jason_a_ellis Was a great show. It had that same quality Mythbusters had, it was entertaining, educational and I didn't have to worry of my 10yo daughter walked in the room because it was all kid safe if not kid interesting. The real star of the show was Ed and in the last couple of seasons it seemed to really fly with more time in the workshop than the tedious stuff about Mike looking for car on the internet. You could overlook the ridiculous "profit" that didn't include what would often have been thousands of pounds flying out to a city where a car was, renting a car to visit the car, towing it to a shipping agent and containering it back to the UK (or just putting it on a low loader when they moved to the US). You could ignore the £60-100 per hour in mechanics fees or Ed's tool collection that would cost many thousands of pounds to accumulate. You could ignore Mike selling cars for 1/2 what they're worth just to move them on. You could even ignore the obviously special deals Mike got from specialist repair people and manufacturers. You could do this because Ed's workshop bit was very good. Coming to the show recently and streaming the shows, I often skipped through the boring bits of the early shows where Mike bought a car and spoke to owners of a tidy example in the very early seasons watched Ed's section than skipped to the next episode when it got to Mike's sales bit. Mike was best when used as the parentheses around the Ed China Mechanical show, the cheeky chappy that told you what car they were going to get and why, sometimes offering insight on how not to buy a bad car, occasionally buying a few bits and then had a bit of fun at the end with the finished car. The thing is, you watch the shows and you get to think of Mike as the funny bloke down the pub and Ed as your mate that helps you fix your motor. So Ed leaving the show because the production company Velocity, thought they should cut the mechanical side of the production as it was too expensive to make has really broken the show. It's like Happy Days losing The Fonz. If Velocity think that Ed's mechanical bit was too expensive to produce, I imagine they'll find the whole show pretty expensive as people stop watching and resale and ad revenues fall. I can't watch the new series now "me old China" has gone.

basscadet75 I admit that I came late to this show, having only discovered it around the 12th season or so. I watched every episode I could voraciously once I did find it, though, going all the way back to the first season. Mike and Edd's no-nonsense way of buying and then fixing up cheap old cars as cheaply as possible was a refreshing change from the flashy American car "restoration" shows I was used to.If you can watch those earlier episodes, I highly recommend them. It's almost charming how in the early seasons, some cars don't get much more than an oil change and a polish! That's a whole show! But it gives the show an air of something a DIYer can tackle - it's all about showing you what to look for in buying a used car, and how to fix minor problems.And it was basically like that up until season 12, when the show was moved to California and production changed hands to Velocity. Then it started inching closer to an American-style restoration show, where no expense is spared in taking a neglected but undeniably classic car and making it "better than new", even to the point of adding modern features that would never have been available originally. Still, at first they did still feature oddball cars like the AMC Pacer, in one of the weirdest-ever episodes of trying to transform an ugly duckling into a swan (and failing).In season 14, Edd left, leaving the mechanic position to Ant Antstead. He is not the problem - I actually like him despite replacing the beloved Edd. He obviously knows what he's talking about and, while I think he sounds a little too happy to be on TV sometimes, he's fun and interesting to watch. He was a good choice as Edd's replacement.The problem is the show has now gone fully over into just being another cookie-cutter American restoration show. There is very little detail in the workshop bits, which is why Edd says he left. They now gloss over very important parts of the restoration - at the end they'll say "we also replaced the exhaust system, removed all the rust and gave it a full paint job"... wait, what?! Show it! Show it from start to finish! Why do you think we're watching?! It's no longer a DIY help show at all. It's just "look at what we did to this car!"There are little things too that diminish the character of the show. Mike doesn't hunt for vehicles anymore (in the early seasons, he'd sometimes even have to see two or three before finding one he liked!); he's just already out traveling to pick one up that's obviously already been scouted. Sometimes he even seems surprised at what he finds when he he sees what his producers picked out for him. There's no budget to speak of anymore for either buying cars or fixing them up - they just spend whatever they need to for an impressive restoration/upgrade, though they do give the spend amounts at the end of the episode. And buyers always seem lined up in advance - they don't seem to have any problem selling cars on anymore. It all feels like it's totally for show at this point, not real at all.It's still watchable because of the personalities of the hosts, but it is not what it was.

hoyerweld The best of the car show ever. Mike brings in sweet cars of faded beauty. Edd Fixes them to mechanical perfection. WD has very little filler or BS like many of the car shows they are true gents.I like their "Drives of Triumph" after the beaters are fixed to new or better. Both the lads show expert knowledge in their areas of talent.I like the visits to the repair and restoration shops. This is what a typical car owner does with their cars.Their American shop stepped up the show's mojo. they had new tools ,a new shop,and a whole new universe of rusty relics. WD appears on a car network. Focus on the cars more. Use big name advertisers and car products as a way to show viewers what is new in car products.WD talks about cars to car guys without monkey business. Watch it you will love it

Steve McLaughlin It's a real car restoration show without the unwanted side story lines. Minus Mike's Cockney accent during negotiations, Edd steals the show. My only negative comment would be how low they sell the cars. A beautifully restored BMW M3 for 6 thousand pounds? Not sure if there is a difference in the UK and the U.S. concerning used cars, but that was a steal. That car would have sold easily over $25k here. For a car restorer, I like the way Edd doesn't try to "shiny up parts," during the restoration. By far the restoration car show on TV. I only hope they continue this series as it is gaining popularity over here. This is what car shows should be like, the soap opera stuff mixed in with most other car programs are basically a nuisance. Cheers!