9 Problems With The “Pimp My Ride” TV Show (Explained)

Pimp My Ride was one of the most exciting and popular car mod shows on TV in the mid to late 2000s. 

It was hosted by the famous rapper Xzibit and aired every week for six seasons. It was a show where car owners appeared excited after MTV renovated their vehicles.

The show recorded a fantastic success as people were happy to watch each episode with much enthusiasm.

Most people often wish the show organizers chose their cars, and they could have that lifetime opportunity to appear on TV.

Unfortunately, things are not as rosy as portrayed by the show organizers. As is typical of several reality shows, there are numerous events behind the scenes unknown to most viewers.

We will address some of the lies about the “Pimp My Ride” show that the show producers over the years hid.

1. Pimp My Ride Auditions

The auditions were carefully planned and scripted to look real to the audience.

Huffington Post conducted a thorough investigation of the show a few years ago. Based on its discovery, most people who appeared on the Pimp My Ride show confessed that they had friends working on the show.

They confirmed that the show did not randomly pick them as made to appear by the show organizers. They also said that the show organizers told them to act surprised for the cameras.

They are fascinated with appearing on the TV show, giving them fame for a while.

The auditions are not real, but most audience members do not know this.

2. The sob stories on the show are meant to rouse emotions

Most entertainment shows are known for getting into the audience’s feelings to increase their ratings. Movies and reality shows are no exception.

The show organizers exaggerate the current state of the vehicle that is about to be fixed and make it look so bad.

In most cases, car owners are made to appear broke and cannot afford to fix their car problems.

This approach draws empathy from the audience and increases the show’s ratings.

3. The homes of the contestants are not real

The contestants’ homes are superficial and appear natural to the audience.

Based on a News24 report, most of these houses were rented by the producers to shoot the episode.

In some cases, the actual residence of the contestants was considered unfit for the shooting. On the other hand, some contestants live in locations that are not easily accessible by the show crew.

In most episodes, most of these contestants were brought into their new “abodes” and made to stay close to the door, awaiting the arrival of the TV show host, Xzibit, to press their doorbells.

4. The contestants do not have an opinion

The main aim of the show organizer is not to fix the vehicles and make them better than their current state.

They desire to make the vehicle look glamorous to the audience and make them wish they are lucky to be on the show.

In some cases, contestants who own the vehicle request a unique feature to be added to the car, and their demands are not honored.

5. The time frame is not real

If you are an ardent follower of the show, you will notice that the show organizers make it look like the remodeling happens within minutes.

In reality, whenever a contestant releases their vehicle, the car may not be back for weeks or months.

The Pimp My Ride show was edited to show the remodeling happened within minutes.

Many contestants confirmed that they had to use another means of transport when MTV took their vehicles away for the “pimp.”

For instance, one of the former contestants on the show confirmed that his vehicle was taken away by the show organizers from him for five months.

Ironically, Justin Dearinger, whose car was taken away for pimping in 2005, was not given another car by MTV to ease his movement while his car was being worked on.

The show organizers made it look like his vehicle was remodeled within a few days. He said he could not rent a car from a reputable car rental service due to his age at that time.

If you want to know how long it takes for such remodelling, maybe you should check out videos about kit cars. For more information, you can read about how kit cars work.

6. No reimbursements for car rentals from MTV

Contestants who had their cars pimped did not receive any reimbursement for car rental service from MTV for the time their cars were being worked on.

They use their money to find alternative means of transport till their cars are ready. That is quite unfair to the contestants.

7. They cannot sell their cars after pimping 

Most contestants believe that upgrading their vehicles will enhance the market value.

Unfortunately, MTV attached a no-sale clause in the contract papers that pimped vehicles cannot be auctioned off at eBay for a specific year.

Only a few individuals could sell their vehicles without much noise after discovering a loophole in the contract.

8. Creates a false identity for the contestants 

Most show contestants were not appropriately treated; one was Seth Martino.

As a person with a bulky stature, the show producers decided to portray him as a lover of candy, which was a sharp deviation from his real personality.

A candy machine was placed in the boot of his vehicle without a lid on it. Each time the car moved, candies scattered all over the vehicle.

The show producers did this to make the audience believe that his obsession with candy led to his obesity.

Though he did not like how he was being portrayed, the show must go on, and he had to act cool to shoot the episode.

9. Condition of the car remains the same despite the makeover

On the Pimp My Ride show, we are fascinated by the sudden transformation of rickety cars with captivating rims and paintwork.

The show producers were accused of installing flashy items on the vehicles. Most flamboyant gadgets installed on the cars are used as stunts and quickly removed once the camera is no longer recording.

The vehicles pimped on the show often leave with their mechanical problems. The modification is usually focused on the vehicle’s outward appearance to make the audience happy.

One of the contestants on the show confirmed that the TV installed in his vehicle stopped working.

He also complained that the LED light on his seat was heating up, and he stopped using it.

Seth also confirmed that the style rear door was removed, affecting the back seat belt functions.

He complained that the show producers did not replace the car engine during the remodeling phase. He said he spent around $1,700 to purchase a new engine a month after featuring on the Pimp My Ride show.

Jake Glazer, whose car was also featured on the show, complained that his car engine was not fixed, and he resorted to selling his car quietly after a month of being featured on the show.

Justin Dearinger, another contestant featured on the show, said that the producers removed the screen and pop-up champagne server installed in his ride after the recordings.

Other people even complained that their vehicles broke down after the completion of the filming of their episode.

Most of these purported upgrades by the show producers looked amazing on TV. However, it is far from reality, as many contestants are unhappy with the outcome.

Contestants were being fooled into believing cars were returned to the original owners in perfect shape.

That is fraudulent and not a good marketing strategy.

If you have an old car that needs modification, maybe you can build a kit car. Before doing that, please do some research to know whether kit cars are street legal in your state.

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