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 E-250 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.

Ford E-250 from the Lorain plant and 0% duty

Q: Where is the Ford E-250 assembled?

We read plants from the production data of cars that have passed through our database, so the list shows the real origin of individual cars rather than a manufacturer's plan. One model can have plants on two continents, which is why the country is checked for a specific VIN.

American assembly covers 94% of the E-250 cars in our database, and their numbers open with 1FD. That helps you sift listings, but the 0% rate cannot be pinned to a model — only the plant read for one specific VIN says whether the car meets the origin condition.

Where is the Ford E-250 assembled?

The split shows in the data: 30 E-250 cars reached us with an American assembly plant, the rest came from plants in other countries. The first group qualifies for 0% duty, the second for 10%. The counts cover every car recorded in our database, not the current offer.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Lorain	United States	1FD, 1FT	23	0% duty
Avon Lake	United States	1FD, 1FT	7	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 E-250 with American assembly that is usually 1FD. 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 saving is a percentage, so it grows with the value of the car. A Ford E-250 from an American plant comes in at 0% instead of 10%, and lower duty shrinks the 23% VAT base. Excise stays: 3.1% on smaller engines, 18.6% on larger ones. The calculator does the rest.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

The bill is made of a few fixed percentages and one variable, which is the customs value of the car. Duty is 0% on a E-250 assembled in the USA and 10% on the rest, excise is 3.1% or 18.6% by engine size, and 23% VAT is charged on the value with duty and excise added.

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

Cars end up at sales in the States mostly after damage, so the condition report matters more than the odometer. Check whether the damage touches structural parts or only panels, and price the repair before you bid. The duty rate ignores condition — a damaged E-250 clears exactly like an intact one.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	8
Rear end	6
Side	6

From the USA or from Europe?

You go to the States for choice and for versions never sold in Europe. On that side of the bill you add transport, clearance and post-damage repair; pulling the other way is 0% duty on E-250 cars from American lines. Decide after the VIN check, not before it.

See current listings: Ford E-250