'Pimp My Ride' Was Lying To You The Whole Time
Other

'Pimp My Ride' Was Lying To You The Whole Time

Jeanette Hamlin
Updated March 10, 2025 609.0K views 11 items

This may be painful to hear, but a lot of the Pimp My Ride episodes were actually a TV disaster. Of course, the show gave the audience many gifts, like rapper Xzibit memes that just keep giving. And while fans will treasure the show forever, Pimp My Ride car fails are alarmingly common. Many contestants still regard the auto body shop from Seasons One to Four, West Coast Customs, as garbage reality TV people who aren't the real deal. 

The truth is that behind the scenes, Pimp My Ride was a very different show. Most fans would like to believe that cars with terrariums, cotton candy machines, and pull-out movie theaters exist in real life, but this isn't the case. MTV has faked things before (like people lying about their homes in Cribs), and they'll fake things again. It's all for the drama. From fat-shaming to faulty additions, check out how things went horribly wrong behind the scenes of Pimp My Ride. 

  • MTV Removed Some Upgrades As Soon As Filming Wrapped

    MTV Removed Some Upgrades As Soon As Filming Wrapped

    Everyone really wanted to believe that the insane upgrades given to cars were kept there. Sure, it's not really practical to drive with a fish tank in the back seat of your car, but people wanted to believe someone out there would do it regardless. Unfortunately, many of the show's upgrades were removed as soon as Pimp My Ride finished filming, either because they weren't street-legal or road-safe (like the drive-in movie theater contraption installed in one episode). 

    Not all the upgrades were removed, though - some were replaced with street-legal versions. According to the co-executive producer, Larry Hochberg, something like "24-inch spinner rims" looked awesome on TV, but "out of abundance of caution" they swapped them for "beautiful 20s for daily driving."

  • The Auditions Were Totally Fake, And So Were The Backstories

    The Auditions Were Totally Fake, And So Were The Backstories

    MTV didn't actually audition a number of contestants on the show. Brooke Siegel, a contestant who had her Chevy Cavalier pimped, ended up meeting the producers of Pimp My Ride through a mutual friend. They gave her the gig, but the producers made her act in a scene, begging to have her car pimped. They gave her an entire fake backstory, saying she was a 22-year-old film aficionado. In reality, she was a "25-year-old cocktail waitress." 

  • Some Upgrades Were Completely Faulty Or Just Straight-Up Fake

    Some Upgrades Were Completely Faulty Or Just Straight-Up Fake

    Seth Martino, a contestant on Pimp My Ride, had LED lights, a cotton candy machine, and a robotic arm added to his car. He admitted that some of the show's upgrades were totally faulty. He ended up having to remove the awesome LED lights installed on the seats because they would get dangerously hot. The cotton candy machine was completely non-functioning and a total mess because it didn't come with a lid. If you used the machine, it shot cotton candy all over the place.

    As for the robotic arm, Martino said it was "controlled by commands that were entered into a laptop by the spiky haired guy off screen." In reality, the arm was completely fake and didn't work at all. 

  • The Houses Shown On Set Didn't Belong To Contestants

    The Houses Shown On Set Didn't Belong To Contestants

    Much like MTV's show Cribs, the contestants' houses on Pimp My Ride weren't actually their houses. Contestant Brook Siegel admitted that when Xzibit showed up to her house to tell her she'd been chosen, they didn't even use her real home for the shot. 

  • That Cool Pop Champagne Contraption Was Removed Because It Promoted Drunk Driving

    That Cool Pop Champagne Contraption Was Removed Because It Promoted Drunk Driving

    MTV realized that they didn't want to condone drinking and driving, which is why they removed the super cool pop-up champagne contraption from one contestant's car right after they shot is episode. Justin Dearinger, who offered up his Toyota Rav4, revealed in a Reddit AMA that the customization was just for show. "They actually take out a lot of the stuff that they showed on TV," he said. 

  • Contestants Have Accused 'Pimp My Ride' Of Fat-Shaming

    Contestants Have Accused 'Pimp My Ride' Of Fat-Shaming

    Pimp My Ride was apparently as rude to their contestants as they were to their cars. In a Reddit AMA, Seth Martino reveals that the producers fat-shamed him. He writes, "They went the extra mile to make me look extra fat by telling the world that I kept candy all over my seat and floor, just in case I got hungry." They wanted to put a cotton candy machine in someone's car, and Martino thinks they picked him just because he was fat. They poured bags of candy into his pre-pimped car to make him look extra chubby. 

  • Contestants Were Told To Fake Reactions

    Contestants Were Told To Fake Reactions

    It's pretty common for reality show contestants to have to re-shoot reaction scenes, so it shouldn't be a total surprise that contestants were told to fake their reaction if it wasn't initially dramatic enough. Jake Glazer, who had his Buick Century pimped, wasn't enthusiastic enough and claimed producers talked to him for 10 minutes about how he needed to act more excited. 

  • Contestants Had To Rent Cars For Months To Account For Their Car Remodel

    Contestants Had To Rent Cars For Months To Account For Their Car Remodel

    Pimp My Ride's upgrades ended up costing a lot for contestants. The upgrades often took months and contestants had to rent cars at their own expense if they wanted to get around. The upgrades did not take a couple of days, like the show made it seem.

  • MTV Had A Tow Truck On Call Because So Many Cars Didn't Work At The End

    MTV Had A Tow Truck On Call Because So Many Cars Didn't Work At The End

    If you're fixing junkers, the cars are bound to not start. However, MTV made sure the drivers would be able to get home. According to the co-producer Larry Hochberg, a flatbed tow truck was on call to assist contestants with cars that wouldn't start. 

  • The Show Often Failed To Fix Mechanical Problems The Cars Arrived With

    The Show Often Failed To Fix Mechanical Problems The Cars Arrived With

    As Looper astutely points out, there is nothing glamorous about replacing an engine or fixing a taillight. Many times, the crew failed to address the car's own mechanical issues in favor of putting in products and features which looked more glamorous and compelling. Contestant Seth Martino spoke on Reddit about how after the show, he ended up spending $1,700 of his own money to pay for a new engine, something the crew could have easily done had they not been focused on tricking the car out.

  • They Asked One Contestant To Break Up With His Partner

    According to contestant Jake Glazier, producers encouraged him to break up with his girlfriend literally for the drama of it all. In their eyes, if Glazier no longer was with anyone, it made his need for a "pimped out ride" all the more compelling. A tricked-out vehicle therefore solves both his crappy car and being single problems, because all problems sift away when you soup up your car.