With the return of Wheeler Dealers last month for the 2014 season, and upon learning of the inclusion of the iconic Mazda RX-7 in the latest episode, I thought I'd take a look back through the archives at all of the Japanese Cars that have been featured on Wheeler Dealers over the years.

This article was original written in April 2014, but we're still updating and keeping track of any new developments we find. We'd appreciate any tips if you know of any further information we've missed.

Jump to section:

Toyota MR2

Suzuki SJ410

Mazda MX-5

Lexus LS400

Subaru Impreza WRX

Nissan Skyline R33

Mazda RX-7

Datsun 240Z

Honda S2000

Honda Civic CVCC

Starting way back in 2003, Wheeler Dealers follows the exploits of Mike Brewer and Edd China (with mechanical assistance from Paul Brackley and others) as they purchase cars on a budget, address any issues said car may have and then try to sell them on for a profit.

I've always been a fan of the show, and although it can be a little frustrating to watch at times from the perspective of an automotive enthusiast, it's still good light-hearted entertainment - often with some very useful technical information from Edd China.

Japanese Cars haven't featured too often on Wheeler Dealers (we're told because of the cost issues of finding good second-hand parts), but we've taken it upon ourselves to complete a little investigative work and uncover exactly what's happened to all of the previous Japanese cars that have been featured on Wheeler Dealers. We've spoken with Carl Gillard, a production employee on Wheeler Dealers, for a bit of exclusive insider information too.

We've added details from the DVLA, MOT History and AskMID databases for every car on this list. The three important factors we're looking for are the "Date of Liability", "Vehicle Status" and whether or not the vehicle is insured. Let's take a look at the selection of Japanese Cars the Wheeler Dealers crew have worked on throughout the years:

Toyota MR2 Mk1 (Wheeler Dealers Series 2 - 2004)

The first car on the list is a classic Toyota MR2 Mark 1, the first generation of the popular mid-engined sports car.

Work completed

Replaced ignition barrel and boot lock, alternator, left front wing, windscreen, exhaust pipe, door trim and tires; removed rust and repainted left rear wing, polished body work; bought replacement fourth wheel and refurbished rims; full engine service.

Where is it now?

We've found a 2007 forum post from the apparent buyer of the MR2, quoted below:

In case your interested, I bought E811 FMO from the Discovery channel about 3 years back. The buyers on the program are just for the cameras and I bought it out of Autotrader. It was a great car, but sold it in 2005. The clutch was well on its way out and there was a bad knocking from the front right. Didn't have money to repair so sold it for £600 to a guy who said he was going to restore it. I'm disappointed I let it go now as I loved it so much, although the t-bar did leak like a sieve. I have some pics of it if anyone is interested in seeing it before it started to deteriorate.

Here are the pictures he provided:

Somebody, I can only assume the same guy, also posted on an unrelated forum back in 2011:

I bought the mk1 mr2 off WD a few years back. E811FMO. T-bar leaked like a sieve and was well botched with tape. Other than that it was good for a couple of years of torquey rear end mischief.

The last information we could find of this MR2 was a long-expired eBay advertisement (dead link) from 2009. Looking at the DVLA report below leads us to believe it is now off the road or scrapped. The Date of Liability (or the Tax/SORN expiry date) is back in 2012, and the Vehicle Status says Unlicensed.

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

E811 FMO

Date of Liability 04 10 2012 Date of First Registration 09 05 1988 Year of Manufacture 1988 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1587cc CO₂ Emissions Not Available Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker N Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour RED Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

MOT History Check

View MOT History for E811 FMO

AskMID Result

Uninsured

Suzuki SJ410 (Wheeler Dealers Series 2- 2004)

Who'd think you can turn an old Suzuki into a mini monster truck? I actually really like what the guys did to this SJ410 (commonly known as the Suzuki Jimny), it's just a shame it failed the MOT in the episode!

Work completed

Repainted vehicle from white to black, modified suspension and oversized wheels for 8" extra ride height. Replaced busted engine. Fitted roll cage kit.

Where is it now?

The guys made a loss selling the SJ410 as it didn't have a valid MOT, therefore could only legally be used off-road. However the DVLA details provided below state the last year of Tax or SORN ended in 2007.

We like to think at some point between 2004-2007 the car was all fixed up and earned itself a passed MOT - but the reality may just be that 2007 was the last SORN that was recorded and it is now scrapped. Especially seeing as the DVLA never had a record of the colour change to black.

Update: Interesting post I found on Facebook regarding C515 TDG, but as of Jan 2016 the Suzuki is not showing as Taxed, Insured or MOT'd.

25 August 2014 - Hello Mike and Ed, I saw the Suzuki SJ410 that you guys done up, the one that was too rusty to get an MOT on so you sold it for off road use, reg C515 TDG it's back on the road, I saw it driving in north London, it looks the same!

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

C515 TDG

Date of Liability 18 10 2007 Date of First Registration 01 08 1985 Year of Manufacture 1985 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 970cc CO₂ Emissions Not Available Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker N Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour WHITE Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

MOT History Check

View MOT History for C515 TDG

AskMID Result

Uninsured

Mazda MX-5 (Wheeler Dealers Series 3 - 2005)

Everybody loves the quirky little Mazda MX-5. The convertible icon is renowned as one of the most popular sports cars of all time, and if you've ever driven one you'll see why. A natural choice for the Wheeler Dealers.

Work completed

Replaced convertible hood and interior, installed chrome trims, performance air filter and chassis braces, repaired and repainted corroded A-pillar, stock alloys upgraded to 15" white Enkei factory units from the second generation (NB) model.

Where is it now?

The car was originally sold to 'Angie' for £3600, seen in it's refurbished state below:

In 2010 Edd China paid a visit to the current owner of the MX-5 in a one-off Wheeler Dealers "Revisited" episode. It looked to be going strong still, even though it was succumbing to quite severe sill rust (a common MX-5 issue) and lack of oil (!!). It's a shame the owner (now 'Trish') doesn't sound like much of an enthusiast with the lack of care and maintenance that Edd can't help but comment on.

The last we could find of the MX-5 was mention of a For Sale advert on PistonHeads - apparently selling as an MOT failure with rotten sills and arches for spares or repairs.

The blue mk1 mx5 they did years ago was on sale on PH about a year ago. The blue mx5 had a rusted windscreen, Strange one on an mx5, havent see much rust on that area on mx5's But you can be damn sure if its got a rusty windscreen pillar the sills would be absolutely rotten through, They also added on some terrible tat you would find in halfords, Chrome grills, Chrome air vent rings, shifter boots etc. looked terrible. It was also on their re-visited program where it had been sold to a woman who had pretty much destroyed it, Was running on no oil on the dipstick etc. It showed up on PH classifies not much later, MOT failure, rotten sills and arches. Spares or repairs.

The Tax/SORN elapsed early last year, so we can only imagine the worst now.

EDIT: Thanks to a keen-eyed commenter below, we've discovered that G438 YMF is sitting (unused) on a driveway in Surrey! I've removed the exact address provided for privacy reasons, but you can clearly see the MX-5 in the Google Street View screenshot below:

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

G438 YMF

Date of Liability 01 03 2013 Date of First Registration 02 05 1991 Year of Manufacture 1990 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1598cc CO₂ Emissions Not Available Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker N Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour BLUE Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

MOT History Check

View MOT History for G438 YMF

AskMID Result

Uninsured

Lexus LS400 (Wheeler Dealers Series 4 - 2006)

Considered a luxury car upon it's conception in the early nineties, the Lexus LS400 is a big Japanese barge with a presence to be reckoned with.

Work completed

Headlamps upgraded to HID, front suspension wishbones replaced, air conditioner LCD replaced, rear bumper repainted, alloy wheels and tires upgraded to Lexus IS 17" units, side indicator housings swapped with clear lenses with orange bulbs, Bluetooth hands-free phone kit added to stereo.

Where is it now?

After some extensive Googling I couldn't find any information at all regarding the fate of the Lexus and it's owner 'Tac'. We did find a quote from a forum user from 2011 that might be worth mentioning though:

Ed China lives up the road from me. He has had the Lexus that sold on that show for a long time in his drive (although I have not driven past for a while).

Interesting. Does that mean Edd kept the Lexus for himself? What we do know is that it hasn't been on the road since 2011 according to the DVLA report.

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

J375 BWB

Date of Liability 10 03 2011 Date of First Registration 16 04 1992 Year of Manufacture 1992 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 3969cc CO₂ Emissions Not Available Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker N Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour SILVER Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

MOT History Check

View MOT History for J375 BWB

AskMID Result

Uninsured

Subaru Impreza WRX (Wheeler Dealers Series 7 - 2010)

As an owner of an Impreza WRX STi myself, I was very curious to see how the lads would deal with a 2001 Subaru Impreza WRX 'Bugeye'.

Work completed

Performance air filter and exhaust added, ECU remapped to 243 bhp, clutch, STi Brembo brakes, calipers, painted STi alloy wheels, bonnet stripes added.

Where is it now?

The show originally aired in November 2010 and the Impreza was apparently sold to a guy named 'Stuart' (who we've been told is an assistant mechanic on the show). Before the episode was aired, the Impreza appeared on eBay (dead link) for a price of £5,895.

At least three adverts appeared on eBay (among other sites) for the Impreza in the latter quarter of 2011 with differing prices from 'new' owner Carl Gillard. Mr. Gillard was kind enough to give us a little more background information on this episode.

Carl was in fact the original buyer of the Impreza after production had ended on this episode. He told us he owned the car for about a year before successfully selling it on. Carl stated he changed the vinyl stripes on the car slightly (removed the signatures of Mike and Edd), and returned the ECU back to a standard map (the remap wasn't particularly effective, and was causing a few running issues).

As for today? We asked Carl if he knew the current whereabouts of the Impreza, but he was unsure. We can only guess the same old story I'm afraid, the Tax/SORN expired in 2012 and hasn't been renewed. There is however an export marker on the vehicle, so perhaps it lives on in foreign lands...

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

Y296 LAN

Date of Liability 13 06 2012 Date of First Registration 01 03 2001 Year of Manufacture 2001 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1994cc CO₂ Emissions 242 g/km Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker Y Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour SILVER Vehicle Type Approval M1

MOT History Check

View MOT History for Y296 LAN

AskMID Result

Uninsured

Nissan Skyline R33 GTST (Wheeler Dealers Series 9 - 2012)

Setting out to buy a budget Drift car, the Wheeler Dealers settled on this rather nice Nissan Skyline R33 purchased from the chaps at Jap Performance Parts.

"Mike Brewer and his team from Wheeler Dealer came down to Jap Performance Parts to film an episode for the new series featuring a R33 Skyline GTST. Mike and Edd were buying the car to build into a budget drifter, and even had a go themselves. The new series of Wheeler Dealers airs from the 9th October 2012 on the Discovery channel."

Work completed

Custom Japanese wheels replaced as part of purchase deal (I would have kept the Advans personally!). Rusty metal on the strut tower cut out and replaced with a patch from another Skyline, standard intercooler swapped for a larger one and front bumper modified to relocate the intercooler from the inner wing to the front of the car behind the front bumper, strut brace fitted, stock rear spoiler replaced with an adjustable aftermarket one, suspension set up for drifting: front camber adjusted to -2.6°, front caster adjusted -6.5° and rear camber adjusted to -0.9°. Also the tracking was readjusted. Suspension already had adjustable suspension parts and may have been previously used as a track-day car.

Where is it now?

Before the episode even aired an advert appeared on eBay for the sale of this Skyline by Matt Rangecroft, ex-Production Coordinator at Attaboy TV (the show's Producers). This advert on Gumtree was also posted at some point.

Whether or not it sold I'm unsure, but seeing as the adverts were posted in 2012, they have long-expired by now. I guess we can assume that 'Alex', the buyer in the show itself, was another crew member.

According to the DVLA the Tax expired in October 2012 without a SORN renewal, we can safely say it was most likely taken off the road for good. We did eventually find this very interesting quote from a user on the Skyline Owners forum:

Yeah, the skyline never sold. Within a few days of the show airing, jdm garage had the car and were pulling it apart, before shipping it over to France since someone wanted the engine and box from it. I had it's headlights on my car about a week after seeing them on telly!

Well, at least we can see it was sacrificed for a good cause!

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

N890 JEV

Date of Liability 01 10 2012 Date of First Registration 01 11 2004 Year of Manufacture 1996 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 2490cc CO₂ Emissions 0 g/km Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker N Vehicle Status Unlicensed Vehicle Colour BLACK Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

MOT History Check

View MOT History for N890 JEV

AskMID Result

Uninsured

Mazda RX-7 (Wheeler Dealers Series 11 - 2014)

The next Japanese Car to feature is the Mazda RX-7. A true legend in the Japanese automotive scene, the RX-7 still has a strong and loyal following to this day.

Mike found a perfect base platform for this project with a JDM import RX-7 with Mazdaspeed body kit, aftermarket spoiler, Pivot water temperature gauge and APEXi turbo timer. The engine was rebuilt 10,000 miles prior to featuring on the show so was a good, strong example.

Work completed

New radiator and intercooler kit. Faulty aircon assembly removed and battery moved to the boot. New ECU installed; engine remapped from 247 bhp to 296 bhp. Original BBS alloy wheels repainted in orange with snake skin water transfer pattern; spoiler and side mirror covers also decorated with snake skin pattern. Added matching "snake skin fade spots" vinyl decals to body.

Where is it now?

As of writing, this episode has only just aired so not much is known at the moment - apart from the fact the original owner 'Nick' decided to buy the RX7 back from the Wheeler Dealers crew.

This episode apparently started filmed in July/August 2013, and the car is Taxed and on the road today until August 2014. It's also showing as insured on the AskMID database, so I'm sure the owner is having plenty of fun with his car.

I've tried not to be too critical in this article but, honestly, I can't say I'm a fan of the outcome of this RX-7. Maybe the graphics and wheels would have worked better on a darker base colour, but I'm not feeling it with silver. At least the engine and almost 300bhp performance certainly make up for it!

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

M690 UKM

Date of Liability 01 08 2014 Date of First Registration 25 06 2005 Year of Manufacture 1995 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 2600cc CO₂ Emissions 0 g/km Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker N Vehicle Status Licence Not Due Vehicle Colour SILVER Vehicle Type Approval Not Available

MOT History Check

View MOT History for M690 UKM

AskMID Result

Uninsured

*Update: Looks like this is still taxed, MOT'd and insured as of 1st December 2014!

*Update 2: As of October 2015 the RX-7 is now showing as Uninsured, with no MOT and currently on SORN :(



Datsun 240Z (Wheeler Dealers Series 12 - 2015)

This is a US based car so finding information is a little tricky. If you you can help, reach out and let me know!

Honda S2000 (Wheeler Dealers Series 12 - 2015)

Cracking little cars these S2000's, and this Imola Orange colour is stunning. With VTEC pushing the motor to around 9000RPM, there's lots of fun to be had in Honda's sporty little convertible.

Work completed

Faulty oxygen sensor replaced, oil seals and O-rings replaced to fix the VTEC issue, wheels refurbished, corroded EPS rack replaced, rusted metal engine brackets refurbished using vapor blasting method, rusted alarm casing replaced, cam cover refurbished, faded headlamp lenses ground, sanded and polished, headlight washer pump replaced, aftermarket stereo head unit and gear shift knob replaced with factory units.

Where is it now?

The S2000 is a little easier to keep track of with it being a rather new episode. Once again as with the RX-7, the original owner Neil decided to buy the car back from Mike and Edd after the work had been done.

And it has a somewhat interesting story behind it.

This episode was filmed around May/June 2015, and aired the following October. As you'll see in the show, Mike originally finds the S2000 listed on eBay (original advert here) by a chap called Neil. They meet up, Mike buys the car for £3000 and the show continues.

This is the original eBay ad description:

For sale 2003 Honda S2000 in (the best colour) Imola Orange over all condition very good MOT until August wheels in good condition but would benefit from painting . The roof works perfect but had some minor tears in it which I had repaired last year. It also has a seperate roof cover as well. A great car to look at and to drive. 120k on the clock but £2.5k spent on engine last year (receipts to prove). Car engine light is on. When I had it checked fault showed up as Lambda sensor two was faulty. I went to Honda to have it changed but fault returned. Honda (Sussex) suspected a wiring loom fault but wanted to charge me extortions to fix it. Car runs but ECU thinks it's cold and over fuels which results in a very lumpy tick over and doesn't like re-starting when cold but is fine once warm!

Interestingly, the S2000 was actually up for sale on eBay AGAIN in September (link here) before the episode even aired by the seller 'neil9985' - yes, that same Neil. Starting at £7000, it received 9 bids and sold for £8100. Some coincidental timing certainly helped its sale chances here!

Neil had this to say in the advert:

Here is your chance to buy the most famous S2K in England. To be featured on Wheeler Dealers Monday 12/10/2015. The car has had a fortune spent on restoring it to its present condition. as well as the work done on the show this car has benefited from a complete new roof with glass window ,Mintex Discs and pads all round, complete new clutch 3 piece plus slave, new Honda ECU, all sensors have been replaced with genuine Honda ones, 4 new Honda coil packs and plugs, new track rod ends, full wheel alignment, Diamond cut wheels back to original condition with new tyres all round, new radiator, new condenser (A/C) replacement compressor and recharged A/C. The body is rust free and the car is in excellent condition all over. It has been worked by one of Hondas top technicians and he has given it a clean bill of health. The vehicle looks and drives like new and thanks to WD it now absolutely original. Far more money was spent on the Honda then is shown on the show. That's why I was keen to buy it back.

The interesting part is in bold at the bottom. Many people online were questioning the owners sanity by selling it to Mike so cheap when he could have got more from keeping it on eBay at the time. He then goes and buys it back at such an expense when, let's face it, it didn't look like that much had even been done to it.

But apparently there's more to it than what we've seen as viewers, including the paint work Neil mentioned in the ad. Thanks to user Billzonwheels from the S2KI.com forum, here's a respray pic that we never got to see on the show:

Funnily enough, Neil's new eBay ad was also picked up on by Mike Brewer himself, who expressed his own opinions via Twitter:

It's been over a year since the show was aired, and we have good news in regards to its current state. As of September 2016 the S2000 is showing with Tax until November 2016, a fresh MOT until September 2017 and valid insurance - a miracle!

Neil, or whoever now owns the car - if you're reading this, reach out to us! We'd love to hear the whole story behind the S2000 (once that NDA ends, wink-wink).

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry

S20 KAA

Date of Liability 01 11 2016 Date of First Registration 01 03 2003 Year of Manufacture 2003 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1997cc CO₂ Emissions 237 g/km Fuel Type PETROL Export Marker No Vehicle Status Tax not due Vehicle Colour ORANGE Vehicle Type Approval M1

MOT History Check

View MOT History for S20 KAA

AskMID Result

As of September 2016... Insured!

Honda Civic CVCC (Wheeler Dealers Series 13 - 2016)

Another US car, but the fate of this little motor is more obvious. In the episode it is sold Honda Motors USA's museum as a show piece, where hopefully it is admired by many people for years to come.

Conclusion

So there we have it. In a rather sad (but honestly unsurprising) turn of events it seems that only one of the former Japanese Cars of Wheeler Dealers is still on UK roads today - the latest S2000 (as of writing in September 2016). Although there's a chance that the registration plates on certain cars may have changed (leading to inaccurate database results), we're going to take a pessimistic stance and expect the worst.

I was actually looking forward to hearing about some success stories, I may have even tried to find the owners for a quick interview. Alas, it looks like there's a Wheeler Dealers 'curse' lurking over every Japanese car.

It's a somewhat well known fact that many 'buyers' of Wheeler Dealers cars are in fact actors or crew members when they can't sell the car before production ends. Many cars were later sold on eBay using a few accounts, one of which we believe belongs to the aforementioned crew member Paul Brackley, along with production employees Matt Rangecroft and Carl Gillard. Vehicles from the current series will also appear for sale on the Discovery Channel website, here.

It's good to see Wheeler Dealers back on our screens, and I really hope they are able to feature more Japanese cars in the future. Remember though, it's just a TV show - don't take everything you see at face value, and try to just enjoy each episode! I certainly do.

Again, just a quick thank you to Carl Gillard for providing us with some useful information, especially regarding the Subaru Impreza.

Do you have any further information on the buyers or eventual fates of any of these Wheeler Dealers Japanese cars? Let us know in the comments below - we'd love to hear it.

P.S. Are you interested in the current whereabouts of your own previous vehicle(s)? Take a look at our recent blog post with a variety of free tools to find out their current state: Free Tools to Check Car Tax, MOT, Insurance and More