Wheeler Dealers

squonk · 25-06-2013 2:46pm #1

Just wondering what people round these parts think of the show Wheeler Dealers?

I started to watch old episodes over the weekend. It's a great show really. the things Ed does to the cars are fantastic. I always feel though that the guy should be given a bigger budget to work some real wonders with a few of the cars.

One that particularly bugged me was a W123 they were renovating. The wing had been damaged in an accident and was badly enough damaged that it wasn't worth repairing. Instead of getting a genuine Mercedes part, they got a third party pattern part which they mentioned was lighter. I think the price was 26 quid so I'd well imagine that it wasn't up to the level of strength/stability you'd get from a genuine Mercedes part.

What do people think of this? I know that it is sometimes difficult/impossible to get a particular panel, so the pattern part has to do, as in the case of the Capri on the same series, but when a new or second hand manufacturer part is available, it should be used. If I was restoring a car, I'd be very eager to ensure that there was as much original manufacturer items included as humanly possible.

jimgoose · 25-06-2013 3:03pm

I tend to agree, but bear in mind that Wheeler Dealers isn't necessarily about real OCD rivet-counter restoring, it's about making a bitta nicker outta tired ol' Leamingtons annat, innit!?

Capri · 25-06-2013 7:53pm

Those type of shows follow the same formula , buy cheap, tart up as cheaply as possible, move on for a large profit.

Alright in the UK,US ,where there's a large car-buying population - but there's a lot here try the same formula and fail miserably because WE DON'T HAVE THE POPULATION OR THE ROAD TAX SYSTEM THEY HAVE IN OTHER COUNTRIES :mad:

Just look at all the UK reg stuff on DD, if there was any chance of selling them they'd be re-reg'd and NCT'd here before sale. Reason they're not reg'd is so they can bring them back to the UK when they don't sell here :P:P

mgbgt1978 · 25-06-2013 8:43pm

Although Edd China is a nice guy if you check out the credits you will see a mechanic/technical expert listed.
This crops up a lot, especially on the UK forums.
He does most, if not all, of the work to the cars.
If you were to take into account his wages (and the fact that 2nd-hand parts appear from nowhere:)) then most of these cars are sold at a loss.
Having said that it's always great to see a few classics on the telly.

corktina · 25-06-2013 8:45pm

it's edd EDD eeedddddddd

w124man · 25-06-2013 8:49pm

Capri wrote: »

Those type of shows follow the same formula , buy cheap, tart up as cheaply as possible, move on for a large profit.

You said it ..... Ed China's work looks great but its a TV show and he rarely does much of the work himself. Those cars they work on are really tarted up and nothing else!

A member of another forum I frequent bought one of their 'restored' cars and he got shut of it very soon afterwards cuz it was rotten!

mgbgt1978 · 25-06-2013 9:07pm

corktina wrote: »

it's edd EDD eeedddddddd

He was christened EDWARD CHINA back in May 1971. He can adddddd as many DDDD's as he likes but I bet you his birth Cert still says EDWARD

Arthur Daley · 25-06-2013 10:46pm

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Although Edd China is a nice guy if you check out the credits you will see a mechanic/technical expert listed.
This crops up a lot, especially on the UK forums.
He does most, if not all, of the work to the cars.
If you were to take into account his wages (and the fact that 2nd-hand parts appear from nowhere:)) then most of these cars are sold at a loss.
Having said that it's always great to see a few classics on the telly.

Is that not just the guy Paul, who sometimes appears in the show in the background? I think they added Paul as a technical advisor to give him a title. I've seen them a few times at the NEC and it's a bit of a running joke that Paul says little or nothing but needs a title as Ed's helper.

Ed is certainly capable of doing the work if he gets a hand for some things fair enough. He was always very personable and helpful with his time when classic owners would come up to him all day at the NEC. There is a down to earth feel to wheeler dealers that we are missing since Top gear went all global and celebrity on us.

corktina · 25-06-2013 10:57pm

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

He was christened EDWARD CHINA back in May 1971. He can adddddd as many DDDD's as he likes but I bet you his birth Cert still says EDWARD

yeah right and Bono is Paul but still wouldn't be correct to call him that....IT'S Edd China, it's his stage name if you like

25-06-2013 11:06pm

Arthur Daley wrote: »

Is that not just the guy Paul, who sometimes appears in the show in the background? I think they added Paul as a technical advisor to give him a title. I've seen them a few times at the NEC and it's a bit of a running joke that Paul says little or nothing but needs a title as Ed's helper.

Ed is certainly capable of doing the work if he gets a hand for some things fair enough. He was always very personable and helpful with his time when classic owners would come up to him all day at the NEC. There is a down to earth feel to wheeler dealers that we are missing since Top gear went all global and celebrity on us.

Edd runs a business building custom vehicles so he's certainly able to do the work if he wants or needs to. In the credits for series 1, Paul Brackley is listed as the mechanic. I figure that's "his mate Paul who gives him a hand." When I saw that I wondered if he really did the work.

If you look at some of the scenes it does make you wonder. Edd could be stripping an engine bay, yet his clothes will be unusually clean after such a hard job. Despite that, I like to see the work being done on the cars as I find it really interesting. Couldn't give a damn about Mike's "haggling" though.

Smithzer · 25-06-2013 11:17pm

The show is too scripted for me although I still watch it, enjoyed Car SOS better Fuzz he's the man.

Whats peoples view on Fast N'Loud and Counting Cars? For me crap but again still wouldn't miss an EP.

Capri · 26-06-2013 8:11am

Smithzer wrote: »

The show is too scripted for me although I still watch it, enjoyed Car SOS better Fuzz he's the man.

Whats peoples view on Fast N'Loud and Counting Cars? For me crap but again still wouldn't miss an EP.

I like Texas Car wars http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/texas-car-wars

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/texas-car-wars/videos/meet-the-texas-car-crews.htm

especially Frank and the Old Skool crew :cool:

The worst show,IMO, is West Coast customs with that little 's***bag' Ryan - just can't take to him :mad:
http://velocity.discovery.com/tv-shows/inside-west-coast-customs

corktina · 26-06-2013 9:12am

Smithzer wrote: »

The show is too scripted for me although I still watch it, enjoyed Car SOS better Fuzz he's the man.

Whats peoples view on Fast N'Loud and Counting Cars? For me crap but again still wouldn't miss an EP.

car SOS is worse, it's entirely false, there's no way it would ever work and what about the guy with the Anglia that was so rusty, they simply bought him a new one?

What might work would be a straight car show where they buy a car and restore it, showing all the problems and pitfalls, would make a series just on one car....I suppose that's very like "A Car is Reborn though"

Red Kev · 26-06-2013 9:46am

It's a TV show, nothing more, nothing less, supposed to show how to fix the car up yourself in your own workshop. I think it's fine, has some interesting points about weak spots in certain classics and I find how they do the work intertesting. Mike is annoying, every car is a dream car that he wanted to drive since he was a kid etc etc and the haggling is annoying, but it's a made for TV show and as such I'm glad someone went to the trouble of making one like it.

Edd China made his name converting sofas and office desks and so on into cars, he's in this video from 1998 at about 56:35, (minus the grey quiff at the front of his head).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57eQDVZwisw

unkel · 26-06-2013 10:15am

w124man wrote: »

A member of another forum I frequent bought one of their 'restored' cars and he got shut of it very soon afterwards cuz it was rotten!

Was that the brown Porsche 928? Any link to any forum posts about it?

squonk · 26-06-2013 1:19pm

I have to agree with some of the posts here. I would prefer to see an entire show with Ed(d) restoring a car from scratch. I just started season 2 last night and see that they've an expanded budget and are doing more with the cars.

With season 1 I did realise that this was a show aimed at a certain type of mech-savvy individual who buys a motor, tarts it up over a week or two and shifts in on fairly lively after that. With the amount of work required it was in the realm of being a hobby with a small return cash wise if you didn't count your time, but as you were being a hobbyist, then you got payment in enjoyment etc. as well.

For Season 2 with the larger budget, the work involved seems to have increased quite a bit. I've just watched the Peugot 205 and Toyota MR2 restores so far but both cars required significant, time-consuming work which, even for a mech-savvy person, wouldn't really account for a quick tart up and sell scenario, if you had a day job to do as well.

Ed is the star of the show to my mind. I'm more interested in the mechanics and how the restorations are carried out than the haggling and the sale afterwards. Mike never seems to push for top dollar, or even near the higher end of the spectrum on the cars they sell. Perhaps he knows right well that the cars have bigger propblems and are, in fact, tarted up, or that there are basket cases waiting to happen?

As was mentioned earlier though, I do like the show. I always liked Quentin Wilson's second hand features on the old Top Gear and Wheeler Dealers does feel more like that, a car show for people actually interested in cars rather than in how quickly Samuel L. Jackson can drive a Hyundai around a track. Who cares? Top Gear has gone to hell so I'm glad this show is around.

MidlandsM · 26-06-2013 1:29pm

w124man wrote: »

A member of another forum I frequent bought one of their 'restored' cars and he got shut of it very soon afterwards cuz it was rotten!

unkel wrote: »

Was that the brown Porsche 928? Any link to any forum posts about it?

the porsche you may be refering to W124man is not rotten - not at all, its very solid.
I actually know where that car is and transported it for the current owner. It's in good hands I can assure you

endacl · 26-06-2013 1:36pm

Capri wrote: »

Alright in the UK,US ,where there's a large car-buying population - but there's a lot here try the same formula and fail miserably because WE DON'T HAVE THE POPULATION OR THE ROAD MOTOR TAX SYSTEM THEY HAVE IN OTHER COUNTRIES :mad:

:P

squonk · 26-06-2013 3:03pm

MidlandsM wrote: »

the porsche you refer to W124man is not rotten - not at all, its very solid.
I actually know where that car is and transported it for the current owner. It's in good hands I can assure you

I'd be surprised if they sold on a dud. It'd be a very high profile balls up if they did! In fairness to Ed, when he was sorting out the Peugeot, the mentioned that he'd replace the water pump during replacement of the cam belt because he said it would likely go shortly after due to wear and tear with a new belt. It struck me as being a fairly honest, decent thing to do and not a fly by night merchant kind of move at all.

Capri · 26-06-2013 3:52pm

squonk wrote: »

I'd be surprised if they sold on a dud. It'd be a very high profile balls up if they did! In fairness to Ed, when he was sorting out the Peugeot, the mentioned that he'd replace the water pump during replacement of the cam belt because he said it would likely go shortly after due to wear and tear with a new belt. It struck me as being a fairly honest, decent thing to do and not a fly by night merchant kind of move at all.

ALWAYS a good move to replace water pump and t-belt in one go

Capri · 26-06-2013 9:53pm

Check this series out - :cool:

http://hooniverse.com/2013/04/15/american-detours-taking-in-the-creole-nature-trail-by-way-of-a-1963-and-a-half-ford-galaxie/

http://hooniverse.com/2013/06/26/american-detours-episode-6-season-1-finale/#more-135418

carlosfandango · 27-06-2013 12:26am

MidlandsM wrote: »

the porsche you may be refering to W124man is not rotten - not at all, its very solid.
I actually know where that car is and transported it for the current owner. It's in good hands I can assure you

Yup. She's in good hands. Second time I've owned it. I won't let it go again.

Taken just at the weekend -

28F34123-41CA-4256-AE6E-74EF04B86B82-4350-000005287039D3C4_zpsa8cf0a26.jpg

28F34123-41CA-4256-AE6E-74EF04B86B82-4350-000005287039D3C4_zpsa8cf0a26.jpg

CFD

corktina · 27-06-2013 7:55am

endacl wrote: »

:P

OTHER COUNTRIES have Road Tax

Capri · 27-06-2013 8:10am

OTHER COUNTRIES have Road Tax

Most countries have road tax but it's OUR one here that's causing the problem. If there was a reasonable middle road of tax for cars 10-20, 20-30, and over 30 years then there wouldn't be the huge jump in the value of an 82 Merc over an 88 Merc ? And, IMO, it's all fake anyway because as I said before if you buy an 88 Merc 500 with 1600pa road tax for €700, how many years can you tax that for before coming near the price you'd pay for a 'cheap tax' 82 Merc 500 that might cost you €5000 ???
We have a market ATM that's got 'fakes' showing up (old Irish plates on UK stuff ) while we're giving away perfectly good cars that should be on the road - and neither Revenue/Gardai/Govt give a fiddlers
IF we had a €500pa flat tax for 10-20yrs, and €300 for 20-30 then we MIGHT :rolleyes: be getting somewhere

MidlandsM · 27-06-2013 10:04am

carlosfandango wrote: »

Yup. She's in good hands. Second time I've owned it. I won't let it go again.

Taken just at the weekend -

CFD

looking good CFD ......! 2nd time round shows how much you really love er'

w124man · 27-06-2013 8:18pm

MidlandsM wrote: »

the porsche you may be refering to W124man is not rotten - not at all, its very solid.
I actually know where that car is and transported it for the current owner. It's in good hands I can assure you

No its not the Porsche, it was a Mercedes but I cant remember if it was the SL or the W123. A lot of posts to go through.

I'll get there!

Agricola · 28-06-2013 12:45am

Fast n' Loud is pretty good. Not usually into American stuff but I'll still watch it. The owner and the main mechanic have good chemistry for TV and the one thing it really has going for it is that it has none of the usual American bullshít in carshows, ie shouting and roaring, mock fighting/drama, general macho fúckology. They just have a laugh and do up some cars. Very down to earth vibe to it. Anyone who hasnt bothered with it, should check it out on youtube.

Hopefully they'll branch out into doing more Euro stuff in the future.

unkel · 28-06-2013 10:41pm

carlosfandango wrote: »

Yup. She's in good hands. Second time I've owned it. I won't let it go again.

Nice one

So there was never anything wrong with the car? I thought I read some people referring to something wrong with the car on a certain "other forum" that no longer exists

As an aside, a "rotten" Porsche 928 must be a rare thing. Some of the parts of a car most prone to rust (doors, bonnet) are made from aluminium on the 928 and the body is fully galvanised.

Wheeler Dealers

Comments