Does mechanical condition affect duty?

No. A damaged Silverado 1500 clears at the same rate as an intact car from the same plant, because what counts is the country of final assembly. Condition does affect the purchase price, and through it the customs value and the taxes charged on it.

How long does a VIN check take?

A matter of seconds. You enter the number and get the country and city of the assembly plant plus the answer to whether that Silverado 1500 meets the condition for the customs preference. The check is free, needs no account and can be repeated for every lot you consider.

Does a sale in the USA mean assembly in the USA?

No. American sales also move cars built in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Where a car was auctioned has nothing to do with the origin condition, which is why the assembly plant of a Silverado 1500 is checked separately, on the VIN.

Who deals with customs clearance?

We do. We put together the proof of origin, prepare the customs declaration and keep contact with the agency. For a Silverado 1500 that qualifies on its VIN we apply for the 0% rate, and the customs office decides on the documents.

What about models built in two countries at once?

That is a common case, and it is exactly where the VIN becomes essential. Two Silverado 1500 cars from the same model year can carry different rates, 0% and 10%, because they came off lines on different continents.

Chevrolet Silverado 1500 from the USA — 0% duty or 10%

Our database holds 74,663 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 cars with an American assembly plant on record. Those clear at 0%, the rest at 10% — one model name, two different rates. Before you set a bidding limit, check which line the car you are looking at came off.

Where is the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 assembled?

Most zero-rated Silverado 1500 cars come from the plant in Fort Wayne (United States). Plants in other countries build this model too, and their cars clear at 10%. We read the plant from the production data of a single VIN, so the answer covers one car rather than the whole family.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Silao	Mexico	3GB, 3GC	58,098	10%
Fort Wayne	United States	1GB, 1GC	36,320	0% duty
Roanoke	United States	1GB, 1GC	30,747	0% duty
Oshawa Truck	Canada	2CG, 2GB, 2GC, 2GT	19,444	10%
Pontiac	United States	1GB, 1GC	5,283	0% duty
Oshawa	Canada	2GC	2,416	10%
Flint	United States	1G8, 1GB, 1GC	1,920	0% duty
Oshwa	Canada	2GC	1,645	10%
Arlington	United States	1GB, 1GC	198	0% duty
St. Louis	United States	1GC	85	0% duty
Janesville	United States	1GC	76	0% duty
Springfield	United States	1HT	16	0% duty
Detroit	United States	1GC	9	0% duty
Moraine	United States	1GC	3	0% duty
Wentzville	United States	1GC	3	0% duty
Mexico City	Mexico	3GC	1	10%
Baltimore	United States	1GC	1	0% duty
Fremont	United States	1GC	1	0% duty
Linden	United States	1GC	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 Silverado 1500 with American assembly that is usually 1G8. 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?

The gap is 10% of customs value, plus a side effect: 23% VAT is charged on the value with duty added, so a zero rate also lowers the tax base. On a Silverado 1500 assembled outside the USA neither effect fires. Work the result out in the calculator — the rates are fixed, the customs value is not.

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 Silverado 1500.

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

You put nothing together yourself. We check the origin of the car by VIN, prepare the papers and run the clearance; if the production data points to assembly outside the USA, we declare it at 10% so the bill does not change when you come to collect.

What to watch for when buying at auction

Risk on a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 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	33,273
Side	11,107
Rear end	9,196

From the USA or from Europe?

Europe hands you a car ready to register; the States hand you a wider choice of versions and of damaged cars. On a Silverado 1500 origin joins the list: a car assembled in the USA clears at 0%, one from outside the preference at 10%. That is the first thing to check when you compare offers.

See current listings: Chevrolet Silverado 1500