MTV's Pimp My Ride was a reality TV show that got the attention of car enthusiasts and people that love stories with happy endings between 2004 and 2007. The show was hosted by rapper Xzibit and had fans drooling over cars that were transformed from a ride out of grandpa's garage into something straight out of a fantasy land.

However, time has revealed a lot more things about the show than what meets the eye. Let's take a look at the real story behind Pimp My Ride.

RELATED:The 10 Coolest Cars From Pimp My Ride

The Premise Of Pimp My Ride

Xzibit
Via: MTV

Each episode of MTV's Pimp My Ride was always about contestants, all with jalopies making videos about how terrible their car is, then the host Xzibit would visit their homes to examine their cars and talk about modifications and upgrades. Next, the host drives the car to a custom body shop, where the jalopy will be turned into something closely related to the contestant's interest or fantasy.

The modified car will later be presented to the contestants who always couldn't contain their excitement over the transformed car. We were later made to see by formal contestants that when you take away the cameras and the stage light, the whole thing has a different narrative.

Information from formal contestants opened up a lot about the behind the scene realities after the show was discontinued. In her interview with Huffington Post, Brooke Siegel claimed that MTV rented the house where the host came to meet her just for that purpose, and her backstory was faked so that it would be more dramatic for TV. She was also instructed to say she was 22 instead of her actual age, which was 25. Some other formal contestants also confirmed that they were made to present themselves in a more dramatic light too for the show.

Justin Dearinger, a formal contestant, hosted a Reddit AMA to share his side of the story of his 2005 appearance. Justin said that though the show made it look like his ride was only taken for days for the pimping job. Still, it took them five months to pimp, and MTV didn't make any arrangements for a temporary ride for him, and because of his young age, it was difficult for him to get a car to rent from notable car rentals.

The sad reality was that Justin was not the only one that was subjected to this kind of treatment. All the other contestants on the show had to rent a car too for the whole time their cars were in the pimp shop without reimbursement from MTV, and their opinions didn't really carry weight to MTV.

Huffington post based on their interviews with former contestants, confirmed that almost the entire show was staged on the go and people's reactions were often faked or exaggerated.

Fake Or Good Marketing?

Pimp My Ride
Via: YouTube

If you haven't heard already, companies and brands sometimes pull some calculated stunts, either for the TV paparazzi, to sway public opinion, cover up their flaws or get more market for their products. The line between being fake and great marketing is relatively easy to cross.

For MTV's Pimp My Ride, some contestants had to stay in houses rented by MTV for Xzibit's visit and they were expected to put on their acting caps too, and some had to be put through a little acting class for the show. Some rides that MTV felt looked too fresh for the shows were intentionally damaged to make it look more fit for their narratives.

Jake Glazer, a formal contestant, had to be subjected to a demeaning storyline for his episode on the show. His car was littered with cigarette butts, and he was told to say that they were smoked by his grandma, who can't stop smoking.

In his interview with HuffPost, Seth Martino said he was forced to play a fat guy that can't stop eating candy and to put salt on his wound; a cotton candy machine was one of the modifications his car got. According to Seth, "I know I'm fat, but 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."

New Cosmetics But Same Performance

Pimp My Ride: The One That Fueled It All
via Reddit

In the show, we saw many jalopies turned into wonders on wheels with fancy toys, excellent paint jobs and flashy rims, but that's about it. Pimp My Ride installed cool toys that were not functional and designed to last, and some were even installed as an elaborate marketing stunt and removed right after the cameras stopped rolling.

The cars' engines that entered the Pimp My Ride garage always leave with the same mechanical issues they had when they entered their garage.

In his interview with HuffPost, Seth Martino revealed all shades of fact that were hidden to viewer's eyes on the episode he appeared on. He claimed the TV installed in his car stopped working after a while and that he couldn't use the LED light installed on his seat because it heated up.

The Delorean style rear door he got to was removed after the cameras went down because it impeded the back seat belt functionality and the lack of a dome on his cotton candy machine made it impossible to use.

Furthermore, besides the colorful cosmetic modifications his car got, the engine was neglected, and he had to spend $1,700 to get a new one a month after featuring on the show. Another contestant, Jake Glazer, had to sell his car quietly a month after featuring on the show because of a similar issue.

The screen and Pop up champagne server in Justin Dearinger's ride were removed immediately after the camera went off, and some other contestants also claimed modifications were removed after filming. Some even claimed that cars even broke down immediately after filming.

RELATED:Here's What Happened To The Cast Of Pimp My Ride

Final Thoughts On Pimp My Ride

Pimp My Ride
Via YouTube

Despite these downsides, many contestants actually claimed they had fun memories of their time on the show. Many claimed they started scoring more dates because of the popularity the show gave them.

The value of their ride went up exponentially after being featured on the show, and their rides became popular as a result. Although contestants were made to sign an agreement not to sell their modified rides for a couple of years, especially on eBay, some of the contestants still managed to find a loophole in their agreement and scored a big one on their modified rides.