New Wheeler Dealers

[Harry Bloomfield]

Steve H brought next idea :

Well, I fix my things up for my own benefit and use, often for the entertainment and learning value. The object is never to resell them because there would (usually) be no profit in doing that, once my labour is taken into account. At the end of the shows, they cost everything up, then call the difference between buying + parts and selling, the profit margin. They never mention the very expensive cost of labour.

They make it not appear to be a hobby, but rather a commercial enterprise - an expert operating in an expensive well equipped workshop working long hours on a project.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

It was not very often that Edd said this.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

The unmentioned overheads, going to USA to buy a car, hotels, car hire, meals, bringing the car back etc, etc and a lot of etc were reasons why I took the show with a pinch of salt. But it was a SHOW. If anybody is interested:

[Chris]

You had a job once? Amazing!

[Chris]

Actually, he does, in most episodes.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

No he doesn't.

[Chris]

Yes he does. I admit I've only seen a dozen or so episodes in total but in the ones going out on Quest at the moment he does.

[Steve Walker]

I remember speaking to him at Sata Pod many years ago (around the mid-90s) and he was building all sorts of things then. While he was reclining in his four-poster bed, he was telling us that he was stopped by the police on the way there - they couldn't believe that it was legal for a four-poster bed to be towing a settee (complete with table and standard-lamp) on the road!

SteveW

[Graham T]

'OH YES HE DOES!'

[Steve Walker]

They did specifically state a few times that labour costs were deliberately excluded on the basis of it being a demonstration of what you could do yourself and therefore there would be no labour costs - which was fair enough in the early series where they were doing mainly relatively simple mechanical repairs.

SteveW

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

I never saw this statement about the labour costs, and I did look for it. Bollocks. As for doing the jobs at home, that was 90% bollocks. Unless you have a ramp/pit/welding gear etc.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

DON'T SHOUT! IN THIS MEDIUM SHOUTING IS REGARDED AS BEING RUDE. ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE PIKEYS THAT MRS POUNDER HAS WARNED ME ABOUT?

[Cursitor Doom]

Pity I missed it. It's the only horror film I've ever seen that genuinely creeped me out. And Carpenter's They Live was amazing for other reasons.

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Just looked at They Live. I was not impressed. But, never mind.

This was good, Dr Loomis is talking about Peter Hucker.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Yup - that's more like it for a proper job. And remember few cars with perfect bodies require a repaint. There will usually be damage of one sort or another to be repaired first.

[Cursitor Doom]

Never heard of either of them. What's the context/relevance?

[Cursitor Doom]

Yes, it can be a total horror story once you start chipping away! :(

[Peter Hill]

but it's pantomime season.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

True. It does show the difference between true car restorers and those who merely pontificate about it in the pub.

[JoeJoe]

TV "producers" don't usually tend to bother with those details (don't think they include maths in Media Studies degrees).

There have been many home renovation/house flipping programs on TV in recent years that all followed the same approach ("took 2 years to do up instead of the promised/planned 2 months? who cares about the extra £5k in council tax payments during that time...")