual pouch as well. Keep anything you may need for taxes, insurance cancellation, or your personal records.
Sweep cabin and trunk
Now do the physical sweep. Check under the front seats, between the seat and console, in seat-back pockets, door pockets, visors, map pockets, the center console, cup holders, cargo bins, and the trunk. Lift the trunk floor and look in the spare-tire well. Remove sunglasses, cash, tools, medication, electronics, garage receipts, clothing, and anything sentimental.
Wipe electronic data
Turn on the vehicle if needed and factory-reset the infotainment system. Delete Bluetooth pairings, saved contacts, call history, text-message access, navigation history, saved destinations, and the saved home address. Clear HomeLink or built-in garage-door buttons. If you used a connected-vehicle app, remove the vehicle from your app account after you are done.
Remove optional add-ons
You may remove personal add-ons such as dash cams, phone mounts, upgraded speakers you plan to keep, removable bike racks, seat covers, and child seats. Do not strip the vehicle or remove parts that make it different from how you described it. Leave the car intact, safe to tow, and in the same basic condition AutoLift was told to expect.
Leave required transfer items
Place the vehicle keys with the car, including the main key and any working spare you are donating with it. Leave the signed-over title with the vehicle as instructed for pickup. Do not leave unrelated house keys or personal keychains attached. If a title issue, lien, estate, or name mismatch is unresolved, get guidance before handing over the paperwork.
Title and paperwork notes
AutoLift needs the signed-over title with the vehicle so the donation can move forward. Sign only where the title instructions require, and avoid crossing out, guessing, or filling fields that do not apply to you. Vehicle transfer rules can depend on the title, lien status, owner status, and whether the paperwork is from another state; if anything is unclear, follow New Mexico DMV guidance before pickup. For license-plate questions, see License Plates After Donation. For release-of-liability questions, see Release of Liability After Donation.
Common questions
Should I leave my insurance card in the glovebox?
No. Remove your insurance card and any other insurance paperwork before the tow truck takes the vehicle. Those documents include your policy number and personal details. After the donation transfer is complete, contact your insurance company about removing the vehicle from your policy.
Do I really need to factory-reset the screen?
Yes, if the vehicle has an infotainment system. A reset helps remove paired phones, contacts, navigation history, garage-door programming, and saved addresses. If you cannot find the reset menu, manually delete Bluetooth devices, HomeLink buttons, saved destinations, and your home location.
Can I keep a dash cam or child seat?
Yes. Remove personal equipment you added, including dash cams, child seats, removable racks, phone mounts, and personal audio accessories. The key point is not to change the vehicle from how you described it. Do not remove required safety equipment or parts needed for towing.
What if I forget something in the car?
Contact AutoLift as soon as you notice. Recovery is easier if you act quickly, but you should not count on getting items back after the vehicle leaves your possession. The safest approach is to do the full sweep before the keys and signed title go with the car.
More donation prep guides
A clean sweep protects your privacy, stops billable items from traveling with the vehicle, and keeps the donation handoff simple. Keep the keys and signed-over title with the car, and remove everything else that is personal, valuable, or account-linked. Your AutoLift donation benefits Heritage for the Blind (EIN 58-2164446). Use this checklist once more before free pickup.