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 C-Max 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 C-Max 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 C-Max 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 C-Max cars from the same model year can carry different rates, 0% and 10%, because they came off lines on different continents.

Can I check a car before the auction ends?

Yes, and that is the point of doing it. Enter the VIN from the lot while bidding is still open, read the assembly plant, and you know whether to count on 0% or 10% before you set the highest figure you are willing to go to.

Ford C-Max from the USA — 0% duty or 10%

Our database holds 6,915 Ford C-Max 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 Ford C-Max assembled?

The Ford C-Max comes out of plants that do not always sit in the same country, and those plants set the rate. A car from an American line enters the EU at 0%, a car from a plant elsewhere at 10%. Every row here is built from real cars in our database, not from a manufacturer's plan.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Wayne	United States	1FA	6,915	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 C-Max with American assembly that is usually 1FA. 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 C-Max 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

The structure is the same for every car and only the first line differs. A C-Max off an American line comes in at 0% duty, a car outside the preference at 10%; after that comes excise by engine size (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT. Customs value follows the hammer price and transport.

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

We handle customs from the auction to the registration desk. A C-Max with an American plant is declared under the preference in force since 2026-07-01, the rest at the standard 10% duty. Which documents are needed follows from the car's data, not from the seller's description.

What to watch for when buying at auction

The most common damage on a C-Max in our database is features.lots.characteristics.damage_type.front_end, so start the photos and the report there. Repairing that area can eat the whole advantage of 0% instead of 10%, which is why you count it together with duty rather than separately.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	3,502
Rear end	1,082
Side	866

From the USA or from Europe?

The comparison only means something after a VIN check. The same Ford C-Max bought in the States can come in at 0% or 10% depending on the assembly plant, so a car from the USA is not one cost category. On the European side clearance falls away, and usually so does the choice of versions.

See current listings: Ford C-Max