Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - What happened to the Cars

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. The series were broadcast on ITV in 1983-1984 & 1986 and then on the BBC in 2002 & 2004.
We take a look at the vehicles used and what has happened to them
Hopefully we don't need to say Auf Wiedersehen to them
00:00 Introduction
00:57 Trimuph Bonneville T120
02:11 Ford Zepher
02:54 BMW
04:37 Bedford HA Van
06:23 VW Type2 Camper Van
07:28 Jaguar XJ
08:07 Mercedes 450 SL

[@davidcoleman6032]

Loved the original series based in Germany. ❤👍Loved the mk4 Zephyr.

[@ac9110]

I loved that show to bits. Almost an obsession for years.

[@jfro5867]

AWP was must watch for me back in the day. Loved everything about it.

[@RltchieI]

The building site in the first series would become the Albert Square set for East Enders. The swimming pool which was supposed to be in Düsseldorf was actually the old Concordia Leisure Centre in Cramlington in the North East of England about 10 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Gary Holton who played Wayne was the lead vocalist of the Heavy Metal Kids & even jokes on the show about being a vocalist in a site band. He was also considered as a replacement for Bon Scott in AC/DC, but having just lost Bon to partying hard they didn’t want to take the risk with Gary who was known for doing the same. The sad irony being that Gary would die five years after Bon at the same age of 33.

[@Macoosy]

Best show on tv

[@bobgees793]

Watched all 4 series again recently. Still bloody brilliant. Just wish I could get hold of the final 2 specials

[@caralowe9185]

Loved watching this and loved watching the programme ❤

[@peter3234]

Thanks again Oscar. Must be notoriously difficult to track cars form 40 or so years ago. Thought the Merc and the VW would still be about given their values.

[@spud912]

I remember watching the whole Auf pet series when it first aired . Sat in my bedroom of my mum n dads house with my then girlfriend. That girlfriend became the wife and are still together 40 odd years later. Have watched Auf pet quite a few times since. I used to get told i looked like Wayne back then ,same hair and build .Rip Gary Holton I absolutely loved Auf pet ,the characters all just worked so well . Oz was probably my favourite

[@oscarsgarage447]

Great story

[@garyholtontribute]

Barry's van bears its old Midland Magneto colours and was bought by a guy in Beeston, Nottingham after filming - it lived on and was used regularly and I used to see it in the 80s still with the BTaylor livery. I was told two differing stories about Wayne's e12 - firstly, it was bought after filming from Star Cars with a dodgy cheque/bankers draft and was never seen again, and also a guy said it was traced back to Germany in the late 90s and was back on its original plates (DHB 4004 were props and sold on eBay a few years back). E12s rust like hell so it probably didn't last long.

[@gerardwhite9864]

I can remember the vehicles you mentioned all being for sale in the auto trader magazine sometime in the early 80's, was a great show in its day.

[@jarikinnunen1718]

When those series 1 and 2 came from television in Finland with a delay of one year, they made me go to construction work, believing that a similar friendship would be possible. Was not. Much later it turned out they were not in Germany, but in the studio in England. Some things like the lack of pay for the whole week amazed me when they received tax -free income. Drinking was their only pastime.

[@brian3174]

WAS FILMED in SAME PLACE BBC BUILT THE WALFORD THE EASTENDERS LOT ON LOL

[@jonjon9047]

Barry’s van, complete with the signwriting painted over, was being used by a builder in Ripon, North Yorkshire. I worked with him a few times.

[@oscarsgarage447]

Great info, don't suppose you took any pics?

[@jonjon9047]

@@oscarsgarage447 sadly not. It was 1988 and I’d only seen the series once and didn’t really register it. I remember it was on its last legs. It was only years later that I watched the series again and thought ‘bloods hell, that’s the van my boss had!’

[@nicnak4475]

Thanks for that, it was fun looking back.

[@oscarsgarage447]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@davidcooks5265]

It was entertaining,I didn't see half the show, might have another look 😜

[@ferralpip]

Wow, It was only the other day I was randomly wondering what happened to Wayne's beemer, then your video pops up on my feed,I've never searched this topic nor any AP related content in fact, is KZbin reading our thoughts now? Stranger things have happened

[@nickb5391]

I wouldn't be surprised if Pat Roach had anything to do with supplying or buying them after they had been used Pat ran a breakers yard very near Winson Green prison & also was a regular buyer of cheap cars at Birmingham Car Auctions, i met Pat many a time at the car auctions, he was a very nice guy

[@oscarsgarage447]

Great info!

[@nickb5391]

@@oscarsgarage447 The auctioneers used to refer to him when the gavel went down when Pat had bought one as 'Mr P', he wouldn't just buy one car he bought a few every week but only the bangers lol

[@andyb3666]

@@nickb5391 I wish Pat was still with us to hear all his old car stories

[@darrenmartin4014]

Great story, I also wondered what happen to Nevilles Mercedes estate.

[@andyb3666]

It’s SORN apparently so one would like to think it might still be out there

[@AtheistOrphan]

In the last episode of series 2, there’s a scene on the Marbella quayside which features a VERY distinctive (and rare) car, a Lagonda ‘wedge’ with a gold-plated radiator grille!

[@davidhatsell8522]

How can you not be into AWP about the best TV ever.

[@oscarsgarage447]

It was my adolescent years... maybe I should revisit it now I'm all grown up?

[@andyb3666]

@@oscarsgarage447 wasn’t born when the original 2 series were on. But I did enjoy series 3 & 4 when I was in my teens. Then in my 20s I bought the early series DVDs & found I actually enjoy them much more!

[@E15tony]

Oxford Diecast make a 1.43rd replica of Barry’s van! 😂

[@djkarlj]

Cracking video lads, shame it's been left to rot and the owner acting like that 😢

[@zep121]

I recall seeing the Midland Auto Trader advert at the time, as shown here. Must've been from around '84/'85 I think. If Waynes' BMW stayed in the UK, it's fair to assume that it was issued a replacement UK VRN/V5. If that's the case then maybe it's still out there somewhere?

[@oscarsgarage447]

Not impossible, but they were all old vehicles at the time...

[@Roachie1982uk]

Jimmy nail bought one of allys jags after filming 😎

[@piledriverpotter9847]

@Roachie1982uk. Did that include the one with the dent in the roof after Bomber threw Big Baz on it and Harry the plumber threw his plumbers wrench through the windscreen?

[@Roachie1982uk]

@@piledriverpotter9847 its all on the AWP fan site 😎

[@davidmatthews3093]

The German numberplate would be hard to trace as if the next owner had not lived in Düsseldorf it would have had to be re-registered in his home town.

[@Controlled_Robots]

Neville's blue Capri STV 709H looks like it died in 1987,cars were so cheap back then many were sadly scrapped 😢.

[@oscarsgarage447]

At the time they were just props. No one expected anyone to be interested in them decades later!

[@michaeljohnson5365]

FACT The 1st series was actually filmed in the UK but they did some filming in Hamburg in Germany

[@lukesmith2245]

Flipping Bangers | would make a good long episode

[@oscarsgarage447]

We have done a bit of work on those... more recent so not such long stories to tell.

[@davidcannon2464]

Well do ne Trev lot of work by you on that one cheers

[@oscarsgarage447]

Thanks

[@497adam]

Anglo American still exist (based at the Old central studios in Notts- now part of Trent uni) I think they still do action vehicles but I think their main business is tracking vehicles. I actually bought a 325i Touring off them that had been used on Peak Practice and Crossroads in the early 2000s

[@andyb3666]

Was it an E30 Touring? I remember that car from the 2001 Crossroads reboot. Seem to recall it was a dark colour.

[@stvhodga209]

The swimming pool that was used was actually Whitley Bay leisure pool and not Concordia .

[@dungareesareforfools]

It's a shame there were no leads to follow on that Zephyr. I bet it'd have been a different story if it had appeared in the second series - its potential value would have been realised. One other car I'd like to know the whereabouts of is the mk1 Capri that Neville drove in the first episode of the second series.

[@daniellancaster4419]

Quite interestingly, the owner of ""Barry's van "" replica allowed us to take a close look at it , but he was spinning the story that THIS IS THE ORIGINAL. Being a massive awp fan , At the time I was happy to accept its a replica, but he gave this story that he bought it from someone in Nottingham, and said it had the rack and ladders on and that it had been in a garage for like 30 years. However, as you've rightly said , on closer inspection, Barry's van was a 10cwt... and this replica van is a 6cwt. I don't think the owner,, as kind as he was for allowing us to get a close look , I don't think he realised he couldn't pull the wool over our eyes, as in awp terms this would be a massive find if it was original. Bedford van experts got involved and said there's other irregularities with this new van . But as I understand it, when this guy takes it to motor shows, he's still telling people it's the original van from awp. 🤦‍♂️.

[@oscarsgarage447]

Really interesting... I may have spoilt his story a bit! Didn't know about the different cwt's.

[@daniellancaster4419]

@oscarsgarage447 ...lol yeah his story is blown , and I really don't see why he'd want to trick everyone, when it's obvious you're gonna get "experts " digging for more . The cwts as I understand it is like equivalent of saying this is a 2.5l model rather than a 1.6l ... totally different. But from screenshots from auf pet , the van had a 10cwt badge on the front wing . Dvla vehicle check tells us this van is a 6cwt. Anyway, no matter, as you said its a nice tribute and a nod to Barry's van.

[@davidandrew5368]

The first two series ran in 83 & 86.

[@gntdriver2840]

there was hardly any of those old Zephyrs still on the road when this was filmed (i think it was actually 1982 when filming started) after the film crew had finished with the car it probably got carted off to the nearest scrapyard

[@oscarsgarage447]

Probably right. At the time they were just considered props and discarded once they had served their purpose.

[@andyb3666]

I did wonder if the reason the vehicle company put AEA 735T on the van is because it’s a Dudley area reg (would’ve been anyway) and Barry was from Wolverhampton. A735XBB on the Daimler is a Newcastle reg so possibly put on for the same reasons. Really enjoying your videos. Would be fab if you decide to do the cars from Gavin & Stacey in the future. Would be fun to trace Gavin’s multiple Saxos, Bryn’s Picassos & Smithy’s Volvo 850s!

[@oscarsgarage447]

One i hadn't thought of, will add it to the list.

[@JohnHonda101]

Have a look for the Thomas Dolby motorcycle and sidecar that was in the hyperactive video.

[@tns5044]

In Germany, plates are not with the car when it's sold.

[@zm321]

Anglo American is very much still in business today.

[@thedeadstig123]

With regards to the plate change on barry's van the same situation happened with a guy with a classic mini claiming it was used in the original series of Mr Bean The original mini went to the "cars of the stars" museum and subsequently all the vehicles from that museum got imported into america.....well during this time someone else created a classic mini replica and then purchased the same numberplate as used on the show to make it the "original" He got a good deal out of it as now the car has been used in promotions including Rowan Atkinson driving it so the car has become special in its own way but still has no proof it had anything to do with the filming of Mr Bean in the first place So yes its more common than you think people buying their own "original" tv/movie used cars by marrying a numberplate with a similar classic - its also been done with a few Trotter van replicas and more famously one of the monte carlo rally mini's was going to be restored on top gear before they discovered the mini was just a old 850 and the plate had been taken from DVLA after the original car was scrapped 20 years before A same situation with the VW camper van getting a log book in 2020 after no activity, it simply could be someone who managed to get a log book out of the dvla for a vehicle that no longer exists just to have the numberplate rather than the car still existing

[@oscarsgarage447]

Old cars never die, as long as they are on DVLA computer... ::-)

[@TheGreatest1974]

Wonder what happened to RIGSBY’s white MG from the rising damp episode ‘clunk click’ ??

[@user-xf2dn2oi2d]

Looking at your studio set Made me think of jack Hargreaves out of town Remember his shed that's wasn't It was a set made to give the impression he was sat in his shed Like your set your pretending to be sat at home, come on don't give us that You just took down the calender and the old head gasket hanging on the wall

[@oscarsgarage447]

Jack Hargreaves!!! Crikey that's a blast from a long time past! But if you go and look at our older car search videos I was really in the garage - came inside when it got too cold!

[@iLoveBeingDelusional4U]

The registration plates on cars in Germany don't stay with the life of the car, its removed and scrapped every time it has a new owner. That's the reason you see the picture of the plate, it doesn't mean the car has been scrapped. I have all my previous German plates when I sold them on.

[@oscarsgarage447]

Interesting - but also makes it nearly impossible to track the car afterwards :-(

[@middlesbroughmike1027]

Iwonder why the HA van and Daimler had fake plates but the others didn't?

[@oscarsgarage447]

I have never got to the bottom of that...it happens in a lot of programmes.

[@procta2343]

Class! shame about the bike.

[@oscarsgarage447]

Yup. As I started this I thought the bike was my best chance for a 'find'

[@TheGreatest1974]

And I wonder what happened to the ‘Withnail & I’ grey Mk2 Jaguar??

[@oscarsgarage447]

Probably dead... the plate is on a 2018 Volkswagen

[@robertcasey1083]

Don't suppose you know anything about the Brannigan movie.. lots of Ford Granada MK1 s..tks Rob

[@oscarsgarage447]

A lot were Ford owned cars (NHK registrations) but haven't delved too deep into it.

[@Roachie1982uk]

The barry van thats been restored recently but its not the real van 😎

[@kjmphotographynortheast5437]

Hi I have seen "Barry's Van" at the Beamish Museum Classic Car Show NECPWA September 2023

[@497adam]

Yeah darkish blue metallic on a H plate

[@DarkStar-wu9nq]

Just be clear the building site was in U.K. and NOT Germany My Nans House roof can be seen in most shots

[@Lookup2Wakeup]

It's make believe......😂

[@CycolacFan]

Became the set for Eastenders didn’t it…? 🤔🤔

[@dannywickens3368]

Didn't know that. What surprised me was all of the materials,equipment etc looked very German.

[@WPD77]

The building site used for most of the filming was a set created on the backlot of the former ATV Elstree Studios at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire (then owned by Central). After its sale to the BBC in 1984, the "Albert Square" set of EastEnders was built there. Such was the attention to detail that the producers imported thousands of bricks from West Germany as these were slightly bigger than those used on English building sites.

[@oscarsgarage447]

Good old Wikipedia. I thought of including this information but thought I had bored people for long enough...

[@piledriverpotter9847]

What happened to Oz's Saab, Nevilles Mercedes, Dennis s Granada taxi and Barry's Bentley.

[@oscarsgarage447]

TBH no idea. I will leave that search to someone else!

[@_B.M_]

Those were Series 3 from 2000 so much more likely still on the road

[@wync8142]

do you need to subscribe to see the plate changes?

[@oscarsgarage447]

Subscribe to where?

[@wync8142]

@@oscarsgarage447 mycarcheck?

[@oscarsgarage447]

Yes, you would have to buy a basic car check from them at £2.99

[@ballygarran]

The only two series worth watching were 1 & 2. Series 3 & 4 we’re not as good

[@Roachie1982uk]

Waynes bmw was scrapped in germany 😎

[@vinparaffin6082]

No problem, it can be repainted !

[@Roachie1982uk]

@@vinparaffin6082 no its gone to scrap yard

[@christopdeck3457]

⁠Then it’s been scrapped. If it’s been scraped, then it needs a paint job.

[@AtheistOrphan]

I love mis-spelt comments like this that are inadvertently hilarious.

[@jeniferallan6693]

Dude...get a life and watch it! 😅

[@oscarsgarage447]

LOL, too busy making video's for you to watch. (PS I was probably watching Streethawk or similar!)

[@thomasmacbride8006]

One off my all time favourite shows .And I will tell you a funny story there was a character called magowan played by Michael Elphic in the show he was a nasty character nobody liked him or got on with him .In my own work place many years latter there was a guy called Magowan and guess what nobody liked him or got on with him iv allways thought it strange . Anyway back to the cars I remember in the show Wayne's BMW was impounded by customs and excise so I'm wondering did they pay the excise on it and put English plates on it for real worth checking out I think.

[@oscarsgarage447]

Boon!

[@brian3174]

mK4 ZEPHYR BECAME FRIDGE CASE FOR BEKO AND CPL OF KENWOOD MIXERS IN 80S

[@oscarsgarage447]

LOL

[@brian3174]

Built in Britain driven by British pushed across German border dented rusted no bootfloor and about 10yrs old Banger Racers wouldn't want lol@@oscarsgarage447

[@oscarsgarage447]

I doubt you are wrong!