Does mechanical condition affect duty?

No. A damaged Cougar 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 Cougar 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 Cougar 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 Cougar 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 Cougar cars from the same model year can carry different rates, 0% and 10%, because they came off lines on different continents.

Mercury Cougar from the Lorain plant and 0% duty

American assembly covers 85% of the Cougar cars in our database, and their numbers open with 1ME. 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 Mercury Cougar assembled?

The split shows in the data: 272 Cougar 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	1ME	143	0% duty
Flat Rock	United States	1ZW	127	0% duty
Atlanta	United States	1ME	2	0% duty

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

The VIN settles the matter in seconds. Cougar cars from plants in the USA carry the prefixes 1ME, 1ZW here, but we look deeper — at the final assembly plant tied to the whole number. Only that answers the question of 0% or 10%.

How much will you save?

The saving is a percentage, so it grows with the value of the car. A Mercury Cougar 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 Cougar 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

Zero-duty paperwork is our half of the job. We read the assembly plant from production data, prepare the customs declaration and deal with the agency on your behalf. You pick a Cougar and bid — we run the procedure.

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 Cougar clears exactly like an intact one.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	88
Side	48
Normal wear	46

From the USA or from Europe?

The comparison only means something after a VIN check. The same Mercury Cougar 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: Mercury Cougar