First of all, I must say that this program works mainly because of the personas in it:
Mike Brewer is top boy salt-of-the-earth car dealer of the Frank Butcher variety. It's fun to watch him search and negotiate the purchase of a car and you can see that he is really holding back the greasy negotiation skills that most forecourt dealers have.
Edd China is the uber-tall and genial mechanic, who you can imagine came to this through pottering on dad's old E Type in their summer house in Anglesey - he is not your average grease monkey.
Together they create TV magic by taking old but classic well made cars and then bringing them to life and selling it on for a nominal"profit".
Don't expect to learn anything here - I have watched most of the Brewer/China partnership programs and I still don't have a clue what to look for if I were to buy a "smoker" to renovate.
However, this program is not really of that variety - in my mind, it is about realising the value and craftsmanship that went into making some of the better vehicles in the past - and celebrating it by giving them some TLC in China's workshop. I'd say this is true recycling (as opposed to putting all your rubbish in a plastic box, eventually bound for a landfill)
Of course some episodes will interest you more than others but on the whole, there is enough honesty, good intentions and humour to make it worth your while.
Warning: watching Edd and Mike will be much to the chagrin of everyone else who tries to watch their favourite programs on telly in your household. I certainly get a few withering looks when I try and watch it. Enjoy at your peril.
