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Posting this as I'm wondering what other Forum members who may have watched this think about the program which aired on 96 today...looking for comments before I add mine

Watched this one a while ago.
Can barely remember it, but I do remember that they went over the top with the air intake to stop the turbo noises!!!
Like WTF, that's why people change the air intake on a SE. Oh and more power.

I thought it was one of their more underwhelming ‘makeovers’ essentially between buying and selling, all they did was fix a gbox leak, changing the clutch while there, move a boost gauge to the vent, and fit two under bonnet sound traps. Oh and fit a set of the std rims back on.

Though I was interested to see the result and subsequent fix required to refit the bolt on the side that some people mistake for a drain/fill plug and accidentally remove necessitating a rebuild

For those who are more interested in the technical side of WD, Edd China has his own YouTube show now called Workshop Diaries.

I remember reading and seeing some highlights when the episode aired in the US, but I haven't seen the full episode. The airbox thing is over the top and unnecessary, but the way he fixed the gearbox after undoing the "do-no-remove" bolt that everyone assumes is the oil drain, was pretty ingenious.

OK - it looked like it was a pretty good unit and had had quite a lot spent on it. Mr Brewer's usual ideas about how the car "should" be improved left me speechless. The wheels were a prime example - getting rid of the black (15"?) rims and replacing with Racing Hart 17's (= heavy). Relocating the Mazdaspeed boost gauge to the side fresh air vent while aesthetically pleasing isn't really a satisfactory solution as the vent provides a good volume of air to the driver in the right place...d'oh!
Apart from his customary bargaining down the very reasonable asking price, the final straw was when the purchaser said that she was giving the car to her son for his 18th birthday! I wouldn't mind betting that he'd probably prefer it with the bling that had been removed.
How much of this show is real and how much is staged - don't let reality get in the way of a good story - I doubt that Ant Anstead would have felt the need to regurgitate his breakfast due to Mr Brewer's driving.
At least Ant's mechanical expertise is shown in a bit of detail and helps to overcome some of his co-host's annoying behaviour.

Most if not all 'reality' TV is staged or manipulated. The seller and buyer would be actors, paid to act.

Interesting youtube videos out there on why Edd China left the show. Basically Discovery took over the show and wanted to dumb down the technical stuff 'to improve the show'

strangely familiar vibes to what was/is happening in V8Supercars land.

Simpler show appeals to more viewers which equal more advertising revenue, etc.
Just treat the show as entertainment and don't worry if we don't like what was done to the car.

It is naive to think that the program is genuine. The whole thing is planned months ahead, scripted and purely populated with actors. The cars would've been purchased well ahead and a storyline (and problems) created.
C'mon guys, open your eyes!

I watched it a while ago (thanks to BT).
As others have said, the best part of the MSM episode was the explanation of the gearbox issue.
Essentially these guys just return vehicles to stock if possible, fixing engine issues, sometimes upgrading brakes and suspension if they're crap, because that's where the biggest profits are.
Replacing the rims with the original Racing Hart 17" "boat anchors" had me screaming at the TV but was probably the right thing for THEM to do since they just want to flip it for a profit. Whoever sold them the rims made a great deal and were probably trying to sell them for a while since it's a well-known comfort, performance and handling upgrade for MSMs to replace the OEM 17" boat anchors with 15" rims.

Ed China apparently left the show when the new producers wanted to make it cheaper and eliminate the details of his fixes which took a lot of time to shoot.
Now they often just race through that stuff and show footage of the same crap, replacing bushings, suspension, brakes, oil leaks - it's almost the same script for 80% of the show.

It does make a good drinking game though - every time Mike pronounces the number "free", take a drink.

They probably buy the cars from a wholesaler and then sell them back to the wholesaler. The buying and selling from individuals is just made up fluff.

Interesting Ant mentioning the factory fire curtailed MazdaSpeed production.

bruce wrote:They probably buy the cars from a wholesaler and then sell them back to the wholesaler. The buying and selling from individuals is just made up fluff.

My "made up fluff" list includes:
TV
Politics
Religion
Facebook/Instagram
Car related fora (or forums, if you prefer).

But not all of all of the above.