This week, two Gas Monkey Garage builds crossed my desk in my “For Sale” searches. One was the lime-green 1989 Shelby Dakota that Richard Rawlings couldn’t be bothered to even attempt building, which is sitting on eBay with a buy-it-now of $6,000, rebuilt title and all, and the other was one of the early builds from the show, a 1959 Rambler wagon on Craigslist for $22,000, sent to me by Joe Haber. The Dakota had sold at the auction that GMG donated the truck to for $2,500, and since then the owner has done some work to wake up the 318 under the hood. The Rambler was sold for $28,000 on the show, sold once since then for $13,000, and is basically as it was when it was on television.
With the influx of the build-drama-build television shows like “Fast N’ Loud”, “Diesel Brothers”, “Overhaulin'”, “Pimp My Ride”, and others, we got to wondering: If you knew that a car had been built up on a television show, would that make or break the deal for you? Does the show matter? If you knew a car had been restored by Mike and Edd on “Wheeler Dealers”, would that be better than if you found, say, a car that had been modified by Count’s Kustoms for “Counting Cars”? The only two solid bets that we could make from where we sit is that anything that featured on “Chasing Classic Cars” would be worth our time and anything that was touched by “Pimp My Ride” is an immediate write-off…the stories of the cars from the owners are some of the biggest horror stories you’ll ever hear, from crappy workmanship to the Toyota RAV4 that self-immolated in the middle of a street. What say you?
No, No & No
Like the Rambler at 13k but at 28k you are outside of your mind
Mike and Edd would never stoop so low as to produce absolute crap like that “chrome plated” monster!
How dare you suggest that the presenters of the best TV show of all time in the UK would sink so low – I demand my satisfaction, sir!
My choice of weapons shall be used LS blocks and a catapult each….
You must have missed the snakeskin RX-7 then.
It basically comes down to price and build quality. I personally have never bought a car online and never will. To me, it has to be inspected upclose for any flaws if any. I haven’t trusted anyone’s description because most don’t have a clue, famous or infamous.
I’ve found cars on E-bay and Craig’s List. But I’ve always went and looked at them before buying. I they don’t want you to check them out before buying get as far from them as fast as you can.
I like Mike and Ed but…why don’t they ever clean up the crud from under the car? A little power washing/ steam cleaning would be an added plus.
It depends on the car. Most TV built cars are just cosmetic builds and most look like crap. I wouldn’t buy any of them.
As for me I will continue to build my own cars. I have some very talented friends, and between us I am sure that anything we build will be safe and appealing aesthetically!
Tainted …. Yes ” taint mine ” Would I want one … ” no ” They’re Afraid of the sun and rain melts them ….. (|:-)<
a TV show feature / built car?
HELL. NO.
I was actually on a reality TV show once, a very popular one way bigger than the shows mentioned. The way these shows are produced, set up and packaged for the consumer, well,lets just say things are done for entertainment value. Things are said for entertainment value. One hears many things in these environments, the truth is not among them.
I think I would like one from Overhaulin or Bitchin Rides. The others, not so much.
I’ll take the vettecart no problem..
does youtube cont.. HAHA
No. Freakin’. Way. I’d rather roll my own, thankyouverymuch.