I FINALLY HAVE MY CAR BACK

"Schaefft" (Schaefft)
03/16/2016 at 05:23 • Filed to: Lincoln, Mark VIII, Mark, Schaefft, Grey, gray, market, import, Germany, Europe, Shit

Write-up of the whole grey market import ordeal so shit-tastic you couldn’t make it up coming soon.

DISCUSSION (30)

KatzManDu > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 06:14

Importing stuff to Germany for fun and profit?

Svend > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 06:51

I’ve heard importing to Germany can be problematic.

But it’s all done now so enjoy.

Schaefft > KatzManDu
03/16/2016 at 06:56

Only for fun. There is no other profit to be found in an undertaking like this.

Schaefft > Svend
03/16/2016 at 06:57

Yup, this was the last big step, things should be smooth sailing now.

Svend > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 07:08

Heard ADAC (I think it is) are real sticklers for rules and regulations.

The U.K.s VOSA are less so according to many peoples experiences.

Illegitimus Prime > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 07:43

Grey Markviii import?

No?

Ok, I’ll see myself out.

Cé hé sin > Svend
03/16/2016 at 08:14

Somewhat surprisingly it’s a lot worse in Sweden. Buyers of preproduction prototypes of the Saab 9-5 estate (they were auctioned off when Saab were wound up) found that they had to go to Germany to get them approved and then use this to register them back home.

itschrome > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 08:28

That’s awesome you imported that Europe.

Svend > Cé hé sin
03/16/2016 at 09:07

Ouch, that’s a bit of a kick in the balls to have to take a car built in your country by a national company that went under to a foreign country to register them to then be able to register them back home.

Cé hé sin > Svend
03/16/2016 at 09:35

Yes, there was a post about this a couple of years ago (?) by somebody who went through the whole interminable process which involved several trips to Germany to find the right testing station and then battles with Swedish bureaucrats to persuade them that as the car had been certified in one EU country it should be allowed in another.

Svend > Cé hé sin
03/16/2016 at 09:53

I can’t see why they couldn’t of been able to register them as kit-cars or one off vehicles similar to kit-cars.

I bet our North American cousins would love to be able to use that reasoning of, ‘it’s registerable in 50+ countries it should be registerable here’.

Schaefft > Svend
03/16/2016 at 09:54

The ADAC are the good guys, its the inspection organisations like TÜV and Dekra that are the problem. They make less and less exceptions every year which means its getting harder and harder to pass if your car doesn’t meet the guidelines 100%, which is next to impossible for a car that wasn’t built for the European market, even if everything works.

Schaefft > Cé hé sin
03/16/2016 at 09:56

Yeah, I read about it. At least its still possible, but its getting more expensive every year.

Schaefft > Cé hé sin
03/16/2016 at 09:59

Oh yeah, I remember that part. I was wondering whether my case was the same considering the car was imported into the UK before where it passed its MOT.

Schaefft > itschrome
03/16/2016 at 10:00

Actually the previous owner imported it into the UK, left it rot in his driveway, I bought it there and imported it into Germany.

Schaefft > Illegitimus Prime
03/16/2016 at 10:04

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 10:11

Not a Lincoln guy myself, but those are a lot of car, probably the best car to wear the name, and a real Hot-rod-Lincoln. Enjoy pimpin’ down the autobahn overstyled, american style.

Svend > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 10:14

I thought it was just ADAC that carried out inspections and certification but non U.K. Systems are well, Erm, foreign to me. Lol.

The U.K. System is pretty much that as long as everything on the vehicle works, no errors or faults, head lamp beams altered for driving on the left, rear fog light, any adjusting for U.K./Euro fuel, separation of tail lights if like some U.S. Cars the rear light is also used as an indicator, etc...

There is more on the Gov site.

Schaefft > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
03/16/2016 at 10:15

Exactly!

Schaefft > Svend
03/16/2016 at 10:19

I bought the car in the UK so most of these things got done already (rather poorly though, so everything was redone). And while the guidelines seem rather similar, its that pedantic way of making sure everything is perfect that is so annoying in Germany. Maybe I’m just dealing with the wrong people but I know for a fact that an MOT is easier than the German equivalent HU/AU.

itschrome > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 10:20

still, thats awesome! I love those old mark 8's and it makes me happy to see some one across the pond keeping one alive. any plans for upgrades or anything?

Svend > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 10:28

Ye’, some garages are just crap.

The U.K. MOT system changed last year. Any faults or error codes are an automatic fail (adviseries are still okay such a slightly worn but still legal tyres) . If the car has front fog lights they have to be operable, etc...

Schaefft > Svend
03/16/2016 at 10:30

I’m surprised fault codes haven’t been an automatic fail before. I was very surprised that my friends C70 passed with an illuminated airbag light. That would be impossible over hear. Didn’t hear about the changes yet.

Schaefft > itschrome
03/16/2016 at 10:32

I plan to keep it stock, theres definitely tons of cosmetic work to do, and I’m sure more problems will appear now that I’m driving it daily. I’m pretty sure my front air shocks are beginning to leak now, what a surprise lol.

Svend > Schaefft
03/16/2016 at 10:39

They were brought about in April last year but they were lenient till October while the new system came in. Error codes could be reset so they didn’t show up but diagnostic examinations would show the fault was there. Certain garages would let one or two things slide if you knew them well and agreed to fix it when you could.

26mTurnier > Schaefft
08/11/2016 at 13:59

I have spent now good hour reading your posts about your Mark VIII. I made the same decision to go with Lincoln as a DD. I bought mine from Sweden where it had been for the past 16 and half years. The older gentleman had bough it as a second hand car at the age of two years back in 1997. That makes my car a 1995 model. It is Base, but ticked with all other options other than the CD-player. I’m the third owner now for week and a half and couldn’t be more happier. It was a great find with only 54 thousand miles, clean CarFax and everything in excellent working order. I will keep my trustworthy Volvo as winter DD as it has AWD and I know exactly what it has eaten in the past 10 years I have had it. Now I can have the best of both worlds: summertime I cruise with the top-of-the-line Lincoln and enjoy the luxurious ride and odd looks from the fellow cars. During winter, well, I go to disguise in my dark tinted Volvo and have fun on my most affordable fun factor ride. Go and ask that one Porsche Panamera driver who was surprised two years ago when we left the traffic lights from 0 to 70 miles head to head... Must have hurt to see that old flying brick shaped Volvo gave the same acceleration with less than 4k compared to his 140k car. :D Okay, you got me, it is a bit tuned to 270hp/400+Nm stage, but that’s all.

Back to Lincoln. It was an obvious choice after seeing one for sale locally where I live. I had kind of forgotten the whole car’s existence but quick googleing brought it back to my mind and then it hit like a hammer: this car is the perfect answer not to completely replace my Volvo that love and hate at the same time!!! I need to get one. And so started a rapid process of getting more background information regarding the spares availability etc. I live in Finland and we have equally intense american car culture and scene as swedes, so we are no strangers to having these around. Actually, I can pinpoint now already handful of them within my living area. One of them being ultra rare Japanese import with km/h speedometer and yellow blinkers at rear. Sitting on original bags but each corner can be controlled independently.

I even signed in because of your blogs and I wanted to share the same passion for the car. My wife and children both love the car and my son already “reserved” the car for him when he will get his license. Hmm, long wait, still 13 years to go. But hey, I feel happy about it.

Schaefft > 26mTurnier
08/11/2016 at 16:45

Wow, first of all thank you for your comment, it amazing to hear other people are feeling the same for this car (and actually buy one!) and it motivates me to write more about it. Seems like you’ve found a great example (as did the guy with the JDM import, how did he find one of those? Lincoln must have sold only about a dozen over there!) and I hope you will love it at least as much as I do mine. There are a few issues with spare part availability, for example I am currently trying to find a pair of Motorcraft OEM front shocks that won’t cost me at least a grand + postage and VAT. Front abs sensors, HID ballasts and bulbs and cornering lights seem to be another good example. But I believe these are special cars, especially over here in Europe, and worth the time and money you need to spend on them to keep them on the road. Feel free to join our Mark VIII community on facebook (“LINCOLN Mark VIII Enthusiast Community”), its a super friendly bunch of people who will do their best to help you with any questions about the car you might have. I’d also love to hear more about your car on here, maybe a photo of it would be a good start. :) Thanks again for commenting, love reading comments like this.

26mTurnier > Schaefft
08/12/2016 at 02:24

You are welcome. I like writing car stuff so here I go again. It’s funny that now when you own one, you start to see these. This is not a common car here either, but because of the fact that I wrote in my previous post (Finland being equally big in american car culture as Sweden) we have quite a few very rare examples of cars on our roads.

I need to upload few photos from it. Maybe I’ll start my own blog for it in my own section. Anyways, I’m thrilled to see that there are some other Lincoln nuts around. I was having fun this morning when commuting to work. One A3 TFSI Audi was in front of me at pole position from lights. He took relatively quick launch but I followed easily. I just love how the people get surprised to see that that kind of land yacht can actually move that fast. By all means, this is not a rocket, but given the size and looks, people often think something totally different. More power wouldn’t hurt, but this combo from factory is superior starting point for any power upgrades. Just the way I like to be. However, the car is in so good original condition, that if I’d ever start playing around with these, I’d opt for some other starting point to do so.

I have a good friend living in states and I know local shops that are specialized to american cars. Plus, I’m relatively good sourcing parts from internet. But yes, I’ve understood that the bags from Motorcraft are PIA to find, especially now when the they are not available anymore from dealers. Discontinued, in other words.

As my car is a Base model, I don’t have to worry about the HID and related problems. Thanks for the tip regarding the ABS sensors, I will need to keep my eyes open. Now I’m in the hunt for 1995 full set of all workshop manuals, trouble shooting guides etc. I don’t know if there’s a paper copy from spares available, haven’t been looking for one yet. The biggest “problem” to solve is the rear fog lamp. It’s mandatory here in Finland, but I have pretty much all the parts now to start the work. Will start that during the weekend. After that being installed, I can book my time to the registration inspection. And wait for the final tax. That is another finnish specialty. When you import car outside our borders, you always have to pay import taxes. OK, I could live with that, if I’d know in ADVANCE the costs. But no, that is not the case. You have to try your luck and just import it and then wait max 3 months to get the final tax invoice. In other words, you will have an estimate based on previous decisions and applications that are published on a monthly basis but the final cost comes later. Let’s see how much I end up paying...

Schaefft > 26mTurnier
08/12/2016 at 06:36

You definitely don’t see any around in Germany or the UK, I’m fairly sure I’m the only pre-facelift LSC owner in both countries, let alone someone who drives it as a daily. Never even seen a photo of one taken there. There are a few dozen base models and facelift LSC around though.

They are a fairly quick car for their size, on the other hand a Mark VIII weights about the same as a modern well equipped 3/4-series BMW, so they are not as heavy as they might appear to some. Its the transmission that is holding the car back and many try to fix this with modifications like the J-mod, or a different diff. I am not sure if I would start doing any serious modifications on my car if things aren’t broken, the new exhaust, decent tires and a regular service need to do for now. I bought it because of what it is, and 290ish horsepower should be enough for everyday driving. Its more likely I’ll just buy another car, should I need more hp lol (Having multiple cars, space is the real issue). Also mechanical repairs are the highest priority for me right now, paint would be next. You can still find the front shocks on Amazon, but for about 600$ each, I prefer to wait a bit longer to see if anything cheaper is coming up. If you can find a few sets in Finland, feel free to give me a shout ;)

I will probably write another post about the import process I had to go through in Germany, maybe even this evening. The car was registered in the UK before so I didn’t have to pay VAT for it. There have been plenty of other things that had quite an impact on my financials though, some of them caused by nothing more than “professionals” having not a clue about what they are doing. I hope things will go a bit smoother in your case.

26mTurnier > Schaefft
08/15/2016 at 02:29

What is J-mod?

Higher rear end ratio would be one way to go, at the same time LSD would make sense too. Well, I spent my money this weekend to good set of correct year workshop and trouble shooting manuals as well as Autoxray 2500 OBD scanner. Tip: it reads both OBD1 and OBD2 and comes also with GM and Chrysler specific OBD1 cables. That way I can read my all OBD cars with only one tester. You can find them from eBay USA with relatively reasonable price. Looking forward to get them into use.