Sell or trade
+$300
Whatever anyone else put in writing, we go over it.
Bring us any written offer that came from someone who actually looked at the car. We inspect it here, and you leave with three hundred dollars more. No purchase required, ever.
Do the math on yours
- Their number
- $9,700
- What we add
- +$300
- What you leave with
- $10,000
Any written offer based on a physical inspection of your vehicle — not an instant online estimate. We inspect the vehicle here and go $300 over it. You are not required to buy anything. Questions: (518) 399-8393.
Fogg's Automotive buys cars outright in Schenectady, NY, whether or not you buy one from us. Bring any written offer that was based on a physical inspection and we will pay $300 over it. If you are trading toward a purchase there is a $1,000 minimum allowance, and New York's uncapped trade-in sales tax credit usually makes the trade worth more than an equivalent cash offer.
A trade is worth more than it looks
New York taxes you on the difference, not the sticker. Most people never count that money — so here it is.
Run your numbers
New York charges sales tax on the difference between the car you're buying and what your trade is worth — and the credit isn't capped.
What the trade is really worth
$10,800
$10,000 allowance + $800 you don't pay in sales tax
- Sales tax without a trade
- $2,000
- Sales tax with your trade
- $1,200
- You keep
- $800
Based on the 8% combined New York State and Schenectady County sales tax rate. An estimate for comparison, not a tax document — your registered address sets the rate that actually applies.
Two ways to do this, and we'll tell you which is better
Sell it outright
Take the check and walk
You are not buying a car, you just want the vehicle gone at a fair number. We inspect it, write you an offer, and pay you. If you already have a written offer from someone else, we go $300 over it.
- No purchase required, ever
- We handle an outstanding loan payoff
- Real inspection, firm number
Trade it in
Usually the bigger number
If you are buying anyway, the trade-in sales tax credit is money an outright buyer simply cannot offer you. At the 8% Schenectady County rate a $10,000 trade takes $800 off your tax bill — on top of the allowance itself.
- $1,000 minimum trade allowance
- New York's credit is not capped
- One appointment, one signature
What actually happens
01
Tell us about the car
Year, mileage, trim and condition. Takes a couple of minutes online, or call and we will do it with you.
02
We inspect it in person
A real appraisal by our own technicians, in our own shop. No algorithmic number that gets revised down when you arrive.
03
You get a firm number
Good as written. If you brought a competing written offer, we go $300 over it.
04
Take the check or the keys
Sell outright and leave with payment, or roll it into your next vehicle and take the sales tax credit with it.
The four options
Where you should actually sell it
Two of these are us and two are not, and there is a row below where somebody else wins. We would rather you saw the whole table than found out later.
| Route | What you get | NY tax credit | How long | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade it to usWe handle the payoff, title and DMV paperwork | $300 over any written offer, $1,000 minimum allowance | Yes — uncapped | One appointment | Only worth the tax credit if you are buying a vehicle too |
| Sell it to us outrightWe handle the payoff, title and DMV paperwork | $300 over any written offer | No — you are not buying | One appointment | A cheque, not a credit toward a car |
| CarMax or CarvanaLow effort, but the figure is provisional | Competitive once they have inspected it — the instant quote is not the final number | No, unless you buy from them | Days | An instant online offer is written before anyone has seen the car, and it is revised at inspection |
| Private partyListing, strangers, test drives, payment fraud, lien release, DMV | Usually the highest gross number | No | Weeks, sometimes months | The gross number has to beat everyone else's by enough to pay for all of that |
The short version: if you are not buying a car, a private sale usually grosses the most money and costs you the most time and risk. If you are buying a car, the trade almost always wins once New York's tax credit is counted — which is why we will run both numbers for you rather than steering you at the one that suits us.
If you owe more than it's worth
It is called negative equity, it is extremely common on a loan that is only a year or two old, and it is not a reason to stay in a car you no longer want. It is a reason to go in with the real number.
Get your appraisal- 01
Get the payoff, not the estimate
Call your lender and ask for the ten-day payoff figure. The balance shown in an app is usually stale and excludes accrued interest, and the gap is the part that surprises people at signing.
- 02
The shortfall gets financed, not forgiven
Whatever you still owe above the appraised value is added to the next loan. Nobody makes it disappear, and anyone who tells you they will is hiding it in the price.
- 03
Lenders cap how far it can stretch
Rolling a shortfall in raises the loan-to-value ratio, and every lender has a ceiling on it. A large shortfall may need cash down, or a less expensive vehicle, to make the approval work at all.
- 04
The tax credit works in your favour here
New York's trade credit is calculated on the allowance, not on your equity — so even an upside-down trade still removes its full appraised value from the taxable price. It is the one part of negative equity that helps. Run the numbers above.
What Our Customers Say About Selling Their Cars
See why car owners in Schenectady choose Fogg's Automotive for selling or trading their vehicles. From competitive offers to a hassle-free process, our customers love the ease and transparency we provide. Read their stories and experiences below.
4.3 Stars (2000 reviews)
“Drives really nice and Shelby was very nice as well.”
I am happy with the vehicle we got. Drives really nice and Shelby was very nice as well. She did everything she could do to help us get into a vehicle. And she was very sweet and patient to get things done for us. I couldn't be happier. Thanks again.
“Thanks to Scott Brown who has been taken care of our cars for many years never a problem I mean our high end cars including a Maserati.”
Most honest service shop in the northeast. Very professional, Experienced and quick. They dont oversell at all. Thanks to Scott Brown who has been taken care of our cars for many years never a problem I mean our high end cars including a Maserati. Thank you Scott you are great By the way Mr Foggs knows how good you are he told me.
Al Itani
“Frogg's is a great Automotive place they help me so much to buy a vehicle that is reliable to take my sister to Doctor appointment and gave me a good…”
Frogg's is a great Automotive place they help me so much to buy a vehicle that is reliable to take my sister to Doctor appointment and gave me a good trade in payment very friendly and very professional feeling like family.
“Frank and Denise were very attentive, kind, and understanding while dealing with our unique set of circumstances.”
I would recommend this place. Everyone is clearly out to try their best for whomever walks through their doors, and I appreciated that and the straightforward honesty. Also, Jerry was a very polite texting AI bot; a little creepy that he asked for my zodiac sign and the bars I freqent, but he might have been glitching at the time.
“I went to buy a car i need it i worked with Shelby and the experience with her was amazing.”
she was very professional detailed and she give more than 100%. The rest of the staff was amazing too and very helpful if you need a car i recommend to work with this amazing team.
Selling questions, answered
We'll beat any written offer by $300, provided it came from someone who physically inspected the vehicle — another dealer, a buying center, anyone who actually put hands on the car. Bring it with you, we'll appraise the vehicle here and go $300 over. If you're trading toward a purchase, there's a $1,000 minimum allowance.
Once it has been through their in-person inspection, yes — that's a physically-inspected written offer and we'll go $300 over it. An instant online quote is a different thing: it's generated from what you typed into a form, before anyone has seen the car, and it's routinely revised at drop-off. Bring us the estimate anyway. We'll appraise the vehicle properly and tell you what it's actually worth, which is the number that matters.
No. We buy vehicles outright whether or not you're buying from us, and we'll write you a check. Trading toward a purchase is usually worth more once New York's sales tax credit is counted, but it's your call.
Yes, and it isn't capped. New York charges sales tax on the difference between the price of the vehicle you're buying and your trade-in allowance. In Schenectady County the combined rate is 8%, so a $10,000 trade-in removes $800 of sales tax from the deal — real money that a private-party or outright cash sale doesn't give you.
Outright sale gives you cash and total flexibility. A trade-in usually nets more if you're buying anyway, because of the New York sales tax credit — an $800 tax saving on a $10,000 trade means an outright buyer would need to offer $800 more to match it. The calculator on this page does the comparison with your numbers.
The vehicle, its title (or your lender's payoff information if there's a loan on it), valid registration, your driver's license, and both keys if you have them. If you're claiming the $300-over offer, bring the written offer.
That's normal and it isn't a problem. We deal with the payoff directly. If the vehicle is worth more than you owe, the difference goes to you or toward your next vehicle; if it's worth less, the shortfall can often be rolled into financing.
We will. Plenty of dealers only appraise a vehicle as part of a purchase; we buy outright and write you a cheque, and the $300-over-any-written-offer promise applies either way. It is worth knowing the trade route usually nets more if you are buying anyway, purely because of New York's sales tax credit — but that is your call, not a condition.
Usually, yes. If you owe more than the vehicle is worth, the shortfall is added to the amount you finance on the next one. Lenders cap how far they will let the loan-to-value stretch, so a large shortfall may need some cash down or a less expensive vehicle to make the approval work. Bring your payoff figure — the lender's number, not the app's estimate — and we can tell you where you stand in about ten minutes.
Yes. We have 25 lifts and our own technicians, so a car that needs reconditioning is a normal purchase for us rather than a problem — that is a large part of how we stock the lot. Do not spend money fixing something before you bring it in; get the appraisal first and let us tell you whether the repair would actually pay for itself.
Find out what it's worth
Free appraisal, no obligation, and we'll tell you honestly whether selling or trading puts more money in your pocket.