Mike
Brewer, the British guy who owned a car dealership for 30 years started Wheeler Dealers many years ago. I was surprised because the show looks
contemporary. American television is just
now seeing its share of auto customizing and refurbishing shows, but Brewer’s
show not only has class, but offers viewers an entertaining account of how to
restore used cars for a quick sale.
Brewer is affable and loves what he’s doing especially test driving some
European make we Americans have never heard of. Above all, he loves profit and the more he
buys low and sells high, the more money he earns. One of his biggest assets is his side-kick, Edd
China, the tree-top fabricator and expert mechanic. It’s fun to watch this talented genius work
in his rubber gloves and call fenders “wings” and hoods, “bonnets.”
In
the pragmatic sense Brewer is the King Rat of aftermarket (used) car parts which
he and Edd use to fix up old cars for resale.
His dealership experience has rewarded him with a broad network of European
parts suppliers and automotive specialists, not to mention pools of buyer
contacts in Britain and the Continent. He
even knows the military vehicle market.
Did you see him driving the T-34 tank in Poland? He is a master of the 1-2-3 negotiation: “How
much are you asking?” “What’s your bottom price?” “Meet me in the middle.” He uses common sense. For example, every episode presents the
condition problem. Brewer avoids rust
bucket cars and those with bad engines.
He must have been one of the first in Britain to use the Internet and
cell phones to “flip” cars.
Wheeler Dealers: Trading-Up is Brewer’s TV offshoot to flip cars in order to buy his
Italian dream car, a red Ferrari. His
beginning “kitty” was around $3,000, but above all, Mike is a clever person and
thinks strategically and globally. He
begins his journey with the strongest markets.
That’s why you saw him in Aberdeen, Scotland where North Sea oil has
enriched the natives. In San Paulo,
Brazil people love the cars they produce.
The same goes for Sidney and Melbourne, Australia. The better new cars sales are, the more
robust is the used car market. Brewer
flies there and establishes a base at a hotel – preferably near a dealership of
the make he’s after. He visits the
showrooms to make contacts and find the cost of the new cars. By using the Internet and word-of-mouth he’ll
eventually visit car clubs and auctions specializing in custom cars. There, he looks for bargains or puts his
restored car on sale. Part of his
strategy is to buy a car with universal appeal and avoid custom cars at a high
cost and lower chances of selling. He
frequently buys cheaper cars in the country and drives them back to the city to
sell at a higher price.
I
don’t know if Mike ever got his Ferrari.
His kitty was up to $41,000. In
the last five minutes of Trading-Up
my satellite TV was knocked off the air – of course! Wheeler
Dealers and Wheeler Dealers:
Trading-Up are my favorite shows because they are educational and
adventurous with beautiful travel scenes (Alps). I also like a story of someone who uses his
head as much as his hands. My only
criticism about the show is the meager coverage of the overhead: overseas air fare,
cargo shipping, taxes, and paper work, the little things
that shred profit. Other than that, I
give Wheeler Dealers my highest mark,
a 5.
