Is a VIN prefix enough to establish the rate?

No. The first three characters point to the manufacturer and the country, but one prefix can cover several plants. The rate needs the country of final assembly tied to the full number, and that is exactly the reading you get after entering a VIN.

What if the Skylark came off a line in Canada?

Then the car does not use the preference and enters the EU at 10% duty. Canada and Mexico are the most common source of confusion, because cars from there reach sales in the States on equal terms with cars of American production.

Does zero duty also lower VAT?

Indirectly. VAT at 23% is charged on customs value with duty added, so 0% instead of 10% shrinks the tax base. Excise is worked out separately by engine size and comes to 3.1% or 18.6% either way.

Since when has the customs preference applied?

Since 2026-07-01, under the EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade. It covers passenger cars finally assembled in the United States. Cars from plants in other countries keep clearing at 10%, whatever the market they were bought on and whoever sold them.

Does the model year change the assembly country?

Sometimes it does. Manufacturers move production between plants partway through a generation, so a Skylark from two different model years can carry a different assembly country. That is why the rate is set for a VIN and not for a model name.

Buick Skylark from the Lansing - South Plant plant and 0% duty

EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade has applied since 2026-07-01 and cuts duty to 0% for cars finally assembled in the States. The Buick Skylark meets that condition only in the cars genuinely built at an American plant; the rest clear at 10%. Verification runs on the VIN, not on the version name.

Where is the Buick Skylark assembled?

Skylark cars off American lines carry the VIN prefixes 1G4 in our database. A prefix shows the manufacturer and the country, but the 0% rate is decided by the final assembly plant read for the specific number. The table shows how many cars from each plant have passed through us.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Lansing - South Plant	United States	1G4	74	0% duty
Lansing - North Plant	United States	1G4	10	0% duty
Sleepy Hollow	United States	1G4	1	0% duty
Ypsilanti Twp	United States	1G4	1	0% duty

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

The quickest filter is the first three characters of the number — on a Skylark with American assembly that is usually 1G4. A filter is not proof, though: we check the plant tied to the full VIN, because only that answers the condition. The check runs in seconds and costs nothing.

How much will you save?

EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade strips 10% of duty from cars finally assembled in the States and has applied since 2026-07-01. For a Skylark that meets the condition, what is left on the bill is excise (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT. What that means for your car is a calculator job; here you get the rates.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

You get the rates here, not a finished figure — the calculator produces that on current data. Since 2026-07-01, duty on cars finally assembled in the States is 0% and 10% on everything else. Excise (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT are charged whatever the origin of the Skylark.

Component	Rate
Duty — car assembled in the USA	0%
Duty — everything else	10%
Excise	3.1% up to 2.0 l, 18.6% above 3.5 l
VAT	23%

Rates, not amounts — the calculator works the sum out on current data.

Zero-duty paperwork — our job

Proof of origin and clearance are on us. For a Skylark that the VIN places on an American line, we assemble the plant documentation and declare the car at the 0% rate. What we need from you is the car you picked and its VIN.

What to watch for when buying at auction

Risk on a Buick Skylark from auction sits in three places: the extent of the damage, the completeness of the paperwork and the history of earlier repairs. None of them touches the duty rate, which follows the assembly country alone, but all three decide what getting the car roadworthy really costs.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	28
Side	14
Normal wear	13

From the USA or from Europe?

The difference comes down to what you add and what you get back. Buying a Skylark in Europe, you skip the ocean crossing and the clearance; buying in the States you add both, but on a car from an American line duty is 0% instead of 10%. Your choice depends on how much paperwork and repair you take on.

See current listings: Buick Skylark