Schaefft's Bargain Barge Extravaganza - Buick Revival & a VERY GREEN Jag!

[Saabnut]

16 hours ago, Schaefft said:

 You even need a registration document for your UK trailer once you are off the boat, that was another expense I would need to add to anything I could have bought before the trip.

This is not true if you are only visiting. It just needs to be legal in its home country, just like the tow car. I regularly tow my UK trailers to France and it is the same there. Interestingly, in France the towing limit with a trailer is the same as without, ie 81mph on the peage. Dosn't mean you should though!

[warninglight]

I haven't heard of this applying to the TDV8 but they may share the same part...

On the Discovery TDV6 it's this temperature sensor at the front of the engine. The quick fix is pouring hot water on it.

 

[warninglight]

4 minutes ago, Saabnut said:

This is not true if you are only visiting. It just needs to be legal in its home country, just like the tow car. I regularly tow my UK trailers to France and it is the same there. Interestingly, in France the towing limit with a trailer is the same as without, ie 81mph on the peage. Dosn't mean you should though!

As I understand it (happy to be corrected) the new rules as of August 2025 mean you do need the extra registration plates etc. even if just visiting.

Certainly all the caravans I saw at the port in Calais in October returning to the UK all had extra reg plates fitted to the rear, white square ones.

https://www.gov.uk/register-trailer-to-take-abroad

[Saabnut]

4 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

Here's an issue with the Range Rover I want to run past people here:

With the overnight minus temperatures it's really struggling to start. It cranks over perfectly and I've already attached a proper battery booster to rule out low battery voltage. I usually give the glow plugs plenty of time to heat up but cranking the engine only results in it firing for a second to then immediately die. If I'm lucky it'll stay running after a few attempts and will be perfectly fine until the next day.

I initially thought it must be water frozen in the diesel filter but there's no warning message (not sure if the 3.6 TDV8 has that feature, some do).

Any advice? Since it's so specific to Sub-Zero temperatures I'm still thinking ice but with it clearly being able to start over and over only to immediately die I'm not sure anymore.

My money would be on tired glow plugs. They are coming on as they should but not getting properley hot (some are probably not working at all). Common fault with diesels, I have had to replace the ones in the AX (and that needed a relay as well) and the ones in my 9-3. Usually quite cheap and relatively easy to replace, but have never done them on a TDV8 so your experience may vary!  

[Saabnut]

28 minutes ago, warninglight said:

As I understand it (happy to be corrected) the new rules as of August 2025 mean you do need the extra registration plates etc. even if just visiting.

Certainly all the caravans I saw at the port in Calais in October returning to the UK all had extra reg plates fitted to the rear, white square ones.

I had not heard of this but will do some research. Thanks.

Edit: It would appear you are correct, I had not heard this, thank you. Will need to get mine registered.

[Schaefft]

Checked the tongue weight on level ground again, it's somewhere between 70 and 120kg, I'll call that close enough! I can always shift some of the cargo I got in the Range Rover to the boot of the Olds if needed.

Done a short test drive today, you can certainly feel the extra 2.5tons on the back of the car but it's tracking well and slows down as expected. We should be ready for takeoff!

The plan is to depart sometime around 3pm tomorrow and sleep in the car at a truck stop near Hanover. If I set off around 9/10am the following morning I should have plenty of time to make it to the ferry near Amsterdam. Being limited to 50mph sure makes the journey feel quite a bit longer! The freezing temperatures won't help I'm sure.

[loserone]

7 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

Being limited to 50mph

Not just in the UK then? Or is that down to the weight of the trailer?

 

I understand my little camping trailer filled with booze and boats and with half a dozen bikes on the top is legal at 130 in France ..

[Schaefft]

15 minutes ago, loserone said:

Not just in the UK then? Or is that down to the weight of the trailer?

 

I understand my little camping trailer filled with booze and boats and with half a dozen bikes on the top is legal at 130 in France ..

I got no clue, the trailer is registered for 50mph, I can upgrade it for 60mph but it would then need to be registered as such. 80km/h is the standard speed limit for vehicles towing any type of trailer unless it's a large semi truck.

[mk2_craig]

20 hours ago, Schaefft said:

the Olds

Tell us more about the Olds. How long has it been in Germany, how long have you owned it, what's the plan for it once eventually back in England?

[Schaefft]

On 07/01/2026 at 12:30, mk2_craig said:

Tell us more about the Olds. How long has it been in Germany, how long have you owned it, what's the plan for it once eventually back in England?

You can still find my collection thread here, incredible that it's been six years since and the actual collection caper is only completed with my arrival in the UK tomorrow!

I'd have to check the title again but the car has been in Germany for most of its life. I'm only aware of one or two other Auroras in the country, which means it's even rarer than my Mark VIII! Same story in the UK where 2 out of 3 known Auroras are owned by myself, with the third one now scrapped (tried to buy it, ended up having to strip it for parts with the help of shiters on here instead).

Funnily enough an ex-colleague of my brother's wife owned it for a while years ago. The last time it's been on the road was 2014, if I had a guess the severe power steering leak from the rack was the cause. That or the gearbox not shifting into higher gears. The home-made bonnet stay and fuel door switch fixes (props to the owner for the ingenuity) tell me that nobody ever realized that everything is readily available to order online... My plan is to confirm the gearbox is still good, replace the rack and then go from there. I want to keep it on a German reg, it's near impossible to register a car like this there nowadays without forking out thousands for bs compliance paperwork and such so it's worth taking it back to get it through a fresh test eventually.

Speaking of collection caper, I've set off yesterday afternoon breaking the journey to the Amsterdam ferry into two legs this time. 

I didn't initially plan to stay anywhere but -5 degree nights and a suspiciously cheap motel room along my route made me rethink. Turns out the place partially functioned as refugee housing! Fortunately things were fairly pleasant for the 45 Euros I paid for my on suite. I had to go through a back entrance and wait 20mins for anyone to show up and give me the keys to my room but there was plenty of parking!

I had a  tongue lock for the trailer but blocked it in anyway, just in case...

Set off at 11am this morning after stocking up at the McDonald's across the street. Didn't get the chance to check out the sex toy shop next door but oh well!

At the ferry 4.5 hours later. Despite the temperatures the roads were always dry. I stuck to the legally mandated 50mph the whole way until across the border into the Netherlands. No clue why you'd have to retrofit dampers on this trailer for a 62mph registration, it's dealing with it absolutely perfectly. Overall both the Range Rover and trailer were spot on. The biggest risk was always getting stopped by police and asked about my license (still need a few hours of extra lessons to upgrade your license and be allowed to tow 3500kg here, which I didn't have) but considering the distance traveled the Range Rover could have thrown a fit anytime. Aside from a somewhat tired battery there weren't any problems whatsoever and it's pretty clear why people rate the TDV8 so highly as tow vehicle, it's been brilliant! Fuel economy numbers were almost equal to those not towing, although at 20mph lower speeds, around 26mpg! It's pretty much exactly a tank from my parents to where I live in the UK.

We'll see how things look like at the border check in Newcastle tomorrow. I don't plan to keep the car in the UK so theoretically there's nothing to declare. I'm not sure how things work for the trailer, theoretically I could say it goes back as well. Any declaration usually has two weeks as well, doesn't it?

[High Jetter]

How did I miss this? Any collection fred is important.

[Westbay]

This might help ...

Driving a foreign reg car in UK ....

[dome]

Safe travels, and thanks* for reminding me how good a towcar an L322 is

Do you need any A8 bits? A breaker friend of mine has just got a D2 4.2 in for breaking. Can get more details if you need anything

[RoadworkUK]

I still think the Aurora rates among the best looking cars the Americans ever conceived. 

Love this thread.

[Schaefft]

39 minutes ago, dome said:

Safe travels, and thanks* for reminding me how good a towcar an L322 is

Do you need any A8 bits? A breaker friend of mine has just got a D2 4.2 in for breaking. Can get more details if you need anything

I probably do yes, hard-line/fitting to/from the gearbox cooler being one of them. Would be good to know what year/colour inside and out it is!

3 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

I still think the Aurora rates among the best looking cars the Americans ever conceived. 

Love this thread.

I think they are great looking cars. GM really took a chance to save the brand with a completely different car from what Oldsmobile and GM in general was still standing for at the time. Shame it didn't work out in the end. Imagine seeing this in the showroom on 1994 though!

The Aurora has arrived in the UK now. Customs were as straight forward as it could have been: They asked me what I plan to do with it (fix and bring back) and how much it's worth (scrap). A single look at it was probably enough to just go with it.😂

[RoadworkUK]

1 minute ago, Schaefft said:

Imagine seeing this in the showroom on 1994 though!

I picked up the launch brochure from a dealership near Orlando when I was 13. It seemed surreal, like I was reading some document from the future. Seeing one on the dealer forecourt next to a Ninety-Eight and a Cutlass Ciera made it feel all the more anachronistic.

[Schaefft]

21 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

I picked up the launch brochure from a dealership near Orlando when I was 13. It seemed surreal, like I was reading some document from the future. Seeing one on the dealer forecourt next to a Ninety-Eight and a Cutlass Ciera made it feel all the more anachronistic.

I got all the brochures for it as well, they really tried to give the car an identity. Granted by then Lincoln already launched the Mark VIII and Chrysler had their LH sedans which all very much leaned into the super sleek 90s aero style but the Aurora took it a step further. For the price there wasn't really all that much that could compete with it but unfortunately it was still quite expensive for the typical Oldsmobile customer.

[cort1977]

Great that you got back with no bother.

These cars and the LH sedans are so striking and not even that old but disappeared off the roads in the US, you never see them now and they don't seem to have a following at all.

[dome]

@Schaefft she's looking a bit sorry for herself, clearly been sitting for a while.

I'll ask about the gearbox cooler lines, hopefully they're save able.

[Schaefft]

1 hour ago, dome said:

@Schaefft she's looking a bit sorry for herself, clearly been sitting for a while.

I'll ask about the gearbox cooler lines, hopefully they're save able.

That would be great. Chances are they arent much better but who knows. I have to call the garage to see what's up with the S8, I haven't seen it in ages. Fuel pump and abs pump might be another one of they are identical to my facelift car.

[IronStar]

@Schaefft Dibs on Aurora if you ever decide to sell 😄

[Schaefft]

Just now, IronStar said:

@Schaefft Dibs on Aurora if you ever decide to sell 😄

I've got 3, all with major issues. One will have to go eventually but it'll take ages to get to that point ha.

[IronStar]

5 minutes ago, Schaefft said:

I've got 3, all with major issues. One will have to go eventually but it'll take ages to get to that point ha.

Preferably one that’s over 30 years old when you decide, so I can import on historic vehicle grounds. Cars need to be either Euro 3 compliant or 30+ years old for historic vehicle import. That will soon overlap, but there’s still a few years to that.

[Schaefft]

19 minutes ago, IronStar said:

Preferably one that’s over 30 years old when you decide, so I can import on historic vehicle grounds. Cars need to be either Euro 3 compliant or 30+ years old for historic vehicle import. That will soon overlap, but there’s still a few years to that.

All 3 are '95 model years so all of them qualify ha!

[Schaefft]

And that's the collection of the Oldsmobile completed, over 6 years after I bought it!

Already unloaded it to do the next collection tomorrow, can't have a break😂 Fortunately it's a lot more local, not another 1000 mile roundtrip!

[cort1977]

11 hours ago, dome said:

@Schaefft she's looking a bit sorry for herself, clearly been sitting for a while.

I'll ask about the gearbox cooler lines, hopefully they're save able.

 

 

 

 

How hard would it be to fit those seats to a vw t5? Is there a massively complex CANBUS/modules control system? Or is it just power and ground as the switches are on the seat?

[warninglight]

16 hours ago, Schaefft said:

 

Already unloaded it to do the next collection tomorrow, can't have a break😂 Fortunately it's a lot more local, not another 1000 mile roundtrip!

Didn't take long to start finding more chod to collect! Trailer has the double benefit that you can collect non running chod, and also avoid public transport for collections.

How long til you're pushing that 3000kg gross weight 😆

[Schaefft]

On 10/01/2026 at 09:47, warninglight said:

Didn't take long to start finding more chod to collect! Trailer has the double benefit that you can collect non running chod, and also avoid public transport for collections.

How long til you're pushing that 3000kg gross weight 😆

I feel like the A8 I collected yesterday was getting fairly close ha!

As most have seen, I've collected a 4.0TDI A8 in Carlisle yesterday that popped up in the low cost, big liability thread last week. It has electric issues but was cheap enough to take a gamble on as its near impossible to lose money on it. The collection thread for it is here:

HOWEVER, this was not the only car I agreed to buy while away. As many know I'm seemingly absorbing the entire market for bottom dollar luxo barges in the forum atm so it was only the right thing for Scaryoldcortina to ask me whether I was interested in this Jaguar XJ8 he got offered as a trade for his junk LS400:

Of course I am! Especially if you consider that it still has MOT until September! So despite the miserable weather I set off today to collect it in the snow...

There she is, in all her dark tints, chopped-off backbox glory. Its a 1999 4.0 XJ8 thats had a bit of a rough life recently. The previous owner (from Darlington, naturally, although only briefly) didn't take all that much good care of it so its fairly filthy inside. Its currently in restricted performance mode because of a knock sensor code, fortunately thats an easy fix on these. Of course it was running on fumes as well so the petrol station was my first destination:

As you can tell the weather was fairly miserable. The ditch finders do well though so you can't fault it for that. Cutting out above 3000 rpm helps not getting into trouble as well.

The tints need to go asap, it looks chavvy and you can't see out the back of it. The inside is kinda grimy and smells almost the same as the X-Type, the air fresheners clearly weren't enough to mask it...

Can't buy a cheap luxury car without the felony forest...

The drive back was fairly uneventful, it has a slight pull to the left, a few distant knocks and a very noticeable wheel wobble on the motorway. Everything seems to work though so it really just is another one of those cars that fell on hard times with the wrong owner and just needs a bit of tlc. The lack of bockboxes is highly obnoxious however, the drone is comparable to when I drove the ZTT with most of the exhaust missing...

Back at bargain barge central:

Despite completely different origins all 3 of these recent arrivals have several things in common: All are powered by 4.0l V8s, all 3 once were the flagships of their make and each cost me less than £1000 to buy. Lets see if we can get them back to their former glory then!

[Split_Pin]

That last picture is absolutely winning!

[loserone]

You're absolutely mad