RagTop69

I was watching "Wheeler Dealers" on HD Theater (DirecTV) and was astonunded/pissed to hear them badmouthing American electricals. These douches had acquired a C4 Vette aT a very good price and were in the process of "fixing it up" for resale. They kept talking about the fact that the instrument pod was not working and the headlights wouldn't got up when switched on and they kept saying it was an example of "typical American dodgey electricals". This from the home of Lucas "Lord of Darkness". Brit cars have the worst electrical systems in the entire world, including Yugo. When I was much younger I was looking at a Brit car called the Sterling. It was Honda/Acura running gear with a Brit body and electrics. A friend of mine was the regional sales manager for a string of Cadillac agencies who were the dealers for these cars. His best advice was to buy an Acura Legend, which I did. He told me that every one of the Sterlings his company had been importing had to be completely re-wired due to lousy British workmanship. Turned out that the headlight problem with the C4 was the result of a "dodgey" splice done by the P.O. They decided to replace the whole digital dash unit rather than try to trouble shoot it, but that was their choice. They also dumped on the C4's handling characteristics. IIRC, the C4 compared favorably to the contemporary Porshes when they were built, pulling as many Gs in the slalom testing and reversing the nose heavy sled reputations of our C3s. I was amused, however, at the way they talked so reverantly about the huge 5.7L V8 and it's massive 200 hp. What do they say about a man with one eye being king in the land of the blind?

bobbarry

I had the same reaction; I guess if all you ever drove were 2.0L I-4's, then any V-8 would be a revelation in torque.

But for a Brit to make fun of American electronics...

KTKelly

I had to laugh when he called the American Electics "dodgey".

As for the dash pod? That item was a problem area on the early C4, and it's not liekly those guys would have had the ability to fix it. Replacement really was their only out.



In my opinion:

The "mechanic" seems to do a pretty good job, but his claims on how fast things were fixed are another a bit out there.

And the biggest joke is the "rattle can" paint work. Just how long do they expect that crap to last....?


Sure seems like a "bubba in action" show to me....

fadingrockstar

I watched that show in amazement as well. The whole we bought the car for x amount of pounds, had x amount of pounds in the budget for repairs so we can sell it for x amount of pounds! The one guy did all of the talking, the other guy did all of the work and when everything was said and done they really didn't make any $$ on the car. I love my 82 but it's the slowest ride I own. Here's to that massive 200hp Chevy engine!

big block k

that wheeler dealer show is way to much to take in.your right about the numbers. they said there making 200 pounds. what about the shop guys labor? the way they get the shine back on some of those farm field wrecks is so fake. yeah they were calling the vette a yank tank.

BenUK

You shouldn't take those shows too seriously. They're designed for entertainment only.
We saw that show in the UK too, and they filmed the sale of the car at the end to someone at a price meaning they just about covered their costs. The truth is that the buyer they filmed was an actor. The real purchaser turned up in the UK forums a couple of months later. He'd bought the car on eBay for a lot less than they claimed, so the whole thing was a disaster from a financial point of view.

I agree it's a bit unfair of them to poke fun at American electrics given the history of the British car industry, but most American cars we see here are old classics and have the usual electrical problems and bubbafications. In that context the comment doesn't seem too offensive, hopefully.

Here's a link to the thread in our forums:
http://www.corvetteclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3100

Golden

My American cousins, please don't take this show to heart

The guy that presents it, Mike Brewer, is a national joke here and hated by many enthusiasts regardless of what they drive.



He's a 2nd hand car dealer whose background is 4x4's. He only got on TV by being a 'colour man' on a car show, and a poor car show at that.

Ed China the mechanic guy does know his stuff but Brewer is directly involved in the show production so it becomes an inaccurate ego-fest for him.

I don't know if you guys pick up on it but Ed China looks palpably embarrassed by Brewer and his ridiculous statements, fake interactions and bogus 'bargain buys at the scrap yard'.

As for the crack about American wiring, compared to German or Japanese wiring, it is crap.

British wiring was rubbish but you can't really compare the two as we haven't had an indigenous UK car industry since the 1970's , at least you guys still have a motor industry.

bobbarry

I do like that show, and the other Classic Car show they have here on the HD Theater channel. The other show with Mike and Edd where they have a buyer try out three different used cars is also sometimes interesting, but not as much.

Yeh, they don't factor in labor at all, and there's a bit too-much rattle-can paintjobs for my liking, but I appreciate the basic premise that there are somewhat-new semi-collectible cars that have fallen into disrepair and that can be brought back to life with some elbow grease and a minimal investment. I'd like to see the same kind of show here in the states; given our habit of stealing ideas from British TV shows, I'd give it a 50/50 chance of being done right.

Golden

Don't ever watch Wrecks to Riches UK.

It's about as far away from proper Wrecks to Riches as you get and is hosted by a guy who makes the annoying Mike Brewer look like a great guy to hang out with.

If you ever see any show with this guy on it, switch channels before you smash the TV

08vycpe

I saw that show as well. Mike called the C4 a "Yank Tank" with "dodgey American electrical". Brits never got the electrical architecture right in their cars. Look how much the Jaguar improved in electronics and electricals after Ford bought it.

schmegeggie

I would have to agree. I've owned several Nissan's and Toyota's over the years and never had any problems with electrical.
I like the show strictly for entertainment purposes. It seems to me the goal of the show is to "save" a classic "runner" from the scrap heap by doing minimal work and adding some bits. Seems like a viable show! Seriously, of course they don't take Ed's labor into account!
Yeah, they rag on us Americans sometime, but often, the same goes for us over in the C3 section. We get ragged on quite a bit, we have to work on our cars, don't get to drive them much, etc. However, we know when it comes down to it, it's because the C3' muscle cars are the best of the Vette's. I mean really.

highschool67

I really enjoy watching Ed China repair those cars. He's a man after my own heart. If you can't find a new part....... repair, repaint, clean-up or fabricate.
It's also funny trying to see him get into those subcompacts. He's got to be 6 foot 4?

Troy.Blackburn

I really enjoy the show and yes I've seen the episodes with the 84 Corvette and the irony of the "dodgey american electrics" is not lost on me, but let's face it, the 84 Vette does have a reputation of having electrical problems. I used to have an 84 and while mine did not suffer from the typical electrical problems of other Vette's of the same year, I knew plenty of people with 84 Vette's with lots of electrical problems. Not to mention the American Auto Industry has put out some real winners in the past... the Vega, Chevy Luv, Pinto, Mustang II, Pacer, Gremlin and the list goes on...

The show is for entertainment purposes and I enjoy it as such.

john roth

Got my wife a 93 Jag in 94. All I can add to this is the electrical system is poor. It's been to the Dealer a dozen times for electrical problems which really sucks since it went off warranty. Always something.
(I'm not allowed to touch)
JR

Solid LT1

If I were the mechanic on that show, I would tell the "dealer dude" to stick it where the sun dosen't shine and start my own shop. The dealer dude is a complete AS**OLE!

LIQUIDDRAGON

I actually enjoy watching the show and i also like watching their other show Auto Trader. they had just as many good things to say as they did negative so i dont see what the big deal is.

Mike Ward

Will wonders never cease. I finally found a statement from Golden that even I can agree with

08vycpe

I think they mentioned on one of the shows that Edd is 6'7". BTW...I like all the shows on HD Theatre including the Mike & Edd show.

schmegeggie

My wife hates it! I joke sometimes at WalMart that product X only costs 50 "quid", or free(which is how he pronounces three) hundred quid. She hates it!
I can't understand why no one would enjoy it.....imagine, buying an older car, doing lots of work to it....turning around and selling it for a profit(hopefully).
Never heard of that!

tigers123

Ask anybody who owned a matchless, bsa, or ajs motorcycle how they liked driving in the dark. The electrics on British bikes were terrible. Just think of the word lucas. They "generated" most of the problems.