“Risk element” here means how much trouble or money loss you could face if something goes wrong with a car deal. More expensive cars usually mean bigger potential losses.
“Restoring a car” means taking a vehicle that isn’t in its best condition and bringing it back toward original (or better) condition through repairs and refurbishment. In a profit-focused context, restoration is a major variable in cost and timing—unknown issues can turn a planned budget into a loss.
The Buick Grand National is a performance car made by Buick. It’s known for being quick. It’s mentioned because the speaker is talking about not taking chances when buying certain cars.
This sounds like a particular version/package of the Ford Granada that people would recognize when shopping for cars. The exact meaning of “X-Packs” isn’t fully clear from the snippet alone.
Tom Hartley is mentioned as a well-known car dealer from decades ago. The speaker is describing him as someone who was very influential in buying and selling cars.
Person
George Cole
George Cole is brought up as a comparison, referencing a famous TV character. It’s basically a way of saying Tom Hartley was a big, recognizable name.
A low loader is a flatbed trailer that sits low to the ground. It helps you load cars more easily, including cars that are too damaged or low to drive onto a normal trailer.
Dollies are little wheeled carts or platforms. They let you move a car around without starting or driving it.
Concept
car cleaner
A “car cleaner” is the person who cleans and preps cars for the showroom or sale. They help make the car look good and ready to be sold.
Car
Austin Healy BJ7
Austin-Healey BJ7 is a classic British sports car. It’s the kind of car collectors love because it looks great and drives with a lot of personality. Here, the host is explaining how he bought one and planned the restoration to sell it at auction.
An auction block is the stage/area where vehicles are displayed and sold at auction. Brewer contrasts it with the consumer market: at auction, bidders are farther away and can’t inspect the car closely, so the car needs to look and “read” well from a distance. That changes what details matter most in a restoration.
Term
Oxford Red Blood Lever Interior
This is a specific interior color/trim choice Brewer picked for the car. When you’re trying to sell a restored car, the interior matters a lot because it’s one of the first things people notice and it looks great in photos. He’s using it to make the car stand out to buyers.
A side-draft exhaust means the exhaust pipe exits on the side of the car. In this context, it’s done to make the car more noticeable and exciting to look and listen to, especially for people watching from the auction area. The goal is to create a stronger “wow” impression.
“Oxblood” is a dark reddish-brown color, usually for leather or seats. It matters because it can make the car look more premium and attractive to buyers.
That means the exhaust tips were aimed toward the people watching. It can make the car sound and look more exciting, which helps when you’re trying to sell it.
The RS Cosworth is a special, fast version of the Ford Escort. It was built to be a rally-style performance car, and people still really chase them today.
Wheel of Dealers is a show where the host buys a used car and tries to sell it for more money. The idea is to flip cars in a way that the viewers can understand and copy.
Ferrari 275 is a classic, very collectible Ferrari from the 1960s, famous for its V12 engine and looks. In this episode, they’re describing a 275 that was restored once, but the restoration changed its front-end shape in a way that wasn’t right, so it had to be fixed again later.
“Long nose” is a nickname for a particular front-end shape on some classic Ferraris. If a car is supposed to be the shorter-nose version but someone converted it to the long-nose look, collectors may value it less because it’s not the correct original style.
“Short nose” means the car’s front-end shape is the shorter version. In this story, the Ferrari 275 should have been the short-nose look, but it was changed to the long-nose look during an earlier restoration.
They’re talking about a detailed car-history report. It’s supposed to tell you who owned the car, where it’s been, and whether it had accidents or other serious issues.
Repossessed means the car was taken back by the bank or lender because payments weren’t made. It can be a red flag when you’re trying to judge the car’s past.
Accident damage is prior crash-related damage that can affect a car’s structure, safety, and long-term reliability. The host notes that the report can include pictures of the accident damage, which helps buyers judge severity and repair quality.
The Aston Martin DB5 is a famous British sports car, especially because it shows up in James Bond movies. People collect them, so the exact version and condition can really matter for what it’s worth.
The Volvo 240 GLT estate is a station wagon version of the Volvo 240, with a nicer trim level. It’s generally seen as a tough, practical car—so it’s a very different choice than an Aston Martin DB5.
A “wheelie dealer” is just a car trader who buys cars and sells them again. The idea is that they try to make money by finding deals and reselling at the right time.
This means the business sells cars quickly instead of keeping them for a long time. Brewer is saying that quick selling helps limit how bad losses can get if car prices change.
This is about what a car might be worth in the future. The point is that you shouldn’t assume you can predict future prices perfectly when buying and selling.
The Range Rover is a large luxury SUV made by Land Rover. It’s designed to be comfortable for everyday driving and capable on rough roads too. It comes up in value discussions because some of them can sell for more than you’d expect.
Term
buy and sell, sell
He’s describing the common car-flipping/restoration approach: buy a car, sell it, and use that money to help pay for the next one. It’s basically how he funds the bigger, more expensive project.
This means a Porsche 911 Turbo from the 964 generation. Turbo models use a turbocharger to boost power. The question is basically: “Is that the 964 Turbo?”
Term
out-the-box thinking
It just means thinking in a creative, non-standard way instead of doing things the usual way. Here, it’s about finding clever ways to handle car projects and make the show work.
The Volkswagen Golf is a compact car that Volkswagen makes in many different versions. Some versions are designed to be more sporty, like the GTI. It’s mentioned because the speaker talks about having different Golf-related cars over time.
Term
shortcuts
“Shortcuts” means skipping steps to finish faster. In car restoration, that can mean doing things the easy way instead of the correct way.
The Hindustan Ambassador is a long-running car model made in India, often seen as a practical, everyday vehicle. The host brings it up because he’s talking about buying one there and taking it back to England.
Car
Morris Oxford
A Morris Oxford is an older British car model. Here, it’s being mentioned because the host wants to buy one from another country and bring it home.
Singer is a famous company that builds and restores high-end Porsche 911s. The speaker is saying that in California they kept seeing that kind of custom Porsche work.
Brand
DLS lightweight study
They’re talking about a lightweight Porsche concept/build called “DLS.” The idea is to make the car lighter so it drives better.
“Rest-o-modded” means you bring an older car back to good condition, but you also add modern upgrades. It tries to keep the classic style while making the car nicer to live with today.
Term
eyelets
In upholstery and interior trim, “eyelets” are metal rings or reinforced holes used to finish or secure fabric/leather details. Brewer is pointing out that even small interior construction details—like eyelets in the seats—can be part of what makes a high-end restoration feel special.
Term
basket weave lever
“Basket weave” is a woven-looking pattern, usually in leather or trim. Brewer is saying the lever has that fancy pattern, and it’s the kind of detail most people wouldn’t notice until they see it.
Car
Citroen SM
The Citroën SM is a rare, stylish French car that’s known for having a special Maserati-built V6 engine. It’s the kind of classic that stands out even today, and it was popular on big car TV shows.
The MG MGA is an older sports car made by MG. The 1959 model is one specific year of that car. It’s mentioned because the speaker had one that was restored to a very high standard.
Term
Daytona Lever
“Daytona Lever” is a name for a specific interior/shift-lever style on some Ferrari 360 Spiders. It’s basically a factory option that makes the car’s cabin look more special.
The Jaguar Mark I is an older car made by Jaguar. The speaker mentions it because it looks especially nice. It’s brought up as part of a discussion about classic vehicles and what makes them desirable.
The Ford Transit Mark I is an older generation of Ford’s famous van. A “long wheelbase” version has a longer frame, usually giving you more space for cargo or passengers.
Concept
classic car market going, whey, I went, I'm going to sell all the cars
He’s talking about how the prices for collectible cars changed during COVID. He felt the market was getting hot, so he decided it was the right time to sell his cars.
The Audi 200 is an older Audi model. It’s mentioned in the context of a larger event or tour. The key point is that it’s a specific car model being referenced, not a general category.
A gearbox is the part of the car that changes gears. It helps the engine work efficiently, and repairs can be costly, which is why it can show up in scammy stories.
Due diligence just means “do your homework” before buying. For a used car, it means checking the details and making sure the seller and the car are real before you send money.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost is a luxury car made by Rolls-Royce. It’s designed to feel very comfortable and upscale. It’s mentioned because the speaker is describing their experience with a 2012 model.
“Wings” are the panels on the sides of the front of the car, above the wheels. If they need painting, that usually means they’re damaged or scratched and need a fresh coat.
A paint shop is where the car gets repaired and repainted. Brewer is showing the buyer the car while it’s being worked on so they can see the progress.
A trade plate is a temporary license plate used by car dealers to move vehicles legally while they’re being stored, inspected, or transported. It’s typically tied to the dealer’s authorization rather than the specific customer’s car registration.
Term
M42
M42 is the name BMW gave to a particular 4-cylinder engine used in some older BMWs. Saying “the M42” means they’re talking about that specific engine.
He’s saying it was a basic 1950s Chevy 210, but someone made it look like a fancier Bel Air. Bel Air is the nicer-looking trim level, so the difference is often mostly styling and trim.
He’s talking about a 1957 Chevrolet, an older car from the late 1950s. He’s using it as an example of how simple the car is to understand and repair compared to newer vehicles.
A crosshead screwdriver is a Phillips screwdriver—the kind with a cross-shaped tip. He’s pointing out that the car uses simple screws you can remove with common tools.
Imperial nut sizes mean the bolts and nuts are measured using inches instead of millimeters. That matters because you need the right wrench or socket sizes to fit.
He means the car caught fire suddenly, seemingly on its own. With cars, that usually suggests something like a fuel leak or an electrical problem that ignited.
“Mark 1” just means the first generation of that car model. It’s a quick way to tell which version you’re talking about, since later versions can be quite different.
The Audi TTS Coupe Competition Plus is a more performance-oriented version of the TTS. It’s a coupe, meaning it’s a two-door style, and it comes with sportier features than the basic trim. It’s mentioned because some early versions may be worth considering if you can find a good example.
A rear spoiler is a small wing-like piece on the back of a car. It changes how air flows around the car, and here it’s being used to help spot which version of the Audi TT someone should look for.
The Audi TT RS is a high-performance version of the Audi TT. It’s meant to be quicker and more exciting to drive than the regular TT. It’s brought up because some early TT RS models can be good deals if you find the right one.
Person
Peter Stevens
Peter Stevens is a car designer tied to the Audi TT’s look. Mike is using him as a reference point to describe which TT versions have the earlier styling details.
“Tumbled in price” just means the car got a lot cheaper in the used market. When that happens, it can be a good time to buy if the car is still a good one.
The Jaguar F-Type is a Jaguar sports car. Here, the host is saying it’s gotten cheaper, so you can buy one for less money than you might expect for a sports car.
He’s describing a strategy where you buy a car cheaply enough that you can sell it later for about the same money. So the hobby feels “free” because you’re not really losing money.
“Sit on it” means keep the car for a long time instead of selling right away. He’s saying that with the right purchase price, you can often recover your money later.
The Mercedes-Benz SL 55 is a fancy Mercedes with a strong V8 engine. The hosts are saying it’s a car people respect because the engine is really good, but it can still cost a lot to keep running. If you find a well-maintained one, it’s not as scary as it sounds.
The Mercedes-Benz CL 55 is the AMG-badged version of Mercedes’ flagship coupe, paired here with the same 5.5-liter V8 family they mention for the SL 55. The key point in the discussion is that both cars share a reputation for having a strong, historically notable V8 engine. They’re using the CL 55/SL 55 comparison to explain why the “money” can make sense if you choose the right car.
“5.5 litre” is how big the engine is, and “V8” means it has eight cylinders arranged in a V shape. Bigger V8 engines usually feel powerful and smooth, especially in a luxury car. Here, they’re saying this engine is a big part of why the car is so good.
They’re talking about how people react when something feels “free.” Even if there’s still a cost somewhere, the way the deal is presented can change how people judge it. It’s about how buyers think, not about car parts.
Term
four litre turbo
“Four litre turbo” means an engine around four liters in size that uses a turbocharger to make more power. In this conversation, it’s being compared to the SL 55’s engine.
Ceramic brakes are a type of brake system that uses ceramic friction material. They can be great for braking performance, but when you need new parts, they usually cost more than normal brakes.
Silverstone is a famous racing track in the UK. The hosts are mentioning it because auction events there can strongly influence what rare cars sell for.
The Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG is a high-performance Mercedes roadster made by AMG, the brand’s performance team. The hosts are talking about how much one can sell for at an auction and whether it’s a “good deal” at certain prices.
A guide price is the auction’s guess at what a car should sell for. If the bidding reaches the guide price, it means the market agreed with that estimate.
The SL 65 AMG is a Mercedes roadster with a V12 engine, which is unusual and expensive. They’re saying that because it’s so rare, it can command high prices at auctions—even if the market dips.
The Ford GT is a very fast, special-edition sports car made by Ford. It’s designed for performance and is produced in limited numbers. It’s mentioned because it’s the kind of car that stands out immediately when you see it.
Naturally aspirated means the engine doesn’t use a turbo or supercharger. It breathes in air normally, and that’s what the host is pointing out about the SL55’s V8.
“De-restricted” refers to removing factory electronic limits—most commonly speed limiters—so the car can reach higher speeds. Here, the host claims the SL55 was limited to 155 mph, but could be de-restricted to around 200 mph via ECU changes.
The ECU is the car’s main engine computer. It controls how the engine runs, and here it’s being used to explain how the car’s top-speed limit can be changed by altering the software.
A “modern classic” is a car that’s not old enough to be a vintage museum piece, but it’s old enough that people start collecting and paying attention to it. The host is saying some cars go through a weird phase before they become popular as classics.
In this context, “cap” is being used like a market-price boundary for a brand—how high or low typical pricing tends to go based on demand. The speaker then corrects it to “floor,” implying a minimum price level driven by brand strength.
A “floor” is the idea that a brand’s pricing has a minimum level it tends not to fall below. The speaker uses Ferrari’s “50 grand” example to argue that brand demand can keep prices from dropping under a certain threshold.
The Porsche Boxster is a sports car made by Porsche, usually with a mid-mounted engine. It’s designed to be fun to drive and is often less expensive than the 911. It’s mentioned because you can sometimes find a Boxster for a better deal.
Value retention means the car keeps its value instead of getting cheaper quickly. The host is saying some cars are “safe bets” because you expect them not to lose money.
A 1964 Mini Cooper S is a classic British small car that’s famous for being fun to drive. The “S” version is the sportier, more powerful Cooper, which is why people love them and keep buying/selling them.
The Ferrari 812 Superfast is a very powerful Ferrari with a big V12 engine. It’s built for fast, dramatic driving, but the host is saying it doesn’t feel the same as the fun you get from a smaller, older car. He’s comparing how different cars make you feel behind the wheel.
Term
30 miles an hour
He’s saying the car is fun even when you’re only going about 30 mph. The excitement comes from how the car drives, not from going extremely fast. That’s why he compares it to much bigger supercars.
Goodwood is a famous motorsport venue in the UK. People go there to watch races, especially with classic cars and entertaining historic events.
Car
Minis
The Mini is a small British car that’s famous for racing. Because it’s compact and quick to change direction, it makes for great close racing at events like Goodwood.
A Targa is a car roof setup where you can remove part of the roof for open-air driving. It’s like a convertible, but it usually keeps a strong frame/roll bar for protection.
The Bugatti Veyron is a famous ultra-expensive supercar/hypercar. The point of mentioning it here is that even if someone can buy one (or many), it still might not match the personal meaning of the host’s dream car.
The G-Class is a Mercedes SUV known for being tough and capable off-road. In this conversation, they’re saying it would be the practical choice for a family, not just something that looks good.
The Volvo XC90 is a big family SUV from Volvo. Here, the host is saying the one they rode in had an extremely premium sound system that made the audio feel surround-like.
Radar cruise control is cruise control that can “follow” the car in front of you. It uses sensors to keep a safe distance, so you don’t have to constantly adjust speed in traffic.
France is the country they’re planning to film the first episode in. It’s just a location detail for the show.
LIVE
I'm a car whisperer, I talk to cars, they talk to me.
I will wrestle a car into restoration.
I'm loving every minute of this.
What makes a true wheeler dealer?
We don't get emotionally attached.
Which Raiders?
I get it in, get it out.
I will donate off of my lower anatomy
if I can have a singer.
I ain't giving that for nothing.
I've never known it's so difficult to try and turn a profit
as it is at the moment.
Is it true you turned top gear down?
The truth is that engine's going to go down in history
as one of the best engines Mercedes ever made.
Something about driving that car that is illegal.
What's the most you've lost on our restoration?
It tried to kill me, it caught fire, spontaneously combusted.
So you know all these car TV shows, you've done them over 20 years.
What truth do they not show about the car world?
That there is just this one thing.
Mike, what makes a true wheeler dealer?
I think somebody that understands not only what they want
in terms of buying a car at the right price
and selling at the right price,
but also understanding what the customer wants.
So a true wheeler dealer is understanding the market,
reading the customer really well, buying a car at the right price,
selling at the right price,
but more importantly making sure the customer is happy.
And do you think there's a difference between a wheeler dealer
at the lower end of the car market
and a wheeler dealer at the higher end of the car market?
Yes, the risk element of what say Carl does is,
I couldn't sleep at night because Carl's dealing in 100,000 pound cars
all the time, 200,000 pound cars.
I'm dealing in stuff that's 20, 30 grand, you know.
So I can sleep comfortably at night, I can take it on the chin.
If something goes wrong or we've made a loss, I can take it on the chin.
I don't know if I could suffer those kind of risks.
I stopped sleeping when I was 16.
He's only 18 now, look at the state of it.
I think it comes down to that, it's the risk element, isn't it?
And you know, I have added my time and I still have.
I've got 100,000 pound cars and 200,000 pound cars.
I'm currently restoring a car that's going to be a 300 grand car
personally at the moment and that's a worry.
You know, having that car out there is a worry.
But no, I'm one of those people, it's like I don't gamble.
I don't gamble on the Grand National.
I don't gamble on Wimbledon, I don't gamble.
And the reason is I've worked so hard for every single penny I've got,
the thought of losing it or giving it away horrifies me.
Do you think you're a wheelie dealer?
100%.
But my definition of a wheelie dealer is slightly different to Mike's,
although I think you all agree, a wheelie dealer for me is,
like my dad is, I think he's the ultimate wheelie dealer,
because when I was a kid I'd go to a pub, a public house with my dad
and there'd be people there that he'd knew and he'd end up taking a watch in Partix,
this is when I was a kid, this is why I do it now.
He would sell a car that he had outside and he'd take a watch in Partix Change
or he'd take somebody's something else in Partix Change
and wouldn't be cars and it's just somehow manufactured a deal from nothing.
But yes, fundamentally you have to understand what the customer wants,
he wants your car, he has to understand what you want,
you want to sell your car and it's just putting those pieces of the puzzle together.
And sometimes there's hurdles where he wants your car, you want to sell him your car,
but probably not got the funds readily available to do so,
so how do you make that happen?
What have you got that I can take that can make that happen
and make it easier for you to get you into my car?
Just for context as well, just in case the audience don't know,
Carl's dad in the terms, I don't know if I'm the only proper car dealer that you've had on,
but Carl's dad in terms of the motor in world, he's the king of the car dealers,
in our world is the king of the car dealers and I can't think of another car dealer in the UK
or globally that wouldn't know he's dad and go, yeah, that's the...
Yeah, no, that is true, it's a massive compliment, but it is true.
We'll have to try and get him on the show then.
Have you not interviewed him?
Oh, so I want you to talk about this.
That's ridiculous that you've not interviewed him.
I have, I have.
And we've done one together with you on disruptives.
And you loved it and it blew up.
Yeah, but you know what, you know me dad, Mike,
he's got the attention span of a goldfish.
And if you said to him on dad, on Wednesday, we're doing cars and money,
we're going to need you for two hours on cars and money,
it'd be like, no, I can't do it this Wednesday,
but then you said you were going to do it on Wednesday.
No, I can't, I have to do it another day.
And then when he's there, what's he like?
He's there and he's like...
He's on his phone, buying and selling.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, he's a serious, serious...
And then he just shuts off completely.
He shuts off and then Rob will ask you a question, you'll go,
sorry, what?
But isn't that the fascination of your dad, that is the fascination of him?
Yeah, people love him.
You know what, before social media or before he came big on social media,
there was loads of mixed reviews about me dad.
People didn't get him, they thought he was quite rude, a bit arrogant,
because of the way he's so straight to the point.
He, if someone's got a car for sale, right,
your car's worth that much and that's how much it's worth.
You know, we've got a car for sale, would you take XYZ?
No, sorry, that's the price.
And they thought, well, you know, he's a bit...
Because he's scotch as well and he's got this aggressive tone.
He has, yeah.
But they see him on social media now and everyone's...
So many people, they could be friends,
it could be customers that like Carl, your dad is the best thing on social media.
Like he sees you so funny.
What you probably don't know, I don't know how old you are, Carl,
but me and your dad probably go back, I would say I've known your dad for...
Where am I now?
40 years.
Yeah.
Yeah, Warren Street days.
So back in the old Warren Street days...
Oh, do you know what?
This is so funny you've said that.
This is so funny you've said that.
We were in the office the other day, me and my dad,
this was three days ago.
And he said, let me ask you a question.
So I said, what?
He said, do you know what Warren Street is?
So I said, no.
So he said, this is what I mean.
I'm like, what?
What's Warren Street?
Back in the 60s, 70s, Warren Street was like,
you said like Bond Street's full of jewelry shops.
Warren Street was just car dealers.
He said, you know, every car dealer was on Warren Street.
You'd buy a car from that car dealer and you'd walk down there
and you'd trade it to him for more money.
And it was like a cash and carry street of cars.
And he said, I'm going to do something.
And by the way, by the time this comes out,
you'll probably already do it.
He said, I'm going to do something and I'm going to go to Warren Street
and I'm going to walk around and I'm going to explain to people
how important this street was for the UK car industry.
Time to take me with him.
Yeah, you should do it together.
I was an 18-year-old lad and I'm in my 60s now,
but I was an 18-year-old lad going down Warren Street with my two bosses
who knew your dad very well, budgie in a major,
and we were buying XJSs and, you know,
Granada Gear X-Packs and that kind of stuff for the dealership
that we had in Tutin at the time.
And I remember running into your dad
or them having conversations with your dad
and doing deals with your dad.
And even back then, I'm talking over 40 years ago,
back then, that's Tom Hartley, that is, that's Tom Hartley.
And he was like, I don't want to say it was like the George Cole,
you know, the minder, if you like.
He was the sort of the king of the car dealers back then.
He'd go and buy a car from somewhere remotely near London
and the first thing you'd do is take it to Warren Street.
Warren Street, yeah.
You just flog it?
I remember my bosses, I won't say it was from your dad
because I think that'd be unfair,
but my bosses bought a, I remember I was standing there
and they did a deal with a guy, Joe, it might have been Joe Bays,
and it was a Mark III Cortina in bronze.
And they said, take that.
And I remember the deal, they said, apparently,
something wrong with the steering, it goes left better,
it goes right.
So they said, get it back to the,
and this is Warren Street in the centre of London
and I'm with, the site was in Tooting.
And he said, get it back to the site.
So we'll see you back at the site.
So I jumped in this Cortina and the car more or less
only turned left, it wouldn't turn right.
So I had to, I had to spy,
I remember coming back past Warren Street an hour later,
you know, which was, I literally had to spy on my way
out of London on a north circular
to get back down towards Tooting.
It was flipping hilarious.
But I can also remember being down Warren Street.
And Peter, who was called the budgie, he was my boss,
because he looked like Adam Faith.
So everyone called him budgie.
There was a dealer that said, they were trading cars,
like, you know, I've got a Mark III Cortina,
what have you got?
And he went, oh, I've got Arthur Jaguar.
And he went, oh yeah, well, tell us about that.
And he said, Jaguar HJ6, Arthur Carr really.
All right.
Well, and back then you'd describe a car as Arthur Carr as,
you know, it's a bit, it needed work.
You know, it's a bit ropey.
So Peter, I remember that deal being done on Warren Street.
And this car was going to be delivered.
So we're back at the site in Tooting.
And my two bosses are out for the day.
And I'm standing in this low loader pulled up outside
on Tooting High Street, which was blocking the high street,
this low loader.
And on the back of it was a sliced in half Jaguar.
And it was, it was the, it was called Show Car.
Right.
This dealer at ball and describe it as, it's half a car.
He didn't misdescribe it.
He didn't misdescribe it.
Very exciting.
Funny enough, when my boss, because back then you didn't
have mobiles to phone him.
You know, I had to wait for them to turn up the next day.
And me and Morris, the car cleaner, it was on dollies.
And me and Morris, the car cleaner,
got it into the dealership.
And I thought my boss is going to hit the wall and go mad.
But when he come in and laughed his head off about it,
he then thought it was the most amazing thing.
And it ended up being on the showroom wall
for the next five years.
It just sat there against the wall for the next five years.
So they were great days of carving.
So funny, you've just, I've never heard of Warren Street for 38 years.
Most shows you are old.
I am now, yeah.
In three days.
Show us your old.
I am.
Two people talk about Warren Street.
There you go.
Right.
Seeing as I've got two wheeler dealers here,
I'm going to ask some questions to both of you.
You call with that?
Yep.
All right.
So you've done quite a few restorations.
What's the most you've made on a restoration?
Now that's a good question.
I would say on my TV work, the most we ever made.
On wheeler dealers.
On wheeler dealers, yeah.
The most we ever made.
I bought a Austin Healy BJ7 that I bought in Oregon.
And at the time I remember it was $35,000.
And I said, that's a $70,000 car.
Nobody believed me.
And what I did, I was working with Anstead at the time.
I made sure that this car was just going to be an auction car.
So when you're a car restorer, a car renovator like myself,
there are two markets you can play for.
You can play for the consumer market.
So you need a car to be good for the consumer market.
And you know, the door shuts have got to be great.
People have got to have that first impression when they open the door
and they see the car and they've got to fall in love with it.
But if you're putting it on an auction block,
people are sat back from it, they're remote from it,
so they can't touch and feel it.
So I challenged Ant and myself to make sure
that this car touched all the senses.
So it needed to pop.
I put Oxford Red Blood Lever Interior inside the car.
And the cheeky little thing that I did is I made Ant turn the exhaust.
Because it's six and I made him turn the exhaust to a side draft exhaust.
So exit outside towards the audience.
It was cheeky little thing to play with.
And I did it very successfully,
which meant when it rolled across the block,
it looked amazing under the lights.
It looked incredible because of the Oxblood interior.
But better than that, it sounded incredible
because the exhaust was facing out towards the audience
as it come across the block.
And we sold it for $75,000.
So that was showing you how you can make 100% out of the car
if you just get it right, if you do it right.
So that was a good successful one.
I made some good money out of a RS Cosworth,
which was an Escort Cosworth that we did on Wheel of Dealers.
What did you make on that?
I can't remember, but it's around that $40,000.
See, Wheel of Dealers is not like Carlsworld.
Wheel of Dealers is a world where the audience
really want to see me buy a 10 to 20,000 pound car
and sell it for $22,000, $23,000.
So they could see themselves doing it.
They could see, and the whole concept of the show
is that you can have a go yourself.
People often say, well, you don't include labour.
We're not a garage.
We are two guys in a workshop doing it ourselves,
and we're showing you how you can do it yourselves.
So yeah, I mean, people want to see me make a,
if I made a five grand profit as a big Wheel of Dealers profit.
So on that instance, to make a 35 grand profit,
that was huge in the Wheel of Dealers world.
In my personal life, clearly I've made more than that.
What's the most you've made in your personal life?
In my personal life, I've made probably $107,000, I think.
I took out a one car.
In one car? What car was it?
It was a little car.
Or was it a car you would tell us out there?
It was a little car that I was telling you about.
So yeah, I made some money out of a nice car.
Right, so you made over $100,000 out of a small car.
But let's talk about percentages there for a second.
Is it a really small car?
It could be, yeah.
I would just say it was like a mini percentage.
Yeah, it was a mini percentage.
It was a mini percentage.
But I mean, look, they are your lottery wins.
They don't come across often.
They are very rare, and I'm very fortunate to be in a position
where people might come to me with cars,
and I'm very humble about that, and I'm very thankful for that.
But again, it doesn't matter what world you live in.
If you're in your world with watches and cars,
there's a risk element to everything.
Of course, you don't risk anything.
You risk everything.
There's been many a time that I've gone and bought a 40 grand car
and I've ended up sending it for 30 grand.
Well, I want to come back to that part
because I want to ask about your biggest loss.
So it's not really fair to say how much have you made on a car
because you probably make that on every car what might make.
But what about as a percentage?
Well, yeah, I mean, percentage.
Have you ever made over 100% on a car?
I have made 100% or more on a car,
and it could be something that is very, very expensive.
But I remember one car that sticks in my mind was a classic Ferrari,
and it was a 60s Ferrari, 275, and we bought the car,
and it had been restored earlier in its life
and made a long nose when it was really a short nose.
So it needed restoring again.
This is, it would have happened in the 70s or 80s
when it wasn't really worth as much as what it is now.
And it was more luck than judgment.
We bought the car at the right money,
but it was a three-year restoration.
Can you remember what you bought it for?
Yeah, I remember what we bought it for.
We bought it for a million.
Wow.
So you took the risk?
Yeah, we bought it for a million,
and we probably spent $500,000 restoring it.
Wow.
Over three years.
Over three years, but in that three years...
That's cost a capital on that as well.
But in that three years, they went through the roof.
Right.
Like, it done us such a favour
that we couldn't sell it for three years.
We physically couldn't sell it for three years.
Because you would have done if you'd have made...
Yeah, and you know, by giving a million and spending,
and that day, if Arda took a 5% profit on the car,
do you know what I mean?
But it was out of our hands.
We bought it knowing that we're not going
to be able to touch it for that long.
And that was on the high scale, on the lower scale.
Okay, so would you sell it for?
It made 100% profit.
Right, so you sold it for about $3 million.
On the other end of the scale of that,
I mean, there's loads of times, even recent times,
that we've bought, you know, SL 190s and stuff like that.
That are not in great shape.
You know, they're just a bit old.
They're a bit tired.
And they're a burden to the family who owns the car.
Like, their dad or mum might have bought the car 40 years ago
and hasn't been used for 20 years.
And what are you going to do?
You've got to insure it and blah, blah, blah.
And they just won out of it.
And you buy that car and you think,
right, well, you know, I've got to totally restore this.
And it's like opening a kind of worms.
You think, oh, I've got to do that.
You open it up.
You think, oh, shit, I've got to do 10 times more than that,
which is the risk.
But sometimes the risk pays off.
And you don't have to do as much as you think.
And you know, I'm talking a 20 grand car,
you sell for 40 grand.
So yeah, you know, it's all about percentages.
It's all about percentages.
I mean, I'll do a deal sometimes on a car that earns good money.
But the percentage is shit.
And you think that wasn't, that wasn't a good deal.
It was financially, but the percentage wise is like,
I outlaid a lot of money for a very little percent.
But it was easy and it was quick straightforward.
And we're traders.
Like get it in, get it out, move on.
I'm not, we're not like holders.
Yeah.
For me, it's all about flow turnover.
It's speed of it.
Speed is all about speed.
You can't sell an empty space.
You just need to fill a space all the time, you know,
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What's the most you've lost on that illustration?
I'm good, okay?
I'm pretty good at my job,
so I don't really lose money on cars.
I have lost money on cars, and, you know, it's...
We're all allowed a bad day.
Yeah, we're all allowed...
I suppose my most famous loss
is what the loss become.
Let me explain.
There is a picture of me that's out there somewhere.
Don't judge me on this, okay?
It's a picture of me out there somewhere.
Back in the 1980s,
and I'm lent up against the bonnet of a Aston Martin DB5,
finished in like a bronze metallic
with a tan leather interior,
and it's got the old-fashioned stickers
on the glass, on the windscreen,
and it's marked up for 9995.
So that car was marked up five pounds under 10,000 pounds.
Okay? That's what that car was marked up.
And it was leaking that car,
and I...
This is why I say, don't judge me.
I swapped that car for a Volvo 240 GLT estate,
and I got a bonus for that from my boss
because we had the Aston Martin for quite a while,
but the Volvo we sold quite quickly for 11 grand.
So I got a little bit of a bonus for that one,
but when I look back and I go,
I'm the guy that swapped the Aston Martin DB5
for a Volvo 240 GLT estate,
and yet I'm famous for being a wheelie dealer.
I sort of got to pay a bit.
Yeah, but you can't predict the future, can you?
You can't predict the future,
but that's what they were back there.
I mean, it was bad deal mine, though.
And that's the Aston Martin DB5 back then.
There was a 10 grand car, you know, nobody wanted them.
Wow.
And what about Wastamay she's lost on a car?
I mean, the similar stories to that
is what could have been, you know...
My losses are because we're an actively trading company.
Yeah, don't count the future values of cars
because you wouldn't keep them for years, would you?
Because we're an active trading company,
your losses are never going to be astronomical
because I like to feel like we know what we're doing
and we're professionals of what we do.
So, you know, I'm not going to go and buy a car for 500 grand
and sell it for 200 grand because...
Everyone can make a mistake,
and sometimes you can be on the phone
falling knife of a market, can't you?
Yeah, and, you know, I've done that
and I've lost probably 35, 40% in a car
that I've never opened the door on.
I've done that in Covid with quite a few cars.
Covid was... The market was massive, as you know,
it went insane and then all of a sudden bang,
everything went back to normal
and then cars went back to normal and cars dropped.
You couldn't pay too much money for a car in Covid.
So, what you made a load on the way up
but then you lost a bit on the way down.
Once again, me and my dad had a conversation
and he's been around, he's seen it all 10 times over.
And he's quite a pessimistic person.
He's always one of these, this market's going to crash,
it's going to crash, I'm telling you, it's going to crash.
And you'll say this for like three years
and when it crashes in three years time ago, I told you.
I told you.
And I'm like, but you said it every day for like in five years, you know.
So, when we were...
When it's in the middle of Covid
and we're doing really well
and we're selling loads of cars and cars,
we know, as you know,
these cars should not be making this money.
Range Rovers were selling for 20 grand over this.
Oh, yeah.
You know, this is a car that you'd want 20 grand off.
And we just kept rolling the dice
because we were selling, then we were earning.
When we got the bad feeling of the car markets going to not crash
but get corrected to where it was,
if we were to stop buying,
it would have cost us a lot more money
than the losses that we took out,
some of the cars that were just left.
It's like going to a casino and playing Blackjack.
You know, you never leave at your highest point.
You've got to give some back to the dealer.
And that's kind of what it was.
So, the losses, yeah, they hurt, but...
There must be one that really hurt.
The problem is with losses is you instantly forget the wins.
You know, when you're losing money,
you forgot the previous wins that you've had and the loss hurts.
But does a big loss hurt
than an even bigger win feels good?
Yes.
A bigger win, a win never feels that great.
You just, that's what you're here for.
That's what your job is.
Yeah, it's working.
It feels good, though.
It does feel good, but a bigger loss.
How long does it feel good for you for?
Minutes.
Yeah, I was going to say, it's seconds.
Yeah, it's minutes.
Second to...
You're my first fucking love.
It's like, it's seconds, it's...
It's minutes, yeah.
That was a good deal, that's great.
Right, what's next?
I think a good car...
A loss is like, I'm going to kill myself.
Three months later, just still in bed.
I think another thing about a wheel of dealer is you don't...
We don't get emotionally attached.
You know, we don't.
We just see everything as a reason to advance onwards.
Does that take your passion our way out of cars a bit,
because you've just seen them so much?
Yeah, I would say yes.
I mean, I am passionate about a certain brand of car,
which I absolutely love, and I'm restoring one at a time
at the moment, and I'm very passionate about that car.
And I can't ever see a world where I want to sell it.
But I'm at that time in my life now
where I want something for me to enjoy.
But to get there to this car, I've had to, you know,
buy and sell, sell.
What's that brand?
It's a Porsche, so I'm doing a 6-4 Turbo.
So I'm spending the full tune of money on it.
It's going to be a very expensive car when it's done.
It's my version of a singer.
You know, I can't afford to pay Rob a singer.
I can't afford to give him a million dollars for a car,
but I can certainly get the feeling of a singer
and like an evocation of a singer,
and spend a fraction of the cost.
And I know I can do that,
because I've got the skillset and the people around me.
Is this a 964 Turbo?
Yeah.
3.3 or 3.6?
3.3.
Yeah, 3.3, good car.
Yeah, good car.
It's a great car.
And I'll show you pictures of it after we're out.
But yeah, it'd be an amazing build,
and it'd be an exceptional car.
And it will be singer-esque, the car,
but I'm just not paying Rob a million dollars
and waiting five years for it.
You know, I'm doing it myself.
Right.
And you can do everything yourself, right?
Well, yeah, I've got a company in Poland
that I'm working with called Carbone Leveries.
They're absolutely incredible,
because they're in that Porsche world,
and they're experts in fabrics, interiors.
Plus, they're very creative.
They're kind of a madcap bunch of creatives
that live in this very creative area of Poland,
a town called Łódź.
And that's why I went there.
I went there because of their sort of out-the-box thinking.
You know, this car, I want it to be my car.
I want it to be a car that people go,
is Mike easy in his Porsche?
So people know me for that car,
rather than, you know, at the moment, I could be in anything.
I could be in a, you know, a Fiesta XR2 one week,
and that Mark I Golf GTI the second week, you know.
So I could be in anything,
but I want people to recognise me for that one car,
because it's going to be very special.
So you know all these car TV shows,
you've done them over 20 years.
30 years next year is my 30th year.
That's a long time.
It's a long journey.
Congratulations.
Thank you. That's very good.
Yes. But what truths do they not show about the car world?
Because obviously they're edited and they're summarised.
There must be some hard truths about the car world they don't show.
Well, not so much in terms of the dealing,
but in terms of the restoration in our show,
the truth is you don't, you know, there's,
there's shortcuts to everything, you know,
that you can only put in a 42-minute programme.
Look at the success of Tabarish, our friend in the States,
or Matt Armstrong.
Look at the success of them.
They show everything, okay?
So they are warts and all and they show everything.
When I watch their content, I absolutely love it,
but I can tune out certain bits of the content,
because if you're changing the disc and the upright
on one side of a car and you've showed how you did it,
I really don't need to sit on the other side.
They will show everything.
They will show both sides.
We won't.
We'll just show you on one side.
So the bit that you don't see on the show,
is that once we've changed the disc and the upright
on one side, we cut the camera and somebody else
are crashing to the other side and do the other side,
while we're advancing on to the next bit of the build somewhere else.
So it's just condensing the editorial down
and getting it into that 42 minutes.
And that's the bits that you don't see.
The other bits that you don't see are the frustrations,
you know, when it goes wrong.
And it often goes wrong.
You know, cars are machines.
They can put their elbows out.
They can put their boxing gloves on.
They can have a wrestle and a fight with you.
You know that as much as I know that.
Some cars in my world.
I'm genuinely 100% a bit wacky.
I'm a car whisperer.
I talk to cars.
They talk to me.
I have a conversation with my cars driving.
I do, I chat to them.
Do you do that?
I have an argument with them.
Yeah, I do, I chat to cars and they talk back to me.
And I can feel a lot through the tips of my fingers,
through my arse in the seat.
I can, through the vibrations coming through the pedals.
I can feel a lot about a car.
I can, the car's telling me what it's like in its story.
And I'm good at that.
So, yeah, you have to understand that cars,
some of them, they will offer them,
in my world, they will offer themselves.
When they see me, when a car sees me approach it,
it's going to say, thank God, Mike's here.
I want to be restored.
I really want to be repaired.
So, it will volunteer itself to me and I will know that.
Have you had some drugs?
And it will, everything will unbolt.
Every new bit will bolt on,
and it won't give us any trouble whatsoever.
Yet, there are other cars that when I approach them,
they're going, don't want to be restored.
I don't want him pissed off.
I don't want you.
I don't want you.
Go away.
And they will put the gloves on
and they will fight you every step of the way,
not to be restored.
They want to become soup cans.
They will fight you.
And they're the challenges.
They're the bits that you don't see on camera.
Do you like those kind of cars?
Because, you know, I will wrestle a car into restoration.
I will wrestle.
I've had it.
I've fought these cars.
You bloody your fingers.
You, you know, silly little things.
Like, I swear to God, you know, cars,
they have got some energy cars.
Like, you'll fix an oil leak on a car
because it's had this notorious oil leak.
You'll fix the oil leak.
Everyone's happy with it.
You'll lock up the workshop.
Turn the lights off.
Cameras go dead at the end of the day.
Everyone goes home.
You'll turn up the workshop in the morning.
Lights go on.
There's a big puddle of oil underneath it.
And there's no rhyme or reason for that.
It's just that that car wants to do that.
It just wants to flip and, you know,
fight you every step of the way.
And we have those challenges on Wheel of Duty.
Now we've showed you how to repair the oil leak.
Now we can't show you that it's leaking again
because we look like idiots.
We didn't repair it wrong.
So, you know, we have to overcome, though,
those problems on the TV show.
Plus, at the moment, we're making, you know,
we're on our 25th year of Wheel of Dealers
where we're doing now the World Tour series.
And we're making those episodes
in different territories around the world.
And the problems that we're facing there
are working with other countries
and other tools and other processes
and the way of doing things and the language barrier.
And, you know, things like, you know,
where you go to the toilet.
You know, it's silly little things.
Like, you ask a young production assistant
to go and stand in a mechanics toilet.
There isn't a toilet.
It's just a hole in the floor in a foreign country.
That's kind of a challenge.
You know, that's a challenge for the production.
And how many cars have you owned in your life?
Personally.
Yeah.
Thousands.
Thousands of cars.
I've got this habitual habit,
a bit like I suppose all car dealers do,
that you just can't help yourself.
You know, even I just can't help myself.
Wherever I'm filming around the world,
I could be, which I have been.
I've been in India and seen a Hindustan ambassador
and gone, I'm going to buy one of them.
I'm going to take it home.
And nobody's exported a car out of Calcutta in 40 years.
But I'm going to get everyone goes, why?
Why would you want to take one of them back to England?
Because it's an old Morris Oxford.
And it looks great.
So I want to get one out of the country.
I can't help myself.
I have got a habit of buying cars.
But there's nothing about you guys.
Car can't either.
Every show we do.
He's just sitting here waiting.
He actually doesn't want to do the podcast.
You want to buy cars?
It's different though, because Mike asked the question personally,
as in cars that he'd buy personally for himself.
And obviously, I'm assuming you start off thinking,
I want to buy that because I want one of those.
And then you get bored and then eventually you'll sell it.
Correct.
Like, I keep referring back to me dad,
because you've been in business this similar amount of time
in the car business.
He has never owned a car.
Never ever as he owned his own personal car.
He doesn't need to.
But it's like...
Mike doesn't need to.
No.
But there is just this one thing that I want this 1964 turbo.
You know, I just want that bloody car.
And it's only because I've lived in California for six years.
I'm surrounded by Rob and Singer.
You know, in the time that I was down there.
And every car show I went to,
there was another DLS lightweight study put in front of me
on a plimp that looked like a Gucci Ambag.
And I'd stand there and stare at it and go,
and I'm a car restorer.
And these are ultimately restored 964s, aren't they?
Rest-o-modded.
Rest-o-modded 964s.
And I'd stand there and stare at it and go,
why can't I get to that level?
How can I convince the people that I work for my TV show,
we should be doing that level of detail on a car.
When you see a Gibson guitar knob as the ventilation controls
on a Porsche 911, then you think,
that's just the coolest thing I've ever seen.
And the eyelets that are in the seats and the basket weave lever.
And you're just thinking to yourself,
that's a detail that I've never even thought of before.
So that become an obsession with me.
And that obsession has carried through
to the fact that I've publicly said,
I will donate happily, because I've worn this out.
I will donate happily whatever you want
off of my lower anatomy.
I was just saying, what am I?
I will donate it, it can be donated for science
if I can have a singer, but I can't afford one.
Most people would maybe think of,
they might give a kidney if there's a body.
I ain't giving that for nothing.
Listen, I'm at an age now where it's had its use.
It's had its use.
So I don't need it anymore.
I simply don't need it.
I want that car.
I wanted that car.
When you get that car, then you get the women
and then you ain't got the parts to...
Do you know what I mean?
Got the car, though.
Got the car.
You'd have the car.
You would have the car.
Honestly, I become so obsessed over,
I am not an obsessive nature in the terms that,
if I like a drink, I'm going to obsessively drink
or any of that kind of stuff.
But I just obsess over a thing,
to the point that it's a scratch.
My wife's Michelle.
She says, you've always got a scratch.
And once it's itched, it's itched.
You know, and then you're on to the next thing.
This is a scratch that I can't seem to itch.
But that might be because it's not finished.
It's not finished.
So tell me this, when this car's done,
and it's amazing, and everyone knows it's your car,
that's Mike's car.
Mike pulls up to, you know, Bista Heritage
or whatever it may be in that car,
which I'm assuming that kind of place will take.
I will, yeah, exactly that.
And then someone offers you a hundred percent profit
on that car.
I'm not going to buy it.
That's what I'm saying.
That's what I'm saying.
I'm so glad you answered that honestly.
You know that.
You know that.
Because, you know why?
Because I'll just do it again.
Yeah, that's why.
I'm really glad you answered that, honestly,
because I knew the answer.
Yeah, because I'll do it again.
I'll just do it again.
You know, I had a car collection in here
that was a very eclectic car collection in this building here
that I was really proud of.
I had a Concord De Elegance Citroen SM,
you know, a Maserati Citroen SM,
which was a stunning car used on Top Gear and the Grand Tour.
You know, they absolutely loved it.
It was the only car I could think of in the last decade.
Jeremy took a picture of and said,
this is a thing of beauty and that was my car.
I had the most incredible 1959 MGA that I restored
that was just to another level of restoration.
Ferrari 360 Spider in Tour de France Blue with Daytona Lever
that was a really lovely looking car.
Mark I Transit Van, you know, long wheelbase Mark I Transit Van.
How cool is that?
Just all fully restored cars, loads called Teeny,
you know, and all these wonderful cars.
But my brain is one of those brains that goes
at the, during that period of COVID.
And I could see the classic car market just going,
whey, I went, I'm going to sell all the cars.
This is the moment to sell all the cars.
I bought them for a reason, you know,
I bought them for one day.
I sold everything.
How many was that?
So 22 cars.
22 cars.
Yeah, I sold 22 cars.
At the peak in COVID.
At the peak, yeah.
That was smart.
It was very smart move.
Yeah, I did, I made some incredible money.
But the reason-
Would you reckon you made on those 22 cars?
No, we, well, I didn't.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
I won't say what I made.
That's the best non-answer.
I won't say what I made.
Everything, everything, everything, everything.
Right, so like car ribbon.
Right, I won't say what I made.
But I will tell you, at the same time,
my bat chick crazy wife, Michelle,
went and bought a Victorian manor house
that was converted to a school that needed a roof.
And this house has 27 chimneys
and it had a 300,000 pound roof repair that needed doing.
So you had to, your car collection paid for it.
So now when I stare at the roof of that building,
I go, that's a low school team.
That's a mini, that's an MGA, that's a Citroen SM.
There's the Mark 1 Transit.
Is that not painful?
Well, it's painful in the sense that again,
you know, that we restored this house
and it will have a profit.
And if I want to, I'm from that,
if I want to, I can buy it back.
You know, if I feel that strongly about it,
I'm in a position that if I want to,
I can buy those cars back or buy similar cars back.
But I'm at a different phase in my life now.
You know, I'm at that sort of, you know,
the autumn years of my life.
I've had a fantastic career, an amazing life.
I've got an amazing family, great business.
So I'm at that period of my life now
where I'm trying to consolidate down almost everything
and get it down to a manageable level
where I can control it.
Plus, you know, my job at the moment takes me away from the UK.
It takes me around the planet, around the world
for nine months a year.
And if you've got a Citroen SM sitting here
and a Mark 1 Transit sitting there
and you're on the other side of the planet for nine months,
by the time you come back, they frayed ever so slightly.
And they start to devalue.
So I'm in a different place now where just one car, just one.
You mentioned earlier about Top Gear.
Is it true you turned Top Gear down?
I didn't turn it down.
More or less was offered the job by Andy Willman back in the day.
But I had a contract with another network
that meant that they triggered the contract.
So when they triggered the contract, I had no choice
but to go back to the...
You would have been granted.
I would have, well, you would have been granted.
You would have been granted.
So I found Richard Forum instead.
So I introduced him to Richard Amman and found Richard Forum.
And Richard, you forgot about that.
And then I reminded him of it and he went, oh, yeah, that did happen.
So, yeah, I was working with James May at the time
on a show called Driven on Channel 4.
James got let off from Driven.
It wasn't very popular with the audience, although we loved him.
We thought it was great.
But the audience just didn't like him.
And he ended up on Top Gear.
And I think James introduced the guys at Top Gear to me.
And then I had several meetings with him.
And we were definitely...
I've screen tested for it.
We were definitely on the road to becoming a Top Gear presenter.
But my discovery contract got re-triggered,
which meant I couldn't do it.
And you have to remember back,
I always remind people of the time when this was.
Top Gear had finished a year before with Quinton,
Kate Humble and other people.
And with the greatest respect to them,
dear bless Quinton because I loved him dearly.
It wasn't the best show because Jeremy had left.
So it wasn't the best show.
So when you're being offered a show,
even though this was a new version of it,
when you're being offered a show back in my head,
I'm going, not too sure.
It's the right vehicle for me if you pardon the pun.
I'm being offered my own show over on Discovery Networks,
which was a tiny little network.
I'm being offered my own deal over there, which I can create.
So some might think that's a mistake,
but actually I think I did pretty well
because here I am three decades later, still making the same show.
Yeah, and isn't it like 200 million viewers?
It's the most viewed show globally for Discovery Networks.
We have an audience, global audience of maybe 200 million people.
The World Tour series that we've just done,
or we're on our third World Tour now,
we're just filming it, on our third World Tour,
last year's World Tour and a decline in terrestrial TV market.
So I think it's pretty obvious to everyone that,
back in the day, we had 20 million people watching EastEnders.
They would be popping champagne
if they got 3000000 people watching EastEnders today.
So in a decline in markets,
where it's really challenging to come up with a global series
that can produce a big number,
Wheel of Dealers World Tour without including North America,
because they hadn't seen it yet,
we reached 110 million viewers, and that was last year,
which is mind-blowing in this decline in markets.
So yeah, it's the number one rated show globally for our network.
It's brilliant.
Congratulations.
Thank you very much.
Yeah, thank you.
And it's a brilliant team of people.
You know, we work with an amazing team of people.
My wingman Elvis, who is just the most incredible partner to have
in the workshop.
All the producers, the cameramen, the sound recorders,
they've all been with me for decades, by the way.
Everyone's been with me for...
The cameramen and sound men have been with me for 23 years.
The rest of the team have been with me for 567 years,
and once they come, they don't want to go and don't want to leave.
And so yeah, it's a brilliant team to work with.
They jump, the team jump around,
they jump between Clarkson's Farm,
which some of them are on Clarkson's Farm,
some of them are on a car SOS,
and then when Wheel of Dealers gets re-triggered,
they're all back to Wheel of Dealers,
and then when that's in break,
they go back to Clarkson's Farm on a car SOS.
So it's a great team of people.
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Mike, 45 years in the car game,
what's the biggest scams you've seen?
Oh, I've seen some monumental scams.
You know, we've had them here.
We've had credit card fraud here.
I've seen some awful stuff.
Fuller in, you know, YouTubers like Mark McCann,
seeing him scam that, that gearbox is quite hilarious,
the way that he's turned that into content.
But yeah, I mean, look, you know,
a car is likely to be the second most expensive purchase.
Anyone's going to make in their life after a house.
And there are people out there
that are going to take benefit out of that
and try to scam people out of money.
And I get emails all day, almost every day,
from somebody who's been scammed somewhere
in the wider market by unscrupulous,
you know, resellers, car dealers.
And you'll see it.
I can see it.
You know, fortunately...
One never happened to you?
Yeah, we had, you know, we did all that due diligence.
We had a Volkswagen Golf GTI advertised.
I think it was about 12 grand.
We had that advertised guy phoned up
and said that he'd like to pay over the phone.
We said, okay, driver's license.
He sent for his driver's license,
sent through credit card information.
We did our due diligence in terms of his address.
So we Googled his address,
make sure it was all correct and it was.
We took the payment on credit card.
He sent a company to come and collect the car.
They come and collect it.
We even took pictures and video of the car being collected
by the collection company.
And that was it.
Car went off and then two weeks later,
we get a police phone us up and Barclays,
who is our tap, you know, for the credit card,
phone us up and Barclays are going to protect their customer.
So they just reversed charged us the 12 grand for the car.
And we're like, beg your pardon?
No, we sold a car on your card, you know, for your customer.
And they went, no, we're just going to reverse charge it.
And they took the money back.
And we're like, oh, Christ, I didn't know they could do that.
I didn't know.
It's up to you then to.
Then it comes our own.
So we'd lost the car now and the money.
And the police said, yeah, the car,
that was a credit card fraud.
So did you get the money back?
No, I'll tell you what happened is,
unfortunately, somebody else went and bought the car.
So what the thief would do now is he's got the car,
he's going to advertise it for cash,
seven grand.
And he puts it on Facebook Marketplace for seven grand.
Be careful, everyone out there with Facebook Marketplace.
Somebody thinks that's a cheap car, too good to be true.
Somebody in Scotland went around and bought it,
paid cash for it, couldn't believe it, went to tax it.
It flags up as a stolen car.
The police end up on his driveway and say,
you've just bought a stolen car.
Sorry about that.
We're taking it back.
So we got the car back.
Right. Wow.
Have you ever been done?
Anything happened?
The only story that I had once,
and it was nothing like that,
but it kind of was, I suppose, in a way.
I mean, I don't take, I take credit card deposits.
We won't accept credit cards anymore.
We banned them from this company.
Unless you're physically here with a card, we won't.
I take credit card deposits.
If you want to pay for a car, you can pay on debit card,
but you've got to be at the premises to do so.
And I think the limit on that's 99 grand.
So there's not many cars that they could pay for totally
on a credit card.
But I had a story once.
So I had a half a car, as you would describe,
a Rolls Royce Ghost, like a 2012 Rolls Royce Ghost.
And a half a car, really bitty, really high mileage,
but it was cheap.
It was what it was.
And I had an Albanian guy call me up, interested in this car,
left me a deposit for the car.
The car was going through our prep.
I was never going to sell it in the way that it was.
You know, it needed the bonnet painted,
it needed the wings painted,
it needed the wheels doing, it needed the service,
it needed the tires, like it needed all sorts.
So took him to see the car in the paint shop,
signed the contract in person, in the car, everything was fine,
sent the money through, left about 10 grand to pay
on the day where he's collecting the car, which was at night.
It's a funny story, actually.
Well, it's not that funny, because I never got the money back.
He's came with a couple of guys to pick the car up.
He's already seen the car.
The car's now prepped and done, and everything's fine.
He's gone into the back of the car, and he said,
the TV's in the back are not working.
So I said, well, they were working.
They were working when you've seen the car.
They were working this morning.
So don't worry about it.
I'll get the TVs fixed, and I'll deliver the car to you,
because obviously you've made the effort to come out.
If you don't want to take it with the TVs.
No, no, I'll tell you what I'm going to do, he said.
I'm going to take the car now.
When the TVs are fixed, I'm going to give you the remaining balance.
So I said, no, we're not going to do that.
I'll either send you all your money back and just forget it,
or I'll get them done, and then I'll deliver you the car.
Don't pay me the 10 until I deliver you the car,
but that's the way it's going to be.
So he's with this big...
He wasn't that big of a guy,
but he was with another big guy, two Albanians.
And I'm in my office, and it's maybe 10 o'clock at night,
and the big guy stood up, and he went over to my desk
where the keys were, and he grabbed the keys and took off.
Well, he legged it out.
Yeah. I've gone to go and get up after him,
and the little guy, me and him are now having a full fight in the office,
like a proper UFC stand-up all in.
We're all in at this point.
And we've had a fight for about three minutes,
and we're both pretty beat up, if I'm honest with you.
But I managed to get on top of him and hold him down,
and I thought, right, I'm going to call the police.
So I called the police.
I've now detained him in my office.
But by the time the police got there,
me and him are kind of like on speaking terms now.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, it's sort of...
We've had a bit of a tear up.
We've had to calm down.
I'm like, call your mate, get the car back.
He went, no.
Anyway, long story short, the police have come.
They've turned up.
So they've turned up to my house, the showroom,
where I live, my cars.
I've had a car stolen from me.
They've turned up.
The guy's gone, right, what's happened?
So the Albanian guy's piped up first,
and I thought, you know what?
I'll let him speak.
Don't want to jump all over it.
Let him speak.
So we both sat there, busted an eye,
busted nose, lip out here.
He broke two of his fingers.
Anyway, he told the story exactly how it happened.
He did not manipulate it to his way one bit.
The story that I've just told you is the story
that he told the police.
The police turned around and said,
well, I mean, there's not much we can do.
It sounds like a civil matter.
What?
It sounds like a civil matter.
I've been assaulted and I've had a car stolen from my premises,
but this is a civil matter.
So he said, look, he's not saying that he's not going to pay you.
He's just saying that he's not going to pay you now.
So I said, okay, so I'm going to go to Tesco tomorrow.
I'm going to fill up a shopping trolley full of shopping.
I'm going to walk out the door without paying a penny.
And I'm going to say, I'm not going to pay you now,
but I might pay eventually.
What are you going to do?
I said, you're going to come and arrest me.
He was like, yeah, you can't do that.
It's the same thing.
Anyway, long story short, a few weeks later,
he'd done the same at a couple of other dealerships.
Well, not quite the same because he just managed to go
on a test drive and kick somebody out the car
and take the car.
It was car thief, basically.
No one else seemed to get any money out of him at all.
I got 90% of the money.
The car was 100 grand.
I think I got 90 grand of it and there was 10 outstanding.
And then he was arrested.
He got arrested and yeah.
So you lost the money?
I never did get the money back.
I never did get the car back.
That's out of order.
It was a civil matter.
That is out of order.
How is this a civil matter?
That is out of order.
And I don't want to say bad things against our,
you know, some of our amazing police service,
but we had a car famously stolen on Wheeler dealers,
a little 1300s full Fiesta.
Probably owed us 25 grand.
Beautiful little thing.
Report it to the police.
Did nothing about it.
Then had three different people from a certain community
tell me where the car was,
which we then fed to the police.
And the police said, no, no, we're not interested.
And we're going, but he's there.
You just need to go and, you know,
open the door and recover our car.
And they just weren't interested.
I had a similar situation with the only time
this has ever happened, touch wood.
That's why we got rampant crime in this country,
because you just get away of it.
Guys strolled into the showroom, looked the part,
like I'm busy.
I'm doing my thing.
My sales manager's there.
Guys turned up to see an Audi RS6.
I mean, he looks the part, it seems the part.
Gone for a test drive.
As he went for a test drive,
he said to my, the car's got no number plates on.
We've got a trade plate.
He said, um, that back door is showing that it's open on your side.
So my salesman being slightly naive,
not, I don't, we don't still employ him anymore,
but slightly naive at the time.
He said, oh, I'll go and close it.
So he's got out.
Stop funny now.
As he's got out and closed the car, obviously,
the M42, he's gone.
So my guy's called me and he's like, um,
you never guess what's happened.
The car's been stolen.
I'm like, how is the car been stolen?
So he told me the story.
And obviously my first reaction was you fucking idiot.
But then after that, I was like, right,
I need to try and get this car back called the police.
What's the range number of the car?
I said, it's irrelevant what the range number of the car is,
because it doesn't have any number plates on it.
It's going down the M42 South.
It's a white RS6 with no number plates.
If you see one with no number plates,
can you just pull it over because it's my car?
Anyway, they've never done nothing about it.
So, you know, there's good sides and bad sides
to knowing a certain ilk of people.
And being in the car business,
you tend to meet all sorts of people, don't you?
You certainly do.
Yeah, you certainly do.
So I made a couple of phone calls to some people
who I thought might know something about something.
Yeah.
And basically, one of them came back to me and was like,
look, I know who's done it and know where the car is.
He wants three grand and he's going to leave the car at Star City.
Yeah, Birmingham.
Birmingham.
So I called the police, same as you did.
I said, look, I've done this deal.
I've got to go and give him three grand.
And when you get there, you can arrest him and get my car back
because I'm thinking, I'm going to turn up and you've got three grand.
And you've got three grand in your pocket.
One thing is, there could be no car there
and someone could take the money off me
and then I've lost the car and some more money.
So I've had a great day.
So anyway, they wouldn't do anything about it.
So I went to Star City, left the money somewhere,
guy came over, gave me the keys,
car a little bit of damage on it where they've just, you know,
curbed the wheels and that kind of stuff.
And that was that.
I got the car back.
I wonder if it's the same people
because I've been offered the Fiesta back
and they want three grand.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
And that's recently.
Magic number, isn't it?
Three grand.
And I said, I'm not in the mood to buy stolen goods.
You know, and I've said to him, look, name a charity
and I'll make a £1,000 donation in your name to any charity.
But I'm not giving you three grand for my own car.
I'm buying stolen goods back.
I just thought, you know, you obviously were insured
but you reported the insurance.
Your insurance go to ten grand, you know.
And then there's this and there's that
and there's something else.
And plus, I wanted it to be the case of people know
that they can't come and steal a car from me.
Yeah.
You know, so our gates are never open.
They're always closed.
This one day, I think the gates might have been broken.
The technician was coming out at three o'clock
to fix the gates and it was just, it was a series of events
that led us to this, yeah.
What a shame.
Yeah.
It's horrible.
What's the hardest restoration you've ever done?
Like you were talking about those stubborn cars
that won't have it and it beat you.
There was one car that I bought in Miami.
It was a Chevy 210 dressed up like a Bel Air.
Now, if anyone in the world doesn't know what a 1957 Chevrolet
would be like, let me explain.
They are the simplest of cars.
You know, there's probably only six wires in a wiring loom.
There's a crosshead screwdriver, a flathead screwdriver,
and probably a box spanner.
You know, three different imperial nut sizes
and you can probably take the whole thing apart.
They are very simple cars.
The moment I bought the car in Miami, it tried to kill me.
It caught fire as I was driving it down the Everglades road.
It just spontaneously combusted and that was the first moment
I thought, oh, this car don't like me very much.
We pulled over, everyone, all the crew that were following me.
I was filming inside the car, crew that were following me.
We had bottles of water and we're tipping bottles of water over it,
putting the fire out.
Then when we got the car back, I shipped that one back to the UK to restore.
When we got it back in the UK, it was, as I say, a simple car,
a really easy restoration.
Well, this car was the Mike Tyson of restorations.
It just put his head down, put his elbows out, put the gloves on.
Nothing would come off.
Nothing would work.
We hit it with welding axes.
We hit it with hammers.
We hit it with sledgehammer.
We tried every which way to wrestle this car into restoration.
Where usually I can turn a car around on production,
we can turn a car around in 10 days.
This one we probably had for three months,
trying to wrestle it back into some kind of shape.
Every part we bought for it wouldn't fit on and they were the manufacturer's parts.
But eventually we wrestled it into a very nice looking restoration.
But my God, that car killed us.
It absolutely killed production.
And it will happen in each season of 10 cars.
One of those cars will be one of those that really just really hurt.
And they would take the most amount of time or they just keep going wrong.
But yeah, that one sticks in our brain.
That was me and Ed China did that one and that was a very painful restoration.
So Mike, this show is called Cars and Money.
Yes.
So could you give us a couple of tips on what you think might be a good future investment?
Well, you know, I get asked this all the time,
like I'm some kind of soup sayer that's got a crystal ball.
Yeah, what's next?
And it's asking what the people want.
Right, so shoot the messenger.
We get it all the time.
If we knew what was next, like number one,
we wouldn't tell anybody we'd go and buy all of them ourselves.
It's the problem of the car dealer.
You know, a car dealer, the problems we face are if people know that I've got vans,
all of a sudden I've got a load of friends that, you know, because I've got access to vans.
So they need a, you know, a mattress moving.
It's like if you've got swimming pool, you get friends that you never knew you had,
just knocking your door with a towel under their arm.
Hi, just passing.
It's the same if you've got a pickup truck, you've gone by a pickup truck.
All of a sudden you've got, you know, your sister or your sister's
husband or boyfriend phone you up going, you're all right.
Yeah, I haven't spoke to you for two years.
Yeah, still got a pickup truck.
I need somebody picking up, you know.
And it's the same with being a car dealer.
You know, people always going, Mike, what shall I buy next?
What shall I buy next?
There are a couple of little tips in terms of my world, not, you know, your world,
in terms of my world.
I very much think that the, that's on the ascent now are good Mark 1 Audi TTs,
especially a Mark 1 225 Audi TT.
If you can get a pre Peter Stevens, a silly rear spoiler one, that's the,
that's a golden ticket right there.
You know, you can still pick those up for some five grand, probably going to be a
10, 15 grand car at some point in the not too distant future, really good car.
Anything like, you know, more modern sort of sports car is going to be good news as
well, because they've tumbled in price so much.
And I'm talking about Jaguar F type, you know, they've tumbled in price down to a
level now where they're mid late 20s that you can go and find the car.
But they're never really going to get much less than that because they are still a very
good car.
They're never going to get much less than that.
So you could think, you know, I never think in terms of, you know, what's the next big
thing where can I earn the money?
I always think, what can you get away with for free?
And we're quite good at that car dealers.
You know, we can always get away with, I've, almost every classic car I've ever owned,
it's not cost me a penny, because if you buy it at one price and you know what you're
buying at the right price, you'll sit on it for 123 years, enjoy it, go out,
have fun in it, and you'll always get your money back if not a profit.
So it's kind of the only free hobby out there.
Do you know what?
I find an incredible car at the minute for the money and I can't believe that.
Oh, let me guess, you've got one for sale.
No, no, no.
This is the bit where I'm going to buy a car, isn't it?
But I can't believe how much these cars are considering what you get for your money.
And the engine that it's got is like an early 2002, 2003, 2004 SL 55.
Yeah, brilliant car.
What a car that is.
Amazing, that'd be under grand cars back in the day.
Well, a CL 55, an SL 55, a 5.5 litre proper V8 engine, like a good engine.
The car do 200 mile an hour, like it's a good engine.
It's a good looking car, some Mercedes is fucking bulletproof.
And an SL 55 is 10 grand, 10 grand.
It's 125 grand car new.
Yeah, that's a great car.
And it's like, how was this car this money?
It cost a load to maintain.
Not if you find a good one.
You know, if you find a good one, I mean, look, it still costs as much as 100 grand car,
because it is 100 grand car, would cost to maintain.
But you know, there's great Mercedes specialist service centers out there.
And they're quite a, they're quite a simple engine.
That engine's quite, I mean, that's, that engine's going to go down in history
is one of the best engines Mercedes ever made.
Yeah.
So this is interesting, Rob, because what Carl's just said, and it's very true.
This is free.
Okay.
So you have to try, it's a psychology thing.
It's free, free of charge, isn't it?
So if you can go and buy yourself a car at 10 grand of that quality of that level,
it's never going to get less than 10 grand, is it?
It's ridiculous that it could be an eight grand car.
It could sell for more than parts, sell for more for parts.
Right.
So it can never get lower than that, can it?
So it's 10 grand car.
So you can buy that, instead of buying, you know, a watch,
going by yourself 10 grand car, you can sit in it, drive it, use it, go to car shows,
and it go on holiday in it.
Have all the fun of owning it for a year, 18 months, two years, whatever.
And then at the end of it, you're going to get your money back.
So name me another hobby that can do that.
There is no other hobby that, other than watches, I suppose, that can do that.
That is the only thing that can do it.
It's, but even, even with watches, you can't look at a watch and go, you know,
like say it's like a Rolex Submariner, for example, right, classic watch.
They've never changed for 30 years.
A 30 year old one is worth as much as a new one.
Yeah.
But like that car in particular, they don't make that engine anymore.
No.
They won't make that engine anymore.
Yeah.
But the new subs aren't like the 30 year old ones.
The 30 year old ones are better.
Well, okay.
Well, there you go.
They are better.
Well, it's the same with an SL 55.
The engine in that car is better than the four litre turbo.
Yeah.
That's in the newer ones today.
I mean, that's, that's, I look at them and obviously I was in the late 90s, early 2000s.
That's where my favorite cars come into play.
And an SL 55 was, was amazing in sort of 04.
They brought out a pack you could get, which was the pace car that had the,
the air intake for the ceramic brakes and stuff like that.
And that was the car that the F ones, the safety car, the F one used to have.
And they're, they're pennies.
Like they're so, so, so cheap.
Yeah.
But I'm not sure like, like ceramic brakes to change.
That's not cheap.
No, no.
So they'll be all that one.
Yeah.
But not all of them have that.
Right.
So that's only the pace car spec.
Right.
But one last year that went through iconic auctions at Silverstone,
there was Stirling Mosses SL 55 AMG.
Probably made 13 grand.
Do you know what?
I think the guide price on it was 25 grand, it got to the guide price.
And it was like, Sir Stirling Mosses AMG SL 55 AMG.
So sub 20, you'd have that car, would you?
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
A hundred percent.
And for 40 grand, there may be gone creeped up a bit now, but not so long ago for 40,
you could have a V12 SL 65, which was a very rare car, really rare car.
Like that car knew was that's a thick end of 200,000 pounds.
And they'd come down to 40.
And they've been 40 for 10 years.
Right.
I just, and I love a CL 55 or a CL 65, the big four-seater coupe.
I love a car like that.
You do, you play golf.
See, you're an idiot.
Because I tear for why, because like, you know,
we're talking about a 10 grand spend here on a car, aren't we?
Or a five grand spend on an Audi TT.
But if you play golf, right, it's a hobby.
You're going to go into your golf shop.
And because you've got to look like all your other mates,
you're going to go in and buy yourself a stupid, stupid pair of shoes with spikes on them
that you'll never wear in any other occasion, other than on the golf course.
A bright pair of yellow trousers, because you have to look right and a Pringle jumper.
You're going to buy one of those golf bags that cost an absolute fortune of money,
but it's basically a bag that carries some bats around.
You're going to buy some expensive bats because you want to look the part on the golf course.
By the time you're at the till, tapping your card,
you'll spend in between five or 10 grand.
And the moment you walk out the shop, it's landfill.
All that stuff is just landfill.
It's if you get in your car today and drive to your local dump
and look over the, over that where you tip or your rubbish,
you're going to see a set of golf bags, you're going to see a set of golf shoes.
You're going to see a Farah snap to the half.
You're going to see a set of Farah trousers, a Pringle jumper.
You're going to see it all there and it's, it is all landfill.
I used to see a guy last week at Salon Privé and he was yellow trousers, brilliant blazer.
Look at my yellow trousers.
And I swear to God, I couldn't believe it.
I was driving, we had a Ford GT there that was parading around.
And I'm just about to go to the, give an interview to get it paraded.
I've looked at this Farah to the left hand side and he's got his foot joy golf shoes on.
Oh, lovely.
With nose, he's took the spikes out of them and he's got them on.
And I'm thinking, what the fuck are you doing?
Well, I love it.
But when you've just said like, you could never wear them anywhere else.
He did.
He's got these money where that guy is.
What a twat.
What a twat.
I can't believe it.
I think I felt like, I felt like actually saying, mate, what are you doing?
The rest of your outfit is terrible, but your golf shoes.
There is a website.
Look at my fucking red trousers, which is quite hilarious to go and look at.
Look at my fucking red trousers.
I think it's look at my fucking red trousers.com.
Please, everyone out there can have a look and laugh.
Because these are the people that own the country.
These are your Hampshire lot, their own bits of Hampshire.
Oh, look at me.
And you've got red trousers on.
I own a suave of Hampshire.
So you both mocked me for that being a shit question, but it got a really good answer.
Well, you just gave us a shout.
I don't know what these cars are going to be worth in the future,
but I can guarantee I will put my balls on the line
and say they will never be worth any less than what they are now.
And the enjoyment that you will get out of an SL55,
5.4 litre V8, naturally aspirated Mercedes.
Fuck me.
That thing, you could have a pack on it when it was new.
I had them when they were new.
And you could have a pack on them that de-restricted them,
so them cars are limited to 155 miles an hour.
But you could get them de-restricted,
and they basically just took the chip out the ECU.
And they'd go to 200 miles an hour.
202 miles an hour, that car would do.
In 2002.
Why do you think that's how cheap?
I have no idea.
I don't know.
I think, you know, it's flavour, isn't it?
It's like, you know...
There was an awkward stage where they weren't old enough to be old,
but they weren't new enough to be new.
They were just like a whatever.
And now they've become in a modern classic.
And obviously, look, they're a Mercedes,
so there were tens of thousands of them made.
So, you know, there's a shit ton of them.
But I just think if someone wants a weekend smoker,
like, what a car.
Yeah, it's perfect.
There's not that many people out there as well that desire that car.
You know, you have to think about where the market sits.
When the market sits at the minute,
you've probably got, you know,
10,000 people actively looking for a Ford Fiesta today.
That's what they want to buy.
But you've probably got four people thinking of buying a Mercedes SL in the UK today.
And that's your market.
There's certain brands have a cap.
Like, for instance, there's a cap on Ferrari.
Ferrari's cap is 50 grand.
You don't buy a Ferrari.
You mean a floor.
I'm the 50 grand.
So, you don't buy one for less than 50 grand.
McLaren 6T.
Correct?
No, no, I've bought McLarens for less than 60.
Have you?
But they're trouble, aren't they?
Yeah, but you don't want a McLaren for 60 grand.
No, no, that's what I keep being told.
If you bought McLaren for 60 grand,
it'd be the best 100 grand you ever spent.
Oh, I want to use that.
I'm going to use that in a TV show.
But like, Porsche are the same.
A 911, not Porsche in general,
because they're boxsters and you buy them for nothing.
But a good 911, they have a cap of, say, 30 grand.
These are cars that you just think,
that is never going to be worth any less than that.
Can't be.
They just can't be.
And someone should go and take 250 grand,
and go and buy every SL55 they can,
park them away and bring them out in three years.
And you would definitely 50% your money.
Yeah.
That's what I think.
Oh, why don't you do it?
Well, I might do it.
Yeah, that's a business.
That's being called off this afternoon.
Right, well, we won't put this out for a couple of weeks.
We'll give you extra.
No, I'm already on it.
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Mike, what's been the hardest moment in your career?
Hardest moment in my career is a bit of my career
that I don't really want to get into and talk about.
And it was the change over between my TV hosts.
That was a very difficult period of time,
only because of the hate and vitriol that still suffered today.
Do you?
Yeah, because somebody decided to leave his job.
So, but I don't really want to get into it.
Was that more personal than professional?
To you, why it hurt more?
Yeah, because I don't know why it had anything to do with me.
If somebody wanted to leave their job,
because they want to go and do something better,
I'll shake their hand and say good luck to you.
And that person wanted to leave because he thought
he could do something better.
And I wanted to shake his hand and wish him all the way.
But it doesn't mean to say I need to leave my job.
You know, I don't need to leave, do I?
But I think, you know, the audience somehow blame me for that.
And I don't know why, because it had nothing to do with me.
What about I'm sort of hustling in the world of business?
Have you had any hard times in business?
You've been in the business, what, four decades?
Yeah, I've been in business a long time.
And yeah, it's been, you know, the last I would say,
I've never known business.
And I don't know for Carl and his dad's business,
whether it's the same, but I've never known it so difficult
to try and turn a profit as it is at the moment.
And that's purely in the sense that everything is so expensive.
Advertising cars through the online platform
that we all have to bow to is just absolutely ridiculous.
And the prices have just gone up massively.
Yeah, and it feels like they've just got this.
Well, yeah.
It's a monopoly and they feel like they've got,
it feels like a shotgun to your head.
It won't be for long though.
No.
Won't be in monopoly for long.
I hope not.
I really hope not because you know of something coming
or you just think that...
No, I know of a few...
Disruptors.
Disruptors who are working on a platform that...
Well, I was signed up for that platform
and I think every car dealer I know would.
Because at the moment it's become ridiculous to advertise.
We've got the cost of living wages gone up, taxes are up,
national insurance contributions are up,
our insurance here went from something like,
five grand a year to 15 grand a year just for simple
traders insurance, business rates have gone up here.
Ridiculous amount of money now for business rates.
So everything just got more and more difficult
to turn a profit and make a living.
And yeah, I would say the most challenging time,
strangely enough in a world where now I should know it
backwards inside out and upside down.
I'm an expert at it.
So it should be a breeze.
I should be able to walk through this.
The most challenging time is right now.
It's really, really difficult to own a business today.
If somebody come to me and I'm pretty sure
if somebody come to Carl and said,
should I open up a car dealership today?
I think my advice would be no,
can't spend your money elsewhere, run for the hills.
Well, you'd say no because you don't want the competition.
You'd tell an auto.
Well, you know, it's...
Is it harder for you than it...
No, we're finding things very, very different at the minute.
I mean, we've had an absolute record start to this year.
Last year broke records.
The year before broke records.
But it's a different scale of people.
I feel like the people you're dealing with, Mike,
they're suffering the most.
And buying a new car is probably been put back
because of cost of living has got so much more expensive.
I'm selling investments to people who don't want money in a bank.
Yeah.
And they've got surplus amount of X many millions.
And they think, I'm scared of it being in there
because I don't know what's going to happen with the world.
I want to put it in something that I can touch.
And if it goes down in value, I'm not going to lose it.
Yeah.
It's still going to be there.
Yeah. Something that's tangible.
Exactly.
Yeah.
So, you know, it's kind of two different ends of the scale,
but I get completely, I mean, you're really in the trenches
with what's going on in the world.
With here, yeah, because, you know, you're facing people
that come through the door that need a car
out of necessity for work, but they really can't afford it.
You know, they can't afford to live day to day.
You know, some of these people can't put food on their tables,
but they might have a job that's in Oxford
and they need to travel 30 miles and back each day.
So, they need a car, you know, they've got to have a car.
And so, it's just become really difficult,
not only for me, of the dealers, but for the public out there.
So, yeah, I am not a fan of the way the country
is being run at the moment.
I'm definitely not a fan.
I think it's a shame the way that we're treating,
particularly entrepreneurs, and treating small business owners.
I think it's disgusting.
Well, suffocating them is giving no one an incentive
to be an entrepreneur, isn't it?
No. It's, you've only got to look on the high street.
You know, you can walk down Lemington,
which is the most affluent, beautiful, busy, thriving town
you could ever wish for two years ago.
Walk down it now, I would say,
one in every eight shops is shut down,
board it up, disappeared, got out of business.
Because, you know, that business rates, insurance tax,
all of that stuff has just gone through the roof.
And it's such a shame because that is,
you know, that's where the economy is, isn't it?
The economy is down at the high street level.
That's where it is.
But no, it's, you would be better rewarded in this country
if you as a small business owner
to outsource your business to a different country.
You're much better off if you was to do that.
If you are a firm of lawyers,
and you've got 10 lawyers working in your practice,
and you charge a rate for each lawyer,
you are going to be paying national insurance contributions,
pension contributions, tax insurance,
all of the business rates and all of that stuff
that goes with your business.
Where if you was just one lawyer
and you outsource the other 10 to a different country,
you've got nothing to pay, have you?
There's none of that stuff to pay.
You just outsourced it elsewhere.
A lawyer is a lawyer.
It doesn't matter whether you're a lawyer in Poland
or in the UK, it's still the same law.
It's still the same practice, still a lawyer.
So, yeah, that's just an example
of why this country is rewarding you
better for outsourcing your work
rather than doing it right here in the UK.
And I feel that's a real shame.
What's more kind of lucrative for you,
the TV or the car business?
For me, most definitely my TV career
has been lucrative over the years
because I do so much of it.
You know, I've been on TV for nearly three decades.
You don't get to that level of television
if you've not been successful at doing it.
And it has, you know, I'm not the highest paid TV presenter
in the world and most definitely not.
But I do so much of it.
And when I'm not doing TV, I'm doing live events.
So I do lots of, you know,
silvers and classic, classic car shows at the NEC.
This weekend I'm doing a big car show in California.
And they'll be like paid gigs for you.
And they're paid gigs.
It's a bit like, you know, a pop star
going to do a live show.
So I get paid for those live appearances.
And that is really the bread and butter
of how I live every day and how I earn my money.
I've literally gambled the money, you know, my profits.
I've gambled it into this, into owning, owning buildings.
And these are not the only buildings we own.
We own several buildings, me and Michelle property.
We built a portfolio.
And that is basically to protect our future.
You know, we're, we're just sort of asset building
me and Michelle for our future.
And rather than leave these buildings sitting empty,
we decided to run a business out of them
and see if we can, we like employing people.
We love that.
We love the creativity of that and employing people.
And this business turns itself around.
It makes a decent living for the people that run it and are here.
And I'm really proud of it.
It's a really good little business.
Great. So final question.
And we've asked most of our guests this.
And you do need to take this question seriously
and think about it.
Three car garage.
So you can only have three cars.
They have to tick every box.
They have to be able to do the kids.
You know, you have to be able to do everything.
Three cars.
Money, no object.
Yeah, but money, no object.
Okay. So number one would be a 1964 Mini Cooper S.
The one you sold.
The one I sold.
I've had several.
He's bought and sold several of them.
Mini Cooper S.
And the reason being is because there is no other car
that makes you feel like that car.
And I don't care if Karl talks about a, you know,
SVJ or an 812 Superfast or whatever it is,
it won't feel the same as getting in,
attacking around about in a 1964 Mini Cooper S.
There is something about driving that car.
And you can ask these dad the same question.
Something about driving that car that is illegal.
You shouldn't be doing this.
And you shouldn't be having this much fun.
And the police letting you get away of it
because you're only doing it at 30 miles an hour.
It's the most ridiculous bit of engineering ever.
It works fantastically.
It fits a giant six foot bloat like me comfortably in it.
You can have your family in the car with you.
And yet you can go and take a round about 60 miles an hour
with a grin on your face,
knowing you're just going to chuck it in
and come out the other side and it's going to be perfect.
So there's no other car that can give you that.
And I've driven supercars.
I've driven almost everything.
And I can't think of another car that
give you the same amount of thrill.
So that's one of them.
But that is tiny.
It's a tiny little car.
So then we need to think about the other cars.
I love watching them race around Goodwood.
Yes.
Oh, that's the most entertaining motorsport you'll ever see.
Honestly, you get these X Formula One drivers,
Max Chilton or Jensen Button or somebody in one of these Minis
and they race around the historic set.
Free wheels.
Just brilliant.
They can't go down the straight straight.
Like the sideways going everywhere, aren't they?
They're just flipping brilliant.
Four abreast that is fine because the corner fits four of them
and everyone trusts each other.
That's amazing.
It's great.
My next car would be my supercar.
You might not say it's supercar,
judging by your Schmi interview.
He would say it's a sports car,
but that would be a singer who wouldn't love one of those.
I think I'd love one of those.
Would you go Targa?
I always fancied a Targa singer.
I love the Targas.
There's something a little bit awkward about the G-body shape
in a Targa.
I always find I've got a Targa.
That's my Targa there.
That's the 992 shape, which is much more coupé.
There's something a tiny bit awkward about the...
It's just very upright, isn't it?
It is.
It's a little bit stand-up-ish for me on the G-body shape.
So I wouldn't go for a Targa.
I'd probably get a bit of a coupe,
but that lightweight study in white with the tan interior,
that car is the car that I obsessed over,
and that is the car that I would love as my ultimate dream car.
You could probably say I could buy that,
and he could probably buy 20 Bugatti Veyrons or whatever,
but have a Bugatti Veyron sell that,
you can get 10 singers.
That's what he would probably say,
but a Bugatti Veyron just wouldn't feel the same for me.
I think it looks like a big Audi TT.
A big Bugatti Veyron.
That's how I see it.
It kind of is, really.
It is a big Audi TT, isn't it?
That's what it looks like.
And then the practical car.
So you're saying I've got to have something practical.
You've got to have something that you can daily.
You can daily the same.
I mean, you've turned up in a...
Pitchy.
Getting kids in the back of that.
I mean, I live in Lamb Rover country around here,
so I'm surrounded by Lamb Rovers.
They're manufactured and made down the road.
Don't buy one, it breaks down.
Right, and that's why I wouldn't.
We don't...
You've got one out there.
I've got four, and two of them are only on the road.
The other two are broke down.
And that's why I wouldn't.
They look incredible, but I just wouldn't have one
because they're too unreliable.
So it would probably be a G-Class,
which would be the practical family vehicle.
Or I might even...
You know, like the other day,
we had the new Volvo XC90 that was toyed up to the roof.
It had the most incredible sound system in it.
I've never got in a car that had this sound system.
It was just nuts.
It was like 20 speakers around the car,
and it sounded like you were sitting inside the Sydney opera house,
which I've been in.
It sounded like you was inside it.
It was just incredible.
And if you want a car that, you know,
for me, that daily car needs to have radar cruise control,
a little bit of wobbly steering on it.
It needs to have a vibrating massaging heated seat,
and it needs to have connectivity for everything.
So I've got an office on the road and a good sound system.
That's what ticked all the boxes.
Wow.
What are you working on?
What can you tell?
Could you give us a sneak peek?
Anything you work on?
Yeah, so brand new series of Wheel of Dealers World Tour.
We're working on that.
Our first episode is going to be in France.
Start filming that as from next week.
And the second and third episode is going to be in Japan.
So very excited by that.
We've got Serbia.
We've got Germany.
We've got Finland.
So we're off around the world again.
So I'm excited about that.
I've got this big live show called Wheel of Dealers Live,
which is at Bista.
We did our first year last year.
It was absolutely fantastic.
And that's about now, is it?
It's made at 31st.
Right, yeah.
So just in a few days time, made at 31st at Bista.
You can get your tickets at wheeladela.live.
We've got car clubs.
All the car clubs come in.
They get special discounts.
If you've got a car that you want to bring along, please do.
We've got super cars, classic cars, sports cars.
We've got a van section with retro, modern, classic vans.
We've got camper vans.
We've got max power cars coming along.
We've got entertainment.
We've got a live stage with all your favorites,
like Chris Slicks is coming along who's very entertaining.
Auto Alex is coming along.
We've got, last year we had Tavares.
She might be making an appearance.
We've got Calvin's car diaries.
All the sort of YouTubers, Mark McCann.
Right.
So all the good YouTubers.
I'll bring my little boy to that.
Oh, well, there you go.
So we'll have Carl there as well.
We'll get him up on the stage.
That'll be good.
He can entertain the crowd, which is good.
So really, it's a lovely big family friendly live event
with music and entertainment and food.
Plus this live stage where, you know,
I get to bounce around with Ant Anstead and Elvis,
my two mechanics up on stage as well.
So he's made a 31st.
It's really simple to get to.
So there's that.
New series of Wheel of Dealers World Tour is on its way.
I'm working on another series with another network in America,
which is for a new launch platform called Driven.
It's really good launch platforms.
It's got some great documentaries on there at the moment.
Hamilton's got a documentary about the AMG-1 on there.
And there's lots of content for,
it's just basically for people that love cars.
It's a really good platform.
And I'm doing some content for them,
which I'm very excited about.
There's another big show that I do later on in the year,
which is really good.
It's in the NEC in Birmingham.
That's in November.
That's the classic moat show.
Oh, so yeah, I'm busy.
Yeah, I'm busy.
I'm off round the world making these shows and doing my bit
for communities where I can.
And in the meantime, I'm trying to run a car dealership
with a very good bunch of people.
So it's exciting time.
I thought I'd be slowing down at this point in my life.
But actually, it feels like it's speeding up.
Do you know what, Mike?
A lot of my friends, one in particular,
who you know is an ex-car dealer.
Well, he's not an ex-car dealer.
He's semi-ish retired.
But Mark, who we had on the show, Mark Bailey.
And my wife has a relationship with his wife,
they're very good friends,
because they both talk about how hard it is
to be married and live with a car dealer.
And it's like the song, Hotel California.
You can check out, but you can never leave.
Do you find you have that?
I mean, you've got so much stuff going on with TV
and networks and shows and this,
but that car dealer inside of you
still needs to be buying and selling cars.
Can I help myself?
Honestly, it's like an illness, isn't it?
Wherever I am, it's an illness.
I could be standing in Sainsbury's car park
with Michelle and somebody rolls in with a car
and it goes, all right, Mike, can I go?
All right, nice to meet you.
Is that for sale?
You know, I just can't help myself.
There is something inside me that I just love to see
if there's anything to be out of it.
Can I make money out of it?
Is, can I, you know...
Wheel of dealer.
Wheel of dealer.
Yeah, that's why I'm the wheel of dealer, I suppose.
Yeah, amen.
It's just, it's all I've done all my life.
You know, I'm a working-class kid.
I come from a family.
I'm the baby of six from Brixton in South London.
We're the poorest people on the estate.
And I've fought my way out of that life
and I'm still fighting today to try and make the best of it.
Well, I've had a great time.
Thank you.
Appreciate you letting us come here tonight.
Thank you for coming on the show.
Yeah, thanks a lot.
Thank you very much for coming down.
Really appreciate it.
Thank you.
About this episode
Mike Brewer breaks down what it really takes to be a “wheeler dealer,” from reading the market and staying detached to the risk of restoring and flipping cars for profit. The conversation moves through dealer culture and TV reality—how shows condense work and hide the hard bits—plus practical deal math like “flow turnover.” Brewer also shares vivid stories: a sliced-in-half Jaguar arrival, auction-focused restoration choices, and why he sold his entire collection at the COVID peak, ending with 22 cars funding a major roof repair.
Wheeler Dealers icon Mike Brewer pulls back the curtain on the gruelling reality of building a global television phenomenon and flipping cars for profit. From the high-stakes pressure of managing tight restoration budgets to the shocking, emotional truth behind why he suddenly liquidated his entire personal car collection, Mike leaves nothing on the table. It’s a masterclass in automotive business, filled with jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes secrets, intense personal sacrifices, and the real cost of turning a passion into a multi-million dollar empire.
Sponsors:
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BEST MOMENTS
"People see the shiny cars on television, but they don't see the blood, sweat, and sleepless nights it takes to build an empire from scratch."
"Holding onto a massive collection isn't a passion anymore when the cars start owning you, rather than you owning them. Selling it all was the hardest and best decision I ever made."
"In the car restoration business, if you let your emotions dictate your wallet, you are going to go broke before the paint even dries."
Sponsors:
➤ Money.School - To Make, Manage & Multiply More Money, join us at https://money.school/goldcars
➤ Tom Hartley Cars - http://www.tomhartleycars.com/
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