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 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 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 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 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.

Mercedes-Benz C from the Vance plant and 0% duty

American assembly covers 31% of the C cars in our database, and their numbers open with 55S. 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 Mercedes-Benz C assembled?

Production of the Mercedes-Benz C is often spread across continents, which is why the question of where it is built has several answers at once. For duty, only the country of the plant your car came off matters: the States mean 0%, any other country 10%. Model history and target market change nothing.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
East London	South Africa	W1K, WDD	15,572	10%
Vance	United States	55S	14,984	0% duty
Bremen	Germany	W1K, WDB, WDD	10,059	10%
Sindelfingen	Germany	WDB, WDD	5,154	10%
Brernen	Germany	WDB	1,487	10%
Juiz De Fora	Brazil	WDB	249	10%

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

Enter the VIN and compare the result: if you see the Vance plant, that C came off an American line and qualifies for the 0% rate. Another plant means 10%, with no exceptions for version, equipment or model year. The check is free and needs no account.

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 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 bill is made of a few fixed percentages and one variable, which is the customs value of the car. Duty is 0% on a C 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

Our customs agency handles the formalities. We gather the assembly data for the Mercedes-Benz C, prepare the declaration and see the clearance through. The rate finally granted is the customs office's decision, taken on the documents submitted.

What to watch for when buying at auction

Risk on a Mercedes-Benz C 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	7,523
Rear end	2,335
Side	1,586

From the USA or from Europe?

The difference comes down to what you add and what you get back. Buying a C 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: Mercedes-Benz C