Why Wheeler Dealers is the best car show

"JaxsterIIi" (jaxsteriii)
05/31/2015 at 07:52 • Filed to: None

I caught this show by accident around 2008-09 here in the States. I was flipping through the high cable channels and one of them, I’m thinking “Speed” but not sure, and saw them fixing up that Lancia Delta. It looked like some old BBC show from the early 90s even though it was only a 3 year old episode. At this time this show was not known at all in the US. I certainty didn’t know about it.

It was different because they weren’t fixing these crazy vintage cars and Ed seemed like he actually knew what he was doing. Sure the early episodes had a lot of cheap fixes like new pedal covers and gear knobs or whatever. But it was actually something I could relate to on a car that was obtainable. Keep in mind at this time, all we had was basically “The Powerblock” on Spike TV(I think it was previously on TNN) with shows like Muscle Car and Engine Power. Horsepower TV was the worse. They pretended they were showing you something but never did! “...and next we’re going to swap out the engine and transmission from this ‘72 Camaro” Coupe of clips of them with a wrench and screwdriver later: “Well Chip, I see you got the engine in”. Fantastic

The fact that Ed didn’t look down to the audience when was explaining what he was doing, no matter how mundane, was enough to set it apart. Couple that with Mike’s buying skills(I think people forget with these later episodes that he is a professional flipper) and it was a great recipe. Fast Forward to today and you see most of the shows on Velocity are trying to copy this formula with mixed results. They all need a gimmick and everytime they build a car it’s always finished 2 minutes before deadline. Why do they keep giving the customers such short deadlines then?!!

Wheeler Dealers is still my favorite car show and one of my favorite shows on TV. I think I’m not alone in this considering the popularity spike in the past few years. It’s definitely the most informative and entertaining auto show around.

DISCUSSION (11)

djmt1 > JaxsterIIi
05/31/2015 at 08:03

They had a marathon on Discovery Turbo (UK version of velocity possibly?) and they showed the first series from over a decade ago and boy have they aged but rather pleasingly the show has remained the same.

KirkyV > djmt1
05/31/2015 at 08:19

When we first got Sky - or, well, Virgin Media but you know what I mean - I used to spend hours watching Discovery Turbo, mainly for Wheeler Dealers. Their episode on the Mark I Golf GTI is, I think, largely responsible for why I grew to prefer tastefully restored original examples of cars over the crazy modded stuff. Both have their place, of course, but I hadn’t really considered the appeal of a well looked after original before then. (Keep in mind I was about thirteen at the time.)

Of course, these days I don’t really watch TV at all... But good memories, nonetheless.

west-coaster > JaxsterIIi
05/31/2015 at 08:58

Yep, my favorite too. First, because I’ve been in many of those wrenching situations Edd has to get involved in, or can foresee when I will someday with the ragtag lot of cars I have. (And of course, cars I plan to have someday.)

But here’s the best part: my wife LOVES watching it too! Of course she finds the British accents charming - Edd’s much more than Mike’s - but she also enjoys learning about what it takes to do small, medium and large car repair projects.

She even bought me a box of Edd's orange nitrile gloves for Christmas last year, ordering them online from his "Grease Junky" site. She's obviously a keeper.

Jobjoris > JaxsterIIi
05/31/2015 at 09:30

Sure like to watch it, but it’s not the best. One big part that’s missing is the hours they’re spending on their project. It’s nice to see what can be ‘earned’ by doing these projects but without showing how much time was involved it’s far from complete/informative. And those scenes regarding the sell of the vehicle are too awkwardly scripted, just skip those please.

Although not as good as it was, Top Gear UK was still the best around. Fifth Gear wasn’t bad either but haven’t watched that for a long time. I actually enjoy Cars That Rock with Brian Johnson. I think I’d prefer Johnsons program over Ed & Mike’s.

Hunter3203 > JaxsterIIi
05/31/2015 at 10:11

It’s a great show and shows how a car show should be done. The non-stop commercial that makes up most of the US produced shows is just overwhelming at times.

LongbowMkII > JaxsterIIi
05/31/2015 at 10:58

Good show. I like that they aren’t afraid to show Ed taking his parts to other places when it’s past his expertise. There’s no deus ex machina like in other shows. “here’s a guy you’ve seen in the background for 7 episodes, he’s conveniently a (problem du jour) expert!”

west-coaster > Jobjoris
05/31/2015 at 11:00

Well, since it’s a one-hour show, they have to condense the hours spent into an airable format. If it took eight hours to complete one task, that would make for one awfully boring eight hour television show.

They're assuming that the average viewer is intelligent enough to roughly estimate how long a particular chore is taking. (Does anyone really think Edd can remove an engine and transmission in five minutes? Good grief, I hope not.) If a task is particularly arduous, he'll actually make a note of that, sometimes even stating the actual number of hours.

Jobjoris > west-coaster
05/31/2015 at 11:34

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to see all the actual footage of the work Edd put in on the car, I understand it’s a one-hour show. I don’t think the average viewer is remotely intelligent enough to roughly estimate how long Edd has put in the complete car, let alone how much it would take for someone less skilled. Mentioning that after the list of parts/costs would definitely be informative, the ‘profits’ made will certainly be more in perspective.

As said: I like the show. But to me it’s not complete and certainly not the best car show in the world.

Frenchlicker > west-coaster
05/31/2015 at 13:45

I didn’t know that existed. I’m happy to know that now.

AdverseMartyr > Jobjoris
05/31/2015 at 16:32

Right, there are times when they sell the car at a loss when you factor in how much labor was involved in fixing the car. I figure they must be considering Edd’s salary as being paid by the tv show, and therefore free for the car.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > JaxsterIIi
05/31/2015 at 17:49

The thing I like best is that often do rather mundane cars and aren’t afraid to have fun with them.