I WANT TO BE WAYNE CARINI!!!!

That's all.

I love the stuff in the background scenes in his shows. Its more interesting than what they are talking about.

Yeah.. I wish I grew up with my father restoring Ferrari's instead of getting drunk and smoking pot...

He's made the most a being dealt a good hand in life. I don't fault him for that.

20 years or so ago, I lived about a mile from his shop. I remember when he took over the building after the prior business, a Volvo dealership, went belly-up.

He wasn't famous, he was just a guy who ran a body shop and had some cool cars parked out front. I met him once or twice - I had his shop give me an estimate on my wife's VW after light hit in the rear cracked the bumper cover.

It is strange now seeing him on TV - like if your old neighbor turned into a movie star. Not that Wayne is a movie star....

For me, it is fun to watch because I know all of the roads that he uses for the test drives - kinda like going back to the old neighborhood.

I just want to hang out with the old guy mechanic. That dude is cool. Working on megabuck cars with a 40 year old set of craftsman tools. Treats every car with pretty much the same level of qualified indifference. It doesn't seem to matter to him whether it is a cobra, Ferrari or just an old Fiat, he just fixes E36 M3.

Being Wayne would mean having to put up with that big ol' lip ferret living on your face. Not sure I could handle that.

Nah, he's old.

But he's such an A$$

He is also 5 foot nothing!

I just can't get over how short he is. But yes, he has made a (seemingly) good career out of being a middleman and being knowledgable in what he does, so good for him!

ditchdigger wrote: I just want to hang out with the old guy mechanic. That dude is cool. Working on megabuck cars with a 40 year old set of craftsman tools. Treats every car with pretty much the same level of qualified indifference. It doesn't seem to matter to him whether it is a cobra, Ferrari or just an old Fiat, he just fixes E36 M3.

I am right there with you, that guy is way cool. It is hard for me to imagin the vast and varied amount of car knowledge that is in that guys head.

It's like Old Man Finzio's Sinclair Station fast forwarded 50+ years.

carguy123 wrote: But he's such an A$$

You seem to have a unique opinion of him. You're entitled to it, but I don't see it. Seems like a good guy to me. Even if he was an ass, I'd still want to be him.

bludroptop wrote: It is strange now seeing him on TV - like if your old neighbor turned into a movie star. Not that Wayne is a movie star....

In the car community, he is, IMHO.

2 moments from last season just blew my mind--

The Ferrari Lusso in the old man's normal suburban NY garage

The Daytona, Bora (?) and Dino in the storage space in Texas

Buried treasures like that are just insane. I love the concept of cars that rare and valuable just sitting un-noticed for decades.

carguy123 wrote: But he's such an A$$

My wife says the same thing, I really don't see it but then again what do I know.

Mrs. Oldtin thinks he's an A$$ too, but thinks Roger the mechanic rocks. She wonders how screwed he would be without him.

I doubt you can hang out and do business with a bunch of wealthy douchenozzles (edit - we'll call them people with an overly expressed competitive spirit) for very long without being tainted. There's some cool people also in the mix so there's some balance. I like the cars, but I can't really relate to the people he's dealing with or the pricing/value structure ($55,000 for the old TR4 racer - with the comment you couldn't build one for that cost - that's news to me, my bank account and the TR4 in the garage). Then again, if I paid someone for the work... nah, i'd still be less than that.

I've had a chance to meet Wayne a few times at car events. He's always been extremely friendly and nicer than he had to be. I agree he doesn't always come across as a nice guy on the T.V show, but in person, he's super decent.

and he makes me feel tall!

My g/f thinks he's an ass too, but she has that opinion about pretty much anybody who has or appears to have more money than she does.

I soooo wish there was a place close to me when I was in High School, I would have lived there.

My wife had the instant "I hate that guy" reaction to him as well. I am betting she decided that before she ever heard him speak a full sentence.

Joe Gearin wrote: I've had a chance to meet Wayne a few times at car events. He's always been extremely friendly and nicer than he had to be. I agree he doesn't always come across as a nice guy on the T.V show, but in person, he's super decent. and he makes me feel tall!

I met him at the Newport Concours and I went to a Cars and Coffee at F40.

He seems nice enough. However, I get the vibe that he's not very interested in "the little guy" and is more about the billionaires he makes a fortune off of.

A bud of mine who was with me at the concours said "you can tell he thinks he's king E36 M3."

That said, he opened up his shop to everyone, gave a little seminar and made the rounds. I'm not going to hate on him. He still has one of the cooler jobs out there.

It takes a certain level of ego to do what he does. Now and then, that'll make you look like a prick. But without that ego I doubt he would be where he is today.

In reply to Ian F:

I agree. For those who think it, what is it that makes him an ass? He doesn't show a lot of emotion, but considering how long he's been doing it, that's not surprising. It's also not surprising that a guy that finds ultra rare, almost priceless cars in barns on a fairly regular basis might not be quick to get excited about a Miata.
That said, on a recent episode he bought a 50's VW bug and took it to monterey. He was all excited about how this modest car was grouped in with high dollar exotics. I personallly don't think he's arrogant or an ass, he just has a certain personality and some like it and some don't. And some are going to hate him just because they're jealous. I'm jealous, and don't really have a strong opinion of him one way or another. I just want to do what he does. I can't think of anything I'd enjoy more. Except maybe for the fact that I'm much better at buynig cars than I am at selling them!

His primary job is to deal with extremely rich people and get them to trust him. That is not easy, and it takes a special kind of person to do it. For all of the cars he gets to drive, its worth the trouble.