Wheeler Dealers star Mike Brewer has named one car that is “almost impossible to fix” as he slammed modern motors. The TV presenter has made a name for himself by purchasing used cars and fixing them up for resale.
But Mike believes modern cars are increasingly becoming more difficult to repair. He says the trend began with the Audi A2, where motorists couldn’t open the hood of the vehicle, instead having access to a “service hatch”.
Mike believes we now live in a “disposable society” and says motorists are more inclined to swap their car as opposed to maintaining them. He says people no longer “respect” their cars like they used to either.
On the Talkin’ Shop podcast, he said: “Back in my day or your dad’s day, when you bought your new car, or your nearly new used car, you would wash it every weekend, you would, every three months, change the oil, change the filter, and hoover it out, and clean it.
“We sell cars at One Automotive that are six months old, one year old, and they might come back six months later and it’s never seen a car wash. Never had an oil filter, never had the screenwashed.”
Mike however believes manufacturers have made it more difficult to maintain vehicles. He said: “I think Audi started it with the A2 when they made that car deliberately with no bonnet.
“All you could do was put water in it at the front for your screenwash. It was almost impossible to service the car yourself and then other manufacturers followed suit.”
Mike says some cars are now a “sea of plastic coverings” under the bonnet. He added: “The manufacturers are saying, ‘Don’t touch it, leave it alone, bring it back to us and we’ll charge you’ or ‘Don’t touch it and wait for it to die’.”
The TV expert however says cars can “go on forever” if they are “looked after right”. He points to trucks which regularly have higher mileage.
He explained that classic cars can often last longer providing they are restored using modern parts. He explained: “Today we have different gasket compounds, we have different water compounds, we have different rubber and viscosity in rubber, so the chances are, if you’re restoring a car today, the chances are it will run much better and much longer and last forever than it would have done when it came out of the factory.”
Motoring expert Mike began his career on Channel 4’s Driven – launched to rival BBC Top Gear – before moving onto the Discovery Channel with Wheeler Dealers. He fronted 18 series of the show before it was cancelled in 2023.
He has also hosted shows such as Wrecks to Riches and Auto Trader. He hosts the British Rally Championship on Sky Sports.