I have always been an avid fan of this show. Kind of sad to see Edd leave but I think Ant does a pretty darn good job explaining what he is doing, just like Edd did.

Anyway, the episode from season 14 where they featured a 2003 S2000 was a favorite of mine and sparked my interest in getting the car I now have had for almost a week. Listening to Edd explain and demonstrate how the VTEC system worked was really cool and I also really liked seeing the factory wheels being refurbished with a powder coat and diamond cut. That process is so cool. I was pretty surprised at how cheaply they bought the car for (I think $4050) and how much they sold it for ($9500). Both figures seemed really low to me but I guess they didn't state how many miles were on the car and I suppose the questionable rebuild of the engine was a detractor. I thought it was kind of funny when they threw away bad aftermarket stuff and returned the car to stock form. I used to like mods but I am 45 now and really like to keep cars as stock as I can. I bought my car unmolested from bumper to bumper and that's the way I like it.

Honestly, I have watched this episode 6 times since getting my car and if it wasn't for the absurd amount of repetitive commercials on the Velocity streaming site I would watch a lot more Wheeler Dealer episodes.

 

 

I had already converted to dollars in my post. I can imagine Mike would be upset at that the owner making some bucks off of their work. It would have been an honor for me to drive something that I know Edd had a hand in reconditioning.

I will say one thing, I would never let that Mike Brewer test drive my car. I don't like the way he leans on people's cars, wiggles stuff, pokes at problems making them worse, etc before even buying the car. It's a bit disrespectful but that's just my opinion. When I am looking at a car for sale, I am very aware that it isn't mine yet and most of the cars I look at are collectible and their owners are passively protective. I never do anything I would frown on if someone did that to my car offered for sale.

 

I would point out that it is a TV show, so for me that changes a lot of things with regards to the test drives and such. I'm guessing that the owners of cars might receive additional compensation for their participation and letting Mike "haggle them down" on the price for their vehicle. Compressing the whole process along with all of the time involved down to just one hour, a lot of liberties are taken and it inevitably shortchanges the amount of work that really takes place. At least Wheeler Dealers does indicate how many man hours were involved when all is said and done (at they have on a number of episodes that I have watched).

Based on the episodes that I've seen, it is pretty rare that Wheeler Dealers leaves a car in stock configuration when they are done with it. This likely speaks to the realization that the S2000 is already a classic and that is what brings the most money in return for these cars. Or perhaps this had already been discussed in advance with the owner of the car and the whole process was worked out in advance of any work being done on the car, which wouldn't surprise me at all.

No disrespect intended, but I could do without Mike on the show, and that's exactly what I can get now that Edd has his own show that can be found out on youtube. Instead of the whole buying cars to flip them thing, Edd takes requests from owners whose own car projects have stalled out. He travels to their homes and spends a few days with them while he works side by side with the owner on their car. (This is much like the Garage Squad show on Velocity.) This provides Edd with even more time to go over the specifics of the work being done which is my main interest. I imagine that some network will eventually pick it up soon enough.

 

I've become a big fan of the show. You just have to remember that it is a TV show. A lot like the House flipping shows my wife likes to watch, there usually has to be a big potential problem or something unexpected during the refurb. I do like that the decision to modify or restore the car in a particular show is based on the perceived market for the completed vehicle.

I was skeptical about the show after Edd China's departure, but Ant has done a good job stepping in.

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2006 Suzuka Blue, Black/Blue Interior, Stock

 

 

Many of us (some? most? just me?) are convinced the orange S2000 episode was completely scripted to the point they never bought the car, just restored it for the owner.

Plenty of Youtube explanations why the show format changed: lack of product placement, too much "boring" wrench turning, Edd acting like a celebrity (according to a captured conversation with Mike), move the venue to North America where the audience is, etc. I swear the show is 20 minutes of content, 20 minutes of Brewer being Brewer, and 20 minutes of commercials. A bit more content when China was turning the wrenches but not much. Nice thing about the show when it was on Youtube was the ability to fast forward to the point Brewer "surprises" China (now Ant) with the latest purchase, pressing Play, and then just sklp the scripted sales bargaining at the end.

Edd has a new one-man "garage squad" show (sans decorations like Miss Heather). I wasn't impressed by the first episode with an VW Golf (that somehow had Rabbit badges).

-- Chuck

 

Fair points. I was just put off by the purchase and sale price of the S2000 but it doesn't matter much at this point. I have watched the show since it started. I'd find it hard to believe that Edd was the celebrity type but I suppose anything is possible. I never really liked the way Mike dealt with people when he was trying to buy a car. Leaning on the car, slapping things, poking at rust holes making them worse, etc. Then to drive it like he stole it on the test drive? Not cool. I guess he does add some charm to the show in a cringe-worthy way. I don't find the format of the show has changed all that much since Edd's departure so maybe there really was more to it than the "direction the show was taking" for Edd. Only he knows. I do know he was an amazing mechanic and kind of gave you the feeling you could do this stuff too.

I did watch Edd's new show but I don't think it will really make it. It doesn't have the charm Wheeler Dealers has, even with Brewer involved. I do think Ant Anstead is doing a great job on the show and he is living the life ... working on cool cars and dating the super hot Christina El Moussa.

 

For some reason S2000's (and most cars in general) are really cheap in the UK compared to the rest of Western Europe, for the equivalent of $8000-$10000 you can have a decent facelift 04-05 version and the later models are usually around $15k-$20k tops I think (depending on mileage and general condition). I've seen 99-00 cars go for as little as $4000.
This is also the reason why quite a lot of people have been importing UK cars to mainland Europe the last few years. No need to say they make a nice profit when flipping these cars here.

 

The value that the show Wheeler Dealers holds for me is watching the mechanic personality work on the car that week while they talk about what it is they're doing and why they're doing it. With that in mind, since a few others here didn't seem to think quite as highly of Edd's new show as I did, I'd be really interested to see them come up with a show with just Edd and Ant (no Mike) wrenching on cars. I'm not sure exactly what the spin would be, nor would I care all that much as long as the primary focus was on those two guys working on some interesting cars.