Reality TV these days is often fraught with outrageous drama and intrigue that somehow happens every single episode. It's clear that reality TV has become something entirely unrealistic. Most reality television shows get scripted in some form or another, some worse than others. It's safe to say that when the cameras are rolling, whatever is happening is likely scripted.

This has turned many to other forms of television shows that may still be a reality, at least more real than the typical superstar drama. For gearheads and anyone who enjoys cars, the idea of car shows is amazing. And, often, they are pretty good or at least start out that way. Shows such as Fast N' Loud, Graveyard Carz, Misfit Garage, and Counting Cars have become wildly popular.

Counting Cars is one of the most popular shows out there right now, a show about a garage in Las Vegas that restores and customizes cars for customers. The lead guy, the owner of the shop, Danny Koker, is a person people love watching. The show airs on History Channel, but that doesn't mean it is real. There's a lot to the show that isn't true, completely fabricated, and oftentimes a complete illusion. This is, of course, for the sake of "good television."

It's not all bad, though, it's still a real shop that restores real cars for real customers. But all is not as it may seem. Let's take a look at 10 things that are fake on Counting Cars, and 10 things that are actually true.

Updated April 2023: If you're a fan of Counting Cars and the crew over at Count's Kustoms, you'll be happy to know that we've updated this article with the latest information we could find about Danny and his employees, as well as other aspects surrounding the show.

20 True: 'Counting Cars' Is Only A Thing Because Of Pawn Stars

Count's Kustoms Crew
Instagram @countingcars

It's a fairly well-known fact that the two shows are actually related, especially for those who are fans of Pawn Stars, yet those who came to the show in later seasons may not know the correlation.

Danny Koker was originally featured for his services on a couple of different episodes of Pawn Stars before History Channel decided that a show based around his auto shop would be good television. It was a good call on the part of the network.

19 Fake: Buying Cars Off The Street

Danny Koker and his crew beside a restored vehicle
Instagram/@countingcars

The idea of a stranger accosting people on the streets and handing them wads of cash for their cars is a bit of a tenuous one, and this is a fake aspect of the show, considering how alarming it would be for anyone to get approached by a strange man in a preposterous bandana with a camera crew.

It is often that the people get approached off camera, all deals settled beforehand, and then a scripted conversation ensues, or if not scripted most assuredly staged. This is a fake thing on the show.

18 True: Count's 77 Is A Real Band

While it may seem like an absurd fake backstory for an already pretty absurd personality as is, this little tidbit is entirely true. Count Koker, aka Danny Koker, has his own rock band by the name of Count's 77.

They're a legit band, too, with videos and show dates, active in the Las Vegas scene. Danny Koker is the lead singer of the band (naturally), and their music is best described as a band that lives in the asthmatic delusions of an era that should probably get forgotten.

17 Fake: Having Great Customer Satisfaction

Counting Cars crew beside a restored Ford Galaxy
Instagram/@countingcars

The show does a really good job of painting the end products as masterpieces, and showing the customers being 100% satisfied and blown away with the project.

While it makes sense for TV to show these "wow" moments with cool cars, the fact is that Danny Koker's shop, Count's Kustoms, doesn't always get the best reviews, with a fair number of customers who aren't happy with their service. It is the real world, after all, and not a reality TV fantasy land.

16 True: Danny Has A Hard Time Selling His Cars

Danny "Count" Koker and his crew
Instagram/@countingcars

With as many cars as Danny Koker sees in a day, let alone a week, throughout the course of his life, it might seem like he would be able to sell his cars without a second thought, and while that is true of his commissioned work, as they are never really his cars in the first place, he has a hard time with his own builds.

There's a piece of him in every one of his builds, or so he says, and so parting with that particular car is like parting with a piece of himself. Understandable, but all art is only validated once it's out in the real world, in a new environment. Every artist knows that.

Related: 10 Of The Strangest Cars Ever Seen On Pawn Stars

15 Fake: The Drama

Danny "Count" Koker and Counting Cars crew
Instagram/@countingcars

It seems that in every episode, there is an excessive amount of interpersonal drama between the people featured on the show and the crew. Whether it's antics, fights, or almost anything dramatized on the show, it's all fake.

Once the cameras are rolling, the characters feel as if they're on stage, playing roles. They have to be the most extreme version of themselves, just for the sake of the performance, for the show. It's all fake, even if it's not scripted.

14 True: Mike Is Actually Good At Pin Striping

A shot of "Horny" Mike
Flickr/Chris

Mike is one of the most polarizing characters in the show, because of his endless shtick. The horns he wears on his bandana are what gives him his namesake and also, apparently, what guides every single thing he does and says on the show.

Many get tired of it very quickly as it is a shallow, surface-level humor that just gets old. But the fact of the matter is that Mike is actually quite excellent at pin striping; he is a solid talent in the field. If only the show would feature that, instead of all the puerile humor surrounding his name.

13 Fake: The Lawsuit Against Frontiera More Than A Publicity Stunt

 A picture of Count's Kustoms crew
Instagram/@countingcars

The lawsuit against Joseph Frontiera made some pretty big headlines when it all went down. Count's Kustoms sued their former employee for stealing money from the company and using it for personal benefits. They also sued the company that recommended Joseph.

Frontiera had representation. His lawyer filed to dismiss, and the suit against the company fell through, too. It appears that Count's Kustoms sued as a means of a petty money grab and some extra press, though that is not definite.

12 True: Danny Koker Gets His Car Facts Wrong Sometimes

Danny "Count" Koker Standing
Instagram/@countingcars

While it would seem like perfectly logical common sense for the host of a custom car show to be ultimately knowledgeable about all things cars, the fact of the matter is that Danny Koker is self-taught and uneducated, and sometimes this shows.

He gets his facts wrong, and many have called him out and criticized him because of it, taking stabs at his credibility as a mechanic. In recent times, some have dialed in on this, and all claims made by Danny are double-checked before airing, as his knowledge is often faulty.

11 Fake: Chronological Filming

Danny Koker and some of his colleagues from Count's Kustoms
Instagram - Counting Cars

The way reality TV works generally involves a lot of post processes, editing, splicing, rearranging, the works. When a final product gets aired, everything is in order, makes sense, and seems like it is chronological. Of course, for good TV, this should be that way.

But, filming on the set of Counting Cars is far from chronological, as many builds are going on at the same time, up to fifteen, which makes filming an absolute anachronistic nightmare. One massive headache, from start to finish.

Related: Here's How Danny 'The Count' Koker From Counting Cars Amassed His $13 Million Net Worth

10 True: Danny Koker Isn't An Environmentalist

Danny Koker in Black
Instagram/@countingcars

It's well known that Danny Koker has a hard time keeping his opinions from reaching the public. He's hot-headed to a degree and always speaks his mind, no matter the subject, political or not.

He's known for saying that politics comes before business, and is in full support of the current system, along with saying that environmental issues are merely a game being played by politicians, and not a real threat to humanity.

9 Fake: Many Of The Conversations

Counting Cars Crew admiring a car
Dailymotion

While there are many conversations that must occur in a car shop that involves customization and rebuilding work, when it comes to making reliable and good television, you have to eliminate as many variables as possible.

Which, inevitably, leads to the scripting of things that at one point were real conversations or things that needed discussion and were, but then got discussed again for the cameras. Many of the conversation on Counting Cars, and most assuredly in reality TV, are fake.

8 True: Danny Koker Is Balding

Danny Koker in Black
Instagram @countingcars

Danny Koker is infamous for his aesthetic, almost always wearing a bandana, glasses, his goatee, and often black-centric outfits. He's attempting to look like a bad biker dude, and it works for him, though he never, ever, takes his bandana off.

Some say it might be tattoos, a birthmark, or other things, but the likeliest of all theories is the simplest and most logical: that he is hiding his receding hairline, and in complete denial about it. The funny thing is that he could rock the bald look if he would just accept it. For now, he'll cover his forehead and eyebrows in a ridiculous fashion.

7 Fake: The Crew Being Whiny

Counting Cars crew admiring a restored vehicle
Instagram/@countingcars

Many have mentioned how whiny Koker's crew is on the show, always bickering, always fighting, always whining to him about this, and about that, and that other thing. They'll say in forums that if they had a crew half that whiny, they'd fire and replace them immediately.

There's truth there, actually, but the fact is that they are a successful shop that cranks out a pretty incredible amount of projects at any given time. This means, of course, that the whining is fake. As soon as cameras are rolling, the drama gets taken to eleven.

6 True: Danny Koker Was Once A Different TV Star

Danny Koker Was Once A Different TV Star
IMDb

A dirty little secret about Danny Koker, the lead personality of the overdramatized car show that's gained some extraordinary popularity over the past years, and it's this: he has been on television before.

Once upon a time, he was the host of a pretty outrageous nighttime television show that featured horror movies, by the name of Saturday Fright at the Movies. He hosted the show, under the moniker of "Count Cool Rider," hilariously. Note the receding hairline, in reference to our feature about his balding predicament and the iconic bandana.

Related: 15 Of The Sickest Cars Danny Koker And The Count's Kustoms Crew Restored

5 Fake: Scott Jones Left Because Of Embezzlement

Scott Jones - Counting Cars
Redsearch

Scott Jones, one of the beloved characters of the show Counting Cars, mysteriously faded away after the second season, never to return again. Exactly as to why he stopped appearing on the show, has been open to a lot of speculation. Many say that it was because he embezzled money from the company, one of the more popular theories. This is a fake reason that has no backing or evidence, merely hearsay and gossip.

There's another theory that holds much more credibility, namely that he moved to Tennessee after the birth of his son. This is also confirmed in Counting Cars during season 3, episode 1 that aired January 7, 2014, when it's said Scott actually left after the birth of his son.

4 True: Every Car Is Actually Restored

Counting Cars Crew with a classic Ferrari
Instagram/@countingcars

When talking about the fake things of reality shows such as Counting Cars and other similar reality TV shows, inevitably the question of whether or not they even do any kind of restoration comes into question.

Many like to accuse Count's Kustoms of faking it just for TV, but that is just unfounded. Despite the fake things circulating around the production and hype of the show, at the core, they restore every single car that comes through their shop, and it often takes an insane amount of time and work.

3 Fake: Some Of The Stories Behind The Cars

1950 Chevrolet 3100 Truck - Front Quarter
Pinterest/@carsfrommars_bybruce

Count's Kustoms certainly restores every single ride that rolls through their garage, there's no doubt about that. However, the show will often present a terrific backstory about how they get a hold of rides, who they get them from, and other details about the exact origins and destination of the cars featured is often muddled in the realms of deception.

There's a forum that talks about a Chevy truck that Counting Cars got a hold of, and the story behind how they found it and what they did with it, saying it got abandoned and unclaimed, is essentially entirely false. Though the work is real, that doesn't mean anything else has to be.

2 True: Roli Did Have His Trailer Stolen

Counting Cars' Roli & a Lamborghini Murcielago
Flickr/roli szabo

Rock n' Roli, as he's known on the show by fans, was the go-to detailer for the shop for many years, and he was in almost every episode. With his fame came an added element of danger that perhaps he wasn't expecting.

His detailing trailer, housing thousands of dollars of detailing equipment, got stolen from a parking lot. This was a true event, and further investigation revealed that some people decided to steal the trailer, due to the fact that it had a famous person's name on it. Poor Rock n' Roli.

1 Fake: The Timeline Of Builds

Counting Cars crew and a 1975 Chevrolet El Camino
Instagram/@countingcars

The timeline of builds on the show is grossly fast-forwarded when it starts to become clear just how operations actually work chronologically in the show, and it's entirely fake. What makes the show such a nightmare to film is a two-part issue. One, the shop has at least 15 cars in the works at a time, which makes the organization of footage a complete nightmare. Second, it often takes up to a year to complete a build, averaging over six months per build. So, when in a quaint half hour a car goes from trash to sick custom, it is glossing over an insane amount of hard work on the part of the crew.

Car restoration professionals know how much goes into an actual restoration. Even simple projects can easily take months to accomplish, extensive restorations like the ones on the show would take longer. So, unless there are way more people working on the cars than we're led to believe, chances are the timeframe is fake and just there to add some excitement for the viewers by making it seem like the team is rushing to finish the project.

In fact, the shop was sued by one couple who claimed Count's Kustom "have continued to fraudulently withhold" the $50,000 they paid to have a classic Mustang restored and "never had any intention of delivering the vehicle by the date promised."