YouTuber buys $850 abandoned minivan that featured on Pimp My Ride and uncovers one of the show's biggest secrets
Published on Aug 12, 2025 at 5:14 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Aug 12, 2025 at 5:14 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A YouTuber has just bought himself an abandoned minivan that featured on Pimp My Ride.
The minivan, which cost the YouTuber $850, featured on the hit TV series back in an episode in 2004.
Now, though, the YouTuber has bought the minivan, which had since been abandoned.
And he has, in his latest video, unveiled one of the show’s biggest secrets.
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YouTuber throws cover off one of hit show’s biggest secrets
Today’s story comes to us through a major throwback to the early 2000s.
Britney Spears was topping the charts, fashion was…questionable, and Pimp My Ride dominated the screens.
The MTV show, presented by famous rapper Xzibit, was a smash hit for the network in the early half of the decade.
So one YouTuber has decided to buy a vehicle that featured on the show… or did it?
Tavarish is one of the biggest channels within the YouTube automotive space.
In his latest video, the American decided to snag himself something of a bargain.
The bargain in question is an $850, 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan.
Sounds simple and easy enough, right?
Well, not quite – because this is where the show’s massive secret exposes itself.
At the beginning of the original Pimp My Ride episode, the woman has a completely different vehicle.
She has, in fact, a 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager people carrier – a totally different car.
It turns out that the guys at Pimp My Ride completely changed the car they were working on.
According to Tavarish: “A lot of times, the guys didn’t use the original car.”
“They got cars that looked kind of like it, and then modified those.”
Pimp My Ride – MTV’s cultural phenomenon
For those of you not old enough to remember (shudder), Pimp My Ride was an enormous hit.
It was produced and broadcast on MTV for six seasons from 2004 to 2007.
Each episode saw a completely beat-up car get a total makeover, and become restored in the process.
True to the taste and style of the early 2000s, some of the custom jobs were…interesting.
Massive TV screens in the interior were common, as were games consoles in the back.
Chrome, flashy alloy wheels and bodykits were very much the order of the day as well.
West Coast Customs was the shop at the epicentre of the show for the first five seasons.
Galpin Auto Sports in Van Nuys then took over for the sixth and final season.
Tavarish is currently in the process of restoring this minivan, so make sure to check it out.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
