User reviews

It's funny how a car show revolving around restoring cars for less fortunate people has less drama than its American counterparts.

From the many 'restoration' TV shows out there, and yes I put that in quotes since the majority barely touch the technical aspect, Car SOS feels like a true car show without any dumb exaggeration. The chemistry between the host (Tim Shaw) and mechanic (Fuzz Townshend) feels natural and authentic and it's nice to see their passion about various types of cars which feels genuine as well.

Although mostly focused on the story around the car's owner, the show does provide plenty of insight into what's involved in a full-on car restoration. The small sketches in between where the host goes out to gather parts and always persuades the shop owners in the most ridiculous ways adds a fine amount of humor as well without overdoing it.

The best thing is the genuine response of the owner when the car is revealed which is often touching. And I guess that's what I like most about this show, it's that many of it is real and not over- dramatized with shaky camera's, cursing and other nonsense. It's down to earth and I like it.

If you want a feelgood TV show about good deeds being done in the spirit of car restoration, then I'd certainly recommend it. It does not have the technical depth as -say- Wheeler Dealers, but only a few shows go into such a detail as this one does.

A real Honest Car Restoration Show Helping people in Need of a Hand, A well oiled Team of Tim Shaw a very Sharp witted Parts Shark who bends the truth to get a Discount, and love to offer fuzz help but magically disappears And Fuzz Townshend a hands on Mechanical god who gets little help from Tim and a lot of Help from Phil the hidden master, but Fuzz and Tim have a real chemistry and you feel but the show is really fun and educational,They also take us on a tour of the amazing Small Craftsmen all around UK still restoring parts for the likes of Austin Martin, Jaguar,Morgen Mini McLaren

So with all the Super Fake and Tacky Car Shows Car SOS is a breath of fresh air !

Car SOS is really refreshing and entertaining car show Great Job Guys !!

This is without doubt the BEST car show on the telly box! Fuzz is brilliant and Tim is useless!! and they are a match made in the garage. It's fun and mad but the stories of the cars owners brings some seriousness and emotions to the show. Oh, and the reveals..........Well Tim is such a good actor.........😂😂😂

I have now watched all the episodes and have enjoyed them all. The two hosts are great and both make the show a joy to watch. There's a genuine pleasure in seeing how pleased and surprised the car owners are at the reveal. Tim and Fuzz both care deeply about the cars and the reason why they are doing the restoration.

I hope they continue for many years to come!!!

I must admit to liking this series; Fuzz and Tim get on well as a team but yes sometimes their shenanigans do detract from the restoration a bit, but that's showbiz. It sells, and to be honest if you've ever watched a sober, serious Car Restoration video where the guy in the blue overalls tells you: "You put this bit here.... then you tighten this bit... oops dropped it... then you hold this bit..." it's like paint drying. SOS does make the business more interesting and entertaining, especially when new parts are remade or old ones factory renovated by real experts. Some of the owners' reactions are... interesting; I remember the woman whose Triumph Herald was restored and she looked as if she'd just been reunited with part of her past that she'd forgotten all about and didn't particularly want to revisit. The one hope I have for the series is that they DON'T go the same way as Wheeler Dealers - you know that quasi-British American show where they endlessly restore American cars that mean nothing to us here in the UK? Before they emigrated they ended up restoring an endless procession of Porsches and BMWs and each new episode was the same as the last, with a few Japanese Supercars thrown in to appeal to the 'Go Faster' brigade. Keep it simple, Tim and Fuzz, stick to the everyday family cars we all remember, the cars we could afford to run ourselves, and not the sensor-packed plastic fantastics we hear coming from twenty miles away, and it'll be worth watching for years to come.

Good show for car lovers, the where, when, how and at times why of it all is nicely covered. Both lead figures seem to have sufficient knowledge of the subject matter, playing dumb to educate in adequate amounts. The camera time spent on the work at hand is reasonable.

The downsides - and in this they're not alone - is the contrived (timeline) drama. The fact that it's consistently 3 weeks raises suspicion... the back story does not always add up either. Some of the stories as to why the restoration is necessary are quite touching others seem contrived.

The banter is fine, the keeping it original versus making improvement discussion is done when it is applicable.

I love this show, i started with watching the episodes of the vehicles I liked, then it became my daily nightly binge. Season 6 episode 2 is such a great reminder of why they do this show and how the passion for cars brings people together. Watch and learn

I just got into the Car SOS party a little late, but I really do like this show, yes Tim goes a little over the top sometimes but hey that's showbiz lol but I love to see how they transform the cars I a very short amount of time! The back stories and often very touching (see the yellow Lanica Dellta Integrale episode. I was bubbling like a baby) but it's a good mix of Top Gear shenanigans and Wheeler Dealer restorations!

It's enough for a master restoration mechanic to work at a normal pace, surrounded just by competent helpers, turning work away when too busy, making excuses for delays. Difficult problems and crises arise of course from time to time but those are the conditions under which most make their living.

But this TV series, like some Japanese reality show, adds fiendish challenges and trials amounting almost to torture with an ever-present camera to record the reaction. I have some knowledge of the work so find the problems and solutions fascinating. And the work is almost the sum total of the interest and significance of the programme, apart that is from the usually tragic personal story concerning each owner and their joy at seeing their pride - and joy - restored.

The added challenges and trials includes not just near impossible deadlines but also an imposed near functionally-redundant presenter who has a deep but unrequited relationship with the camera and is in constant photo-bombing mode. It is he who pronounces not asks the expert on the list of tasks, it is he, at moments of others' stress steps forward to indignantly pronounce that it is time to "crack on" and, at the end, when the overjoyed owner is overwhelmed with gratitude, each time contrives a scene in which he takes the credit while the person who has done the work, modestly stands back. I look at the drawer of large shiny double open ended spanners going up to perhaps 1kg weight and wonder if Fuzz Townsend, master mechanic, will ever misuse one on his colleague and be enabled to get on with the work and receive due credit.

But probably not, that is the marvel of the show which is not just about his skills as much as a testament to his extraordinary temperament. He's a real hero and I could never be such.

I've enjoyed every episode of this show (so far), and I've watched 'em all (Seasons 1 - 8, plus the first 4 episodes of Season 9). Tim & Fuzz make a great duo - their passion and knowledge are unquestionable. Narrator Phil Cornwell also deserves a mention - if only for his cracking Mick Jagger impersonations. The quality of work they put out (with the help of a collective of great craftsmen) is spot-on. Yes, there's much silliness (mainly from Tim) but it doesn't detract from from the show's main objective. If I have one complaint, it has to be why they haven't yet done a #3 Cortina. I mean - come on!?!

Great show doing up cars for people less fortunate. Presenter Tim seems somewhat a complete idiot and narcissist unable to resist the camera at any given time always taking over stealing the lime light always trying to get his face on camera even if it is not required. Also it is so completely awkward when he 'acts' in one of his plans to return the car. Just because you are doing something nice for someone doesn't mean you can be an arrogant tool and make the recipient feel so uncomfortable which is all over their faces. Stop being a tool you are ruining the show and making people who have already been through so much uncomfortable.

Love the show & the work they do for people,but, Tims constant droning on & I understand haggling but his again constant scabby discount begging has worn incredibly thin.Then acting & blabbing on about I'm so great is just too grating.

With so many car shows it's hard to find the stand out shows and this is one of the few that stand out. No cheesy over the top gimmicks or forced chemistry, it's a humble show that sticks to the root of car restoration! You'll enjoy the mechanical side because its informative and done right, you'll enjoy Tim's antics too as you can see he is a car person at heart, they speak to all ages because they aren't always purists and will sometimes modernise where needed and it's that mix that most of us can relate to because when dealing with classics, sometimes an upgrade here and there can help, especially for those who need adaptions. Anyway the show is educational and entertaining. Reminds me of wheeler dealer in the early days before Mike sold out to the US audience. They help car enthusiasts who's projects have stopped so it's a Nobel cause too. Well done to all involved.

Those guys not only rebuild classic cars, many times is a emotional travel not only for the owner, but for the builder themselves. Also have alot of mechanics every episode so you can learn alot.

All reality shows have that "unrealistic" feel to them, and Tim's parts blagging schemes definitely make for five stars in fakeness. The pranks also feel as real as they are, but when it comes to the core of finding deserving owners and doing up their dream machines, this is the best show ever. I just started watching it the third time. It runs in the background while I do mind numbing work, so I'm not big on details and can watch it over and over. Nonetheless, I can't wait for Disney to add new seasons.

Bad: Tim's scheming gets on my nerve Not enough episodes

Good Everything else

Plus The human dimension of this series is beyond anything I've seen in car shows.

Fantastic TV program ,i never miss one serie in Portugal they amazing fix all cars ,ilike one day this good mecanics fix my car ,so i wish you all the best ,because i live in England long time ago i like go back again , i have my Lancia Y in the garage for fix in Portugal see many TV CAR PROGRAMS but this one is the best i ever see this a nice people have passion for the cars they go everywere to find parts for all tipe of vehicles and i like cars for long time since im young boy i hope this good mecanics come one day to help me fix my car and im will be very appreciated ,my brother like as well ,thank for the tv show!

Just want to say how moving series 11 is I've watched every season but this latest season is absolutely at a different level!! Well done Tim and fuzz pot and all your team. You're all so inspiring and moving.

It's good to know that genuine people, people who have had a terrible life of illness and have had to give up hope on their dearest parts of their lives namely their cars, can have genuine hope In humankind and an amazing show that will bring simply a smile back on their faces. In a world where we don't know who to trust and believe and have faith in. Thanks guys you have put my faith back in the human race. Never give up making this show.

Having owned a couple of cars that fall into the classic category, I take an interest in these shows from time-to-time.

I would like to rate this show higher but it falls victim to the inherent problem with car restoration programs - the presenter.

The basic premise is someone at some time in their lives bought a car. Usually due to some tragic personal circumstance, they have been unable to tend to, or restore their beloved car and it falls into disrepair.

Then, Car SOS swoop in, incognito, and take the car away to be taken back to its former glory.

It's great to see the mechanical effort that goes into the rebuilds and must take hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds.

However, the presenter Tim really brings this show down. Generally, mechanics and engineers aren't presenters so they need someone to pull the show together. But Tim tears it apart and stands dead centre, soaking up every frame of camera time. His stupid jokes, coupled with his redundant segments "scavenging" parts take away from the overall reason of watching the show.

The real frustration for me is the convoluted reveal to the vehicle owner at the end, which often leaves the owner confused and underwhelmed as every reveal is botched by unnecessary gimmicks with Tim's overbearing narcissism and egomania spoiling it.

If you ignore the idiocy of the presenter, it's a pretty decent show.

The basic sob-story premise of this show annoys me. The owners various ailments are a concern for their immediate families, not for the viewing public.

Otherwise, this could be an interesting show, if Fuzz gave Tim Shaw his marching orders. Shaw must be the unfunniest attention-seeker in TV history, making Mike Brewer seem almost normal. He manages to ruin the whole show with his inane "jokes", his pretend haggling/begging and stupid reveal events.

It would also be interesting to know how much they spend on their restorations, as in most cases that would be way, way more than the finished result will ever be worth. Some cars actually should be scrapped, and anyone who places so much sentimental value on inanimate objects needs a prompt reality check.

And to be frank, they are really giving these top-restored cars to the undeserving kids, since most of the owners are on their very last legs.

Two points and neither comes Tim Shaw, who teaches how cheating gives you an unprecedented advantage. The world is already dishonest enough anyway, you don't have to teach anyone to cheat.