I like all the car rebuild shows. Less so the high-dollar ones with donated after-market parts and installation team, where every car must be Foosified with a giant crate engine and custom wheels. My favorite is Wheeler Dealers, which seems the most genuine, tackles a wide variety of models, and interesting British accents and terminology.
Texas Car Wars is interesting for the different shop approaches. Big Frank hustles quick flips, the Jersey guy talks big but often has to call in engine experts or sell off unfinished projects, the blond girl is too fussy, and Rodriguez makes cool old cars with fantastic paint jobs. Sounds almost scripted.
All the shows convince me I could never make a living at it. They spend untold weeks or months on a car for $5K profit if lucky, which gets split 3+ ways, so <$20K/yr per person for long nights and high risk. I imagine the networks kick in a bit so their families don't starve.
