We all know and love the popular MTV show, Pimp My Ride. Chances are that if you’re a millennial then you probably grew up around the time Pimp My Ride was on the air, between 2004 to 2007. There were many things to love about the show: Xzibit, the host of the show, is a super friendly and cool guy, and he brings happiness to owners of old cars by completely renovating, or “pimping” the cars.
While the show was loved by many and still is to this day, there are so many things about reality TV that are tricky. Over the years, after the show went off the air, many details emerged about how the process actually went on Pimp My Ride, and it’s not as simple as we all thought.
Pimp My Ride will always have a special place in our hearts, but we had to highlight the 15 shameless things you weren’t aware happened on the show.
15. Fake Upgrades On A Reality Show
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Most of the upgrades added to the cars were real, however, the show did resort to some fake stuff in order to keep interest. One example is when the shop added a robotic arm to the car, but the reality was it didn’t actually work on its own and was being controlled by someone off-camera.
14. Real But Dysfunctional Upgrades
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Owners of the cars were often excited to see all the cool features and new additions their cars received, however, their excitement was short lived. Many reported that additions to their cars would stop working only a few days after leaving the shop, which is disappointing, considering the car was in the shop for months.
13. Major Mechanical Issues Were Ignored
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No one can deny that the cars looked breathtaking coming out of the shop. The show focused a lot on the exterior, getting creative with paint jobs, and cool exterior features. However, they often neglected major mechanical problems, which means the car looked great but was largely unreliable or worse, completely unusable.
12. For The Camera’s Eyes Only
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Another annoying fact that emerged was that some car owners didn’t actually get all the features we saw on camera. Some additions and features were made temporarily, just to get them on tape, and were then removed before owners took the car home. It could be because some of the features were unsafe or illegal.
11. Not So Much Of A Surprise
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The episodes typically started with host Xzibit surprising the car owner at their home and telling them he will “pimp their ride.” Many participants on the show pointed out that they already knew MTV was coming, but they didn’t know for sure if Xzibit would be there himself or just the producer.
10. Taking It A Step Too Far
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Seth Martino, a contestant on the show, has accused the show of fat shaming. He said that before he took Xzibit to show him his car, the producers of the show dumped candy all over his car, and they also added a cotton candy machine to his car after modifying it, in a deeply offensive move.
9. Not Bad Enough
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The cars are often not in great condition at the start of the show, but many participants have said that the producers of the show took time to inflict more damage upon the car to further dramatize its transformation. They also said they were edited in a way to show that they were bad, negligent drivers.
8. Pimp My Ride...In A Few Months
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Like many of us, you may have been fooled into thinking the car only takes a few days in the shop, but that's far from true. Many participants revealed that it took weeks, or sometimes even months, for their cars to undergo the transformation, and they remained without an alternative for the entire period.
7. Rent My Ride
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It will calm you down a little to learn that MTV gave participants $2,000 to rent a car until they got their cars back. However, that number stayed the same no matter how long the shop had your car, and of course it wasn’t enough to cover the entire period.
6. Pimp My Reaction, Too
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Ultimately, it didn’t really matter to MTV whether or not you liked the final output of what’s been done to your car. Reactions were recorded before the participant actually saw the car, as well as during the first viewing. Some participants received “coaching” on how to appear more excited and enthusiastic.
5. My Car, But Not My Choice
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So many people have tried to sell their cars after being on the show, and that’s not surprising at all when you learn that they had no say in what the modifications or features would be. Although they were interviewed about their preferences, the show didn’t have to abide by that.
4. Pimp My House?
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This isn’t true for all participants, but it was revealed that some participants were filmed at the beginning of the episode in a house that wasn’t theirs and was actually rented by MTV for that purpose. There were many reasons for this, including the living situations of participants or if they lived in unfriendly neighborhoods.
3. Up In Flames
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Justin Dearinger wasn’t really excited by the work that the show did on his car, and he had to top it up with about $20,000 of extra work in order to make the car into what he wants. Unfortunately, the car blew up because of some faulty wiring from one of the shops he went to.
2. Another Step Too Far
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The show wasn’t scripted, but the producers often tried to make things different from the way they were. Jake Glazier, a participant on the show, claims that producers asked him to dump his girlfriend before the show in order to make for a more dramatic backstory, and of course he refused.
1. “Audition” Videos Weren’t Actual Auditions
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You may have thought people were chosen for the show based on their “audition” videos shown at the beginning of each episode, but it’s not true. Producers used various methods to find participants, including casting calls where hundreds of people would show up with their rundown cars to be chosen.
