Man exposes reality behind what really happens to cars on Pimp My Ride
There probably were cooler things when you were a kid than seeing a minivan rigged out with a glow-in-the dark aquarium and speakers big enough to curl up inside, but it didn't seem like it.
All the owner of a beat-up Toyota had to do was mention he quite liked watching a film every now and then and the Pimp My Ride team would fit it with a 58-inch TV, retractable cinema seats and a working popcorn machine. I can still hear the poor suspension screaming.
But what really happened when lucky drivers had their motors selected for a make-over from Xhibit and the crew? Did they actually drive away in a car weighing more than a tank?
Well, a man called Justin Dearinger went on the show when he was just 19 and subsequently dished out all the gossip on Reddit.
How long it took a car to get transformed on Pimp My Ride
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Justin appeared on season six, episode 14 of MTV's hit show Pimp My Ride, taking on a ten-year-old bumped and battered 1997 Toyota RAV4.
Even Justin himself described the truck as 'c***-tastic' as he introduced his vehicle to the viewers.
The light blue car had its front bumper hanging off and a massive dent in the back before it went into the garage, but emerged all silver, shiny and chrome, with all those blemishes erased.
Though he did reveal that the production team did a lot of the damage themselves.
"They removed my front bumper, used aircraft remover, and enhanced the dent on the side of my car," he wrote in a Reddit threat in which he answered questions about his experience.
In the show, the transformation happens over the course of an episode, yet Justin revealed that he actually had to wait five months for his car to be completed.
During that time, the production 'gave me $2,000 to rent a car.' Though, after spending $1,000 to rent one for just a month, he soon sent it back and pocketed the rest of the cash.
It's little wonder it took so long, given the gleaming exterior was only the beginning of the transformation.
'The whole interior was awful'
For a start, everything was made red. Red leather seats, red dashboard, red steering wheel, even a red rose.
Hilarious, given Justin admitted on the Reddit thread that he 'hated the colour red.'
But that was far from the weirdest change, as a chocolate fountain was installed at the back and champagne glasses popped up where cup holders would usually be, making the car resemble a sleazy hook-up motel where the bed is shaped like a heart.
Not forgetting the customary screens in the back of the seats and the needlessly massive speakers.
Justin looked delighted on the show, of course, saying 'that's f*****g tight,' and thanking MTV for pimping his ride.
However, he revealed he wasn't exactly buzzing about it immediately and went on to spend a lot of money to do it up his own way.
"At first, no," he said when asked if he liked what they did. "The whole interior was awful.
"But I eventually got used to it. I also redid the whole car, added about $20,000 worth of things to it."
In a bigger twist, it turns out he wasn't actually able to keep a lot of the more unique features.
Justin said: "They actually take out a lot of the stuff that they showed on TV. Such as the "pop-up" champagne, and the "drive-in" theatre.
"They told me they were a road hazard. They legally cannot leave it on the car."
Our childhood is a lie!
As it transpired, the car eventually came to meet a grizzly end.
Justin shared a video on YouTube 15 years ago of his rolling love den completely engulfed in flames, though that wasn't at the hands of Pimp My Ride.
"Unfortunately, due to some wiring errors - work done by a completely different shop - it burned," he wrote.
Topics: TV, Cars, Entertainment
Daniel Murphy