Eric Knowles v Philip Serrell: Car Boot Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,

the show that pitches TV's best-loved antiques experts against each other

in an all-out battle for profit to give you the inside view on the secrets of the trade.

Coming up, our dealers prove the old adage, "Seek and ye shall find".

I said I was looking for a mark, which was like a rising sun.

Well, there it is!

They reveal the lengths they'll go to keep expenses down.

-I'll give you ten pence.

-20 pence.

Ten pence and I'll buy it. No, ten pence.

And how a plethora of porcelain can set an expert's pulse a-racing.

-How many pots have you got there?

-There's in excess of half a million.

There can't be many places like this, there really can't!

Today's epic clash pitches two mighty veterans of the dealing world against one another,

as Eric Knocker Knowles takes on Philip The Fox Serrell.

They'll be wheeling and dealing their socks off

to see who can make the most profit from buying and selling antiques.

This is going to be a blazing battle -

it's Lancashire's porcelain pounder...

This is the only woman I've picked up since 1976.

The last one I picked, I ended up marrying!

..versus the mighty Midlands Mauler.

Well, I was thinking more like a fiver for it.

-Are you trying to rob me?

-Yeah.

Both our war horses are risking their reputations and their own hard-earned cash

as they fight it out to see just who is the better dealer.

Today's battleground is a vast car boot extravaganza near Clacton in Essex.

Our duelling duo have up to £250 of their own money to spend today. Their mission over a week of challenges is

to make the most profit, all of which will go to their favourite charities.

In today's car boot clash, there can be only one winner...

Eric Knowles and Philip Serrell, it's time to Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

I'll tell you what, Phil, you cannot beat an Essex car boot at the crack of dawn!

And we've got £250 to go and seek the antiques.

What is your strategy going to be?

-Well, I am going to concentrate on finding anything with a hint of a profit left in it.

-Phwoar!

Well, you're the expert at these Eric. I've got no idea what to do.

But what I'm going to do is perhaps try and talk to people and see if

I can get something out of a car boot that is not out on sale yet.

Now, this isn't the natural habitat of The Fox,

but there's no way this seasoned pro will let it get the better of him.

His strategy is to look beyond what is displayed on the stalls

to hunt down those hidden gems that might be lurking in the vendors' cars.

Is it going to work?

I don't know, but I've got to beat Knowles, one way or another.

My competition is the very same Mr Fox.

Like his rival, Knocker has a rock-solid plan, and he's oozing car boot confidence.

I have learnt with car boots that it's bulk-buying.

You've got to buy a lot of things to make anything approaching a reasonable profit,

so if I can buy it for a fiver and sell it for a tenner, I'm going to do it!

And Eric is off and running, charming the vendors with his own unique brand

of Lancashire wit and charm.

A picture of him on there, look.

That's a sort of Victorian chair given the treatment.

I don't mind telling you, it's called Tiger Woods.

Meanwhile, The Fox is about to hit Essex with his cunning car boot strategy.

Now, they tell me the way to score on car boots is to ask people

if they've got anything in the boot that hasn't come out yet.

-No.

-It's all out?

There's got to be some hidden gems in the boot, hasn't there?

No, unless you want a couple of doors.

A couple of doors? This just isn't working, is it?

Oh, dear, has Foxy's bright idea hit the buffers already?

That would hand Knocker a crucial early advantage.

Is this you?

-Yes.

-Can I just have a quick look?

-Sure.

Eric has homed in on four framed prints with a classical theme.

I see you have got £16 on them. There's no point me offering you

-12 quid for those, is there?

-No.

-No? If I went in at, say,

-sort of, 14 quid, do you think that might twist your arm?

-No.

-You're tough, you really are tough, aren't you?

-I'm a hard woman.

-You ARE a hard woman! So, if I give you 15 quid for those, you're going to let me walk away with them?

-Sure.

And you're going to have that on your conscience!

-Yes!

-You are! Come on down, the price is obviously right, as far as you're concerned.

Ooh, the first buy goes to Knocker, who reckons he's bagged a nice little earner.

Now, the actual vases themselves,

either 500 BC Greek or they could even be Roman 1st Century AD,

but more than that, they're stylish, they're ready to go.

The Fox is still weaving his wily way through the aisles.

He's determined to come out on top, but first, he needs to find a strategy that works.

A quick change of plan.

There's new cars pulling in here, so I'm going have a look at those

and see if they're unloading some fresh stock

and see if no-one has got there before me.

Yes, like the steely predator that he is, he pounces on a stall where fresh boxes have just been unloaded.

-Have you got anything old?

-I've got a collection of these.

-Oh, right.

-These are quite interesting because these are Victorian moulded glass plates.

-Yes.

This is Queen Victoria's Jubilee, 1837 to 1887.

That is George VI, which is the Coronation in 1937.

-This plan might be working after all! How much would they be?

-I'll do you the two for £15.

No. It's got to be a bit less than that, my love.

I think a fair price there, eight quid, I think, for the two.

If you make it ten, you can have them.

Go on, then. I'll have them off you for a tenner.

Bingo! After a slow start, The Fox's strategy of "Get there first"

could prove to be a corker!

I said to that lady, "Have you got anything else I can look at?", and bang,

two little moulded glass Coronation plates and souvenir plates come out.

Just a few aisles away, ceramics addict, Eric, is introducing himself to a whole new set of mates.

What we're looking at here is a selection of primarily Royal Doulton figures and other people as well.

You get people who collect

specifically character jugs like we've got here,

look at these characters, and then you get the figurine collectors and these are typical of

the figurines, and to be perfectly frank, this is a market that has taken a bit of a hammering

in the last few years.

Knocker passes on the Doulton, but the wily Fox has been lurking close by.

He smells a profit, and he's straight in there.

£10 and I'll have it off you.

-I'll do 12 then, go on.

-No, ten.

-No.

No, cos my maths is awful, right, and if it's 12, I've got to start

working out how much it's cost me, how much I'm going to pay for it...

it's going to have to be a tenner, love.

What am I going to do with this?!

This is a brand-new Doulton figure,

and the only reason I bought it is it's called "The Farmer",

and I reckon, coming from Worcestershire, there's got to be a farmer somewhere

that is going to buy one of these off me.

Well, what Knocker passes over, The Fox will gobble up.

He's now got two buys to Eric's one.

The great car boot battle of Essex is really hotting up.

With the laser beam focus, Eric homes in on some Hornsea Pottery kitchen jars.

-You've got three of them?

-That's correct.

Sugar, coffee and tea.

-How much are they?

-They're £3.

-I'm just going to say yes!

What a bargain for Knocker! But keep an eye on The Fox...

he's about to make an outrageous offer for a cocktail shaker.

-I'll give you ten pence.

-20 pence.

-Ten pence and I'll buy it.

-15.

-No!

-Ten pence.

-Go on, then!

-Lord above! That is the cheapest thing I think I've ever bought in my life!

Have you got 90p for this young gentleman?

90 pence change! This is just ridiculous!

Ooh, sheer no-nonsense dealing from Phil, but hold onto your hats...

Eric's bulk-buying strategy is about to take off.

He splashes out £12 on a tea and coffee set...

Fantastic! Lovely!

..£30 on a pair of dolls' chairs...

You've got yourself a sale, excellent!

..and 35 on a Victorian table.

The table is a bona fide antique, but it's a risky step for Knocker.

I know it's Victorian because they had

little brown stoneware casters and they seem to be around very much in

the 1860/1880 period and I've got to say that at this moment in time,

it is very unfashionable, so much so that that table, say, ten years ago,

would have set me back the best part of, what, £150 and I've just bought it for £35!

Yes...only time will tell if Knocker can turn a profit on his table.

The Fox now finds himself chasing the game again, with only three car boot buys to Eric's five.

I'm panicking a bit. I've got that £250 that is burning a hole in my pocket.

His keen brain whirring away, Phil turns his mind to getting creative with some garden pots.

I think they'll need instant "antiquing".

There's two ways you can do that.

One is to put yoghurt on something and leave it outside,

and after a time it sort of grows fungus and moss all over it,

and the other is to just put cow muck on it and it sort of has the same effect,

but I don't want to be getting my hands dirty, ugh!

Desperate to find something to make a profit on, Phil snaps up a modern hall table for a fiver.

What have I done? What have I done?!

But then, he spots something right up his street...

a dazzling display of old tools.

I love the stuff that you've got here.

I do like to see the brass gleaming, you know.

That strikes me as being the most appealing one.

-It's like a rosewood, so how much would that one be?

-That one is ten.

Well, I quite like that one, so let's put that one there.

-Right.

-This is going to be a group purchase here now.

So how old do you think this is?

Oh, 50 plus.

-And how old is that?

-This one?

-Possibly 60 years.

-Right.

-You've got the two priced up at, what, £19, was it?

-That's right.

-I want to buy them off you.

-All right.

But I don't want to pay £19. Twelve quid.

Oh, no, I can't go quite that low.

-Go on!

-I'll tell you what. £15 on that.

-Well, I love them.

-That is a good buy.

-You're a gentleman and I love them! Thank you very much.

With his raid on the toolbox, Phil levels the game.

Our warring warriors now have five car boot buys each, but how much have they spent?

Eric and Phil arrived today with £250 of their own money in their pockets.

So far, Eric has spent £95, leaving £155 still to spend.

Phil has spent more modestly - just £40.10,

and he has nearly £210 left,

but the bargain-hunting is only just beginning.

Yes, our dealers are cooking on gas.

Eric and Phil have each got £250 of their own money to spend buying up antiques.

They will then sell them to see who can make the most profit.

Now, the pressure to buy is building because many of these car booters will soon be heading home.

I cannot take my mind off the business in hand,

and the business in hand is to give Mr Serrell a run for his money.

Phil The Fox is a car boot novice, but he's like a coiled spring...

the urge to deal is pumping through his veins.

Do you know, even the ice cream man wouldn't knock any money off for me!

I'm having a real panic now - it might not look like it, but I've got one hour left.

I just think that Knowles has been and mopped up everything before me.

In an ideal world, I'd like to buy another five items and perhaps

get £100 spent, but I just don't know how I'm going to do it!

Oh, come on, Phil! Finding genuine antiques at a car boot sale is no easy task,

but if anyone can, you can!

Ceramics guru, Eric, is sticking like glue to his strategy of bulk buying

anything interesting that he can find.

-Would you take 20 quid?

-I would.

-Would you?

Yeah, OK, I'll take all three.

When I say three, you've got two pairs and you've got two odd ones, yeah?

Yeah, OK.

Lovely. And this is biscuit - biscuit porcelain -

I've seen thousands and thousands of these figures.

I'm looking for a little sign which is like an oval with a sunburst and an HG underneath.

that's for Heubach Gebruder - Heubach brothers.

Hello, watch out Essex - The Fox is back on the prowl!

With his tastes as unpredictable as ever, get ready for a master class in car boot horse-trading.

I need to get out more but I quite like that.

What is that off? Is that off a donkey or a pony?

Pony. I buy and sell horses.

-And that would fit on the back of a pony, yeah?

-Yes.

-So would this be about 1900/1910?

-Yeah, about 100 years old.

I really like that,

but quite what I'm going to do with it, I don't know,

but I don't know how much you're asking for it.

I'm asking 50 quid for it.

Get out of here! It's never, ever 50 quid's worth!

That, young man, is £15 worth.

-He's gone quiet.

-Yes...

This is what we call a "pregnant pause"!

Right, I'm going to stop messing around now.

I will give you £20 for it.

-Another 20, then we'll have a deal.

-No!

I'm under real pressure here. There you are, look, £25.

-35 and that's it!

-No, 30 quid and we've got a deal!

There you are, look. Here's the last one, £30, and I don't even want a bag... I'll take it.

Go on, then! You're a lovely man!

Now the thing is, I'm trying to work out now whether he's done me or I've done him!

Thank you ever so much.

That was horse-trading in the extreme, and what a lovely, lovely lad, but the real funny thing was,

I thought I was buying this, and I've ended up with all of it!

What the hell I'm supposed to do with it, I really don't know!

Well, Phil, we'll leave you to ponder.

Knocker, the unstoppable buying machine, has found more biscuit porcelain...bisque.

"Mrs Bardell, Pickwick Papers". This is a bisque figure.

How much is Mrs Bardell?

Three pounds sterling.

Three pounds sterling? I'll take that, if I may.

Do you remember me buying those other little bisque figures, and I had said that they were unmarked,

and I said I was looking for a mark which was like a rising sun?

Well, there it is!

# Hallelujah... #

And this is quite a rare little figure.

I've not seen it before, I have to admit, but at that sort of money, hopefully, I will be in the money.

Yes, you hope,

clever-clogs Eric, and our Lancashire lad is so chuffed at picking up Mrs Bardell

for just £3, he splashes out another £6 on three more bargains from the same stall.

A Chinese bowl that looks like it's had a nasty accident...

Well, for £2, I'll give it a go.

I'm going to live dangerously, all right?

..a biscuit tin.

Would you take two?

-No, but I'll meet you halfway.

-What, £2.50? It's a haggle and it's a deal.

And a book on ceramics - what else? - for just £1.50.

Splendid!

Thank you very much indeed.

That was a good old rummage. I really enjoyed it!

Yes, our Knocker loves a good delve about

and he's got four more buys in the bag,

but now it's looking like today's car booters are beginning their exodus. The Fox is worried -

he has spent less than a third of his £250 budget.

This is actually quite unreal because

if you look at a stall, you're in the process of buying something

and then you turn around and, I mean, the place is just almost emptying.

This is a real panic for me at the minute.

Knocker is roaring away.

He has found a trader who is still open for business and offering a set of wares that is right up his street.

True to form, he's bulk-buying to the bitter end.

I've bought these two items but I am interested in this tea set,

and this is Royal Albert, it's called Country Roses,

it's very pretty and I have to say it's nice quality,

but I do know for a fact

that it's going to cost me £40, and the lady is not for moving. I'm a bit worried -

whenever I pick up a cup like that, my finger goes out like that.

Do you think I should go and see my GP?

Don't trouble yourself, Eric.

With keen eyes aflame, the wily Fox is trying to pinpoint something exciting that isn't yet packed away.

That needs to be sorted out just there, but it's OK.

-I quite like that. Is this you, sir?

-Yes, it's me.

-Can I sit down?

-Course you can.

-How much is that, then?

-£25.

-No, no.

-Where would you find something like that for £25?

-In a field in Essex!

I'll give you, well, I was thinking, like, a fiver for it!

-Are you trying to rob me?

-Yeah!

-We've got to try and earn a living.

-Ten quid, that's my best offer, take it or leave it.

-30 quid.

-30? That's going up now!

-Oh, you go down, I'll go up.

No, I'll tell you what, I'll give you a tenner for it.

-You've bought it!

-You are a gentleman.

-And you have robbed me!

-I know that!

No wonder the mighty Midlands mauler has so much spare cash in his pocket with outrageous dealing like that!

And as the curtain falls on this Essex car boot bonanza,

The Fox is still on the prowl, with a whopping £170 still in his pocket.

Let's go down this way.

Now, there are always great deals to be had when the traders start packing up.

Can his loss push the profit Knockers camped out with the lady who sold him the tea set?

So, what price have we got on the monkey?

Well, I wanted 25 but I'll do 20.

I see, last-minute deals, £20, and he's a Steiff, isn't he?

-He has his button.

-He's got his little button in his ear.

So that's £20, we'll have that as well.

-What have we got in there? Is that a squirrel?

-It's a squirrel.

Mr Squirrel - he's another Steiff. Is he the same sort of money?

-He is 15.

-He is 15, is he?

It's getting better. All right, well we'll have Mr Squirrel.

Put your hand in mine, OK?

Eric spots profit and meets the asking price like a shot.

Now he's got cuddly toys as well as ceramics to shift.

That leaves rival Phil scraping the bottom of the car boot barrel.

He banks a couple of soda siphons at a knock-down price.

Go on, £1 for the two, my love.

-Go on, then.

-You're an angel. Thank you so much.

But then what's this?

Whoa!

A stroke of last-minute daring dealing from The Fox.

He started the day jumping on bargains fresh from the boot -

he ends it pouncing on unsold goods being loaded back in,

and it's the poor trader who sold him the screen.

Before you put that up there, how much is that?

-A fiver.

-Get out of here!

-Child's rocking chair.

-It looked a whole load better from over there!

I'll take it further away.

I think you might have to. It's a pound.

£2 and that's it, done!

-No, no, no, no!

-Go on. There's two quid, look.

-I can't even get a pint of beer for that!

-Well, you shouldn't have such expensive taste!

I can't help that - and you shouldn't drink so much anyway.

-I'm doing you a favour!

-Oh, that's terrible!

Twice in one day I've been robbed!

Now, that's how you snap up bargains at the end of a car boot.

The wily Fox leaves a trail of traders nursing broken hearts.

Oh, dear!

So, how have our duelling duo fared as they wrap up their buying in Essex?

After starting the day each with £250 of their own money,

Eric made 15 car boot buys and spent a total of £203.

Phil struggled to spend his money,

making nine buys for a total of just £83.10,

but it's the profit our dealers make that will count in the end.

Before they go their separate ways to sell, Phil and Eric load up

their goods and compare their car boot experience.

I just struggled and struggled! The one thing I was really pleased about was my screen.

What's your best buy?

My best buy today,

to be honest with you, it's a bit knackered, but I do like this bowl.

-Really?

-And it didn't cost me any real money at all.

I mean, it's had a big slice taken out of it.

This is Chinese, it's 19th century.

I mean, if it was 18th century, that would be the best part of £3,000.

At this stage, it's just a case of getting all this stuff

-packed away and let's just get on the road!

-Good enough!

Now, Eric and Phil must make as much profit

as they possibly can on all the items they've bought at today's boot sale.

As well as his Chinese bowl, Eric must also sell four framed prints, a set of Hornsey kitchen jars,

two different tea sets, some biscuit porcelain figures, a pair of dolls' chairs, a Victorian table,

a collectable biscuit tin, a reference book on ceramics,

a wine funnel and pottery dolphin, and two Steiff toys.

As well as his leather screen, Phil must sell

two coronation plates, a Royal Doulton farmer figure,

a cocktail shaker, a modern hall table, some old workman's tools,

these leather and brass pony harnesses, two soda siphons and a small rocking chair.

The buying was just the beginning. Now, the challenge really kicks off.

Two mighty veteran dealers, one goal -

to make the most profit and vanquish their opponent.

Knocker and the Fox must now turn their razor-sharp, tactical minds to their selling campaigns.

They'll both need to phone-bash to find buyers, but remember -

no deal is truly sealed until the final handshake.

The Fox is on his home turf in Worcestershire, working up his strategy.

He's got nine items to sell, but one is central to his quest for victory.

My strategy at the car boot worked. I got the leather screen.

It looks a bit shabby-chic, that, but now there's a plan, that with

some sell elbow grease I can perhaps turn my £10 into £50 or £80.

Knocker has a staggering 15 items to sell, and he knows he hasn't got a moment to lose.

After his bulk car-boot buying, his strategy is bulk selling.

I'm going to put together a few items

and offer it as a job lot to a specialist buyer.

In this case, we're talking a Steiff squirrel, a Steiff monkey and a couple of dolls' chairs.

You will buy, you will buy, you will buy.

You will buy.

Eric paid a total of £65 for the Steiff toys and dolls' chairs.

He's targeted an antiques gift shop run by a contact of his to try for a sale,

but will Knocker pull it off?

So what do you think of my two furry friends?

They're lovely, they're charming. He's got his EAN number.

-The what number?

-EAN number.

He's a Steiff, as you can see, with the button, which is great,

but he is quite modern, probably 1970s, so...

-Right, OK.

-Give him another 30 years and he's going to have a little bit more value.

What about me ape? What can you tell me...?

This is a '50s one, I think. In fact, probably just into '60s with that button.

Oh, gosh, he's got his squeaker! That's great, too!

Now, what about the chairs? Because I thought those chairs would

probably be 1930s, or maybe just after the war. What do you think?

Yeah, I think you're probably right. It's probably 1930s. No, possibly a little bit later.

But they are charming, and I have a couple of ladies in mind who'd like these.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've got two doll teddies in the window,

and they actually would look great sitting on these chairs.

I was hoping that we might be talking around about £100 for the lot,

because I'm looking at this as a job lot.

Yeah, but not £100.

I was thinking more like £60.

Ooh... 70...five pounds.

-70. I would manage 70.

-70?

Just, you know, to show good faith,

let's go in it at an incredible £72.

-Fine, I'll do that.

-72.

-It's all about compromise, isn't it, my dear?

-Absolutely!

Old hand Eric knows exactly when to take the money,

and he's off the blocks with a slim profit of £7.

Rival Phil has hit the road with grim determination. His aim - to try and sell

the Royal Doulton farmer figure that he paid just a tenner for.

I've been through my list and I've found a couple

that come to every sale I have. They always bring me eggs.

There's a tenuous connection there, and I'm just driving to their house

to see if I can do a deal, but I feel I might be collecting eggs as a trade-off!

Mr Furrow The Farmer!

I think he's quite sweet!

He'd appeal to a particular sort of person. What are you hoping to get?

I was hoping I might get 30 quid.

Oh, no, I think that's too much, I couldn't do that.

I could do you £22 and a dozen eggs.

25 and half a dozen eggs and you've got a deal.

-We can do that.

-Sure?

-We can.

You're an absolute angel. There you are.

Unfortunately, the eggs won't count as part of your profit,

but you've made £15.

What a cracking sale!

Watch out, people, there's a Fox in the chicken house!

-This is what you need!

-Oh!

-Give it a cuddle!

I think I'm going to collect the eggs and run like hell here.

Our profit-hungry duo will stop at nothing to squeeze every last penny of profit from their car-boot buys.

Knocker's buffing away on the Victorian table he bought for £35.

I'm definitely a leg man. I'm enjoying getting to grips with these legs. They're beautifully turned.

Mmm... And 100 miles away, the Fox is giving a serious makeover

to his great hope, the old leather screen that cost him just a tenner.

This is saddle soap. I got this from the local farmer's supplies place in Malvern.

Leather really is one of those in-vogue materials,

and you can see already, I hope, if you look at the contrasts...

Just stand here and look at the difference between there,

which has got that rich, nutty-brown mahogany colour, and then look at this here.

Already this is going to come to life, and all I've done is put one coat on this.

It's going to need two coats at least.

Well, while Phil hopes more soap will mean more profit, Eric's table is ready for action.

Well, something of a transformation, I think it fair to say.

I'll show you the good side - the bit that's had the polish on. But look at the top!

Now, if that table isn't worth 70, 80, 90, £100, I don't know what is!

The problem is, you can lead a horse to water, but can you make them drink?

Think about that one.

Alas, Eric, in this instance it seems the answer is no.

Knocker's hopes for his polished-up table prove wildly optimistic.

He made just £5 profit from the £35 he paid.

But you can't keep our Lancashire lad down.

He's hoping for better with the car-boot buy he snapped up for just £15.

He's off to try and sell his framed prints of classical vases to a friend in the ceramics trade.

-Hello, Debra.

-Hello, Eric.

-Hi, hi! Lovely to see you.

-Good to see you, too. What have you brought me?

-I found these very pleasing.

-Well, they're quite charming.

They remind me of the pots I saw when I first fell in love with ceramics.

If you look at the quality of the printing, it's not bad. It's not bad at all.

I think they're very crisp.

-Yeah.

-And the frames are very nice.

What are you looking to gain, Eric?

If I was to ask you for sort of £60 for the four, you could come back and tell me what you think.

That's bold of Eric, £60!

Four times what he paid for them!

-How does £40 grab you?

-£10 each.

I know I'm... Oh, Eric, thank you so much.

-No, £40 and a... Mwah! Mwah!

-Oh, thank you!

I hate this job, I really hate it(!)

Mwah, mwah. What a result!

Eric has more than double his money and made £25 of profit,

and Knocker makes another fiver when he sells the biscuit tin,

wine funnel and ceramics book he picked up for a song at the car boot.

Phil's final buy was the small rocking chair he paid a cheeky £2 for just as the car boot was closing.

And look, here's the Fox's prospective buyer!

My daughter has got a friend who has got a son called Archie, who is about a year,

18 months old, and I think that little rocker was absolutely made for him.

Aw, how good is that!

-I think he likes it!

-I hope he does!

Do you like this chair?

Would you like your mum to buy this chair?

-I think that's a yes!

-Will this go in his bedroom?

-Yes, it will, yep.

-Really?

-Brilliant!

-We've got to talk money now, haven't we?

-Yes, we have.

£30.

How about five?

Phil has got his work cut out here!

What? You can have it for 20. Because Archie is getting

ever so upset, because he thinks you're not going to buy this. £20.

-I'll go at ten.

-Your mum is being very mean to me, Archie!

-Are you going to sit in here?

-Let's have a go.

-Have we got a deal?

-We've bought it for £15.

-15, go on, you're a star.

-Brilliant!

Nice going, Phil. A little rocker for a little rocker,

and a tidy profit of £13.

And the Fox racked up more profit on two other items he managed to sell -

a healthy £20 on the modern hall table that he bought for a fiver,

and £5 on his two glass coronation plates.

So, as this mighty battle rages on, which of our warring warriors is

on course for victory, and who needs to pull back from potential defeat?

So far, Knocker Knowles has sold £162 worth of car-boot goods

and banked a profit of £42.

Rival Phil the Fox has sold £80 worth of goods, netting a profit of £53.

It's too close to call, but with plenty of sales to come,

this battle is far from over.

Knocker is back on the road.

He's still got seven items to sell, and next on his quest for profit is

the 19th-century bowl he snapped up at the car boot for the audacious sum of just £2.

People are always asking me for advice and tips, and here's one for you.

If you find a 130-year-old Chinese bowl for less than a fiver, then buy it. Then bring it along

to a top antiques centre like this and see if you can make a profit.

Now, Knocker's little problem is that the bowl is damaged, and being the man of integrity

we know and love, he fesses up to his would-be buyer straightaway.

It's had a hard life.

It's just the scallop there.

You have a good old fondle, because that's what it really needs. I know, the birds, aren't they...?

I love the birds, and there's something really joyous about it.

I was concerned, and I thought, "Hmm."

Normally I wouldn't touch things that have got damage.

The damage is reflected...

..in the price!

Yes, it is! I mean, you know, I know full well and you know

that if this had been perfect I would be asking £300 at least,

-because it's decorative, and I'm almost giving it away by asking for £60 on that, you know?

-Right.

That doesn't really leave anything in it, I don't think, for me.

-OK.

-So I was thinking nearer 40, actually.

40? Well, on that basis, I'll say yes to £40. OK?

-You're on, thank you!

-All right.

Nicely handled, Eric. That's a cracking profit of £38

on a damaged bowl that cost you just a couple of pounds.

The Fox still has five items to sell, and central to his plan for profit is his £10 leather screen,

so lovingly buffed to its former glory in order to maximise potential profit.

When I bought this, I knew there was a profit in it,

and now I want to turn that into a really good, healthy profit and condemn Knowles to a pottery grave.

Come on, Phil, press on! The Fox is targeting a contact of his who's an interior designer,

and her verdict on the screen could make or break his entire game.

That looks a bit better, doesn't it!

-Remember what it looked like?

-Yeah.

That saddle soap's made a world of difference!

I just think that's an amazing difference!

It's a designer's dream.

You can break up rooms with screens, can't you?

Absolutely. We use screens an awful lot in spatial layouts, yeah.

It's a really good way of changing how a room feels.

I think it's very saleable,

and with a bit more work... I'd want to smarten it up a bit.

I think this finished could be four, five, £600.

Blimey! A whopping profit like that would blow Knocker out of the water.

We'll find out shortly what Phil manages to get for the screen,

because our Eric, the self-confessed pot-aholic, is

about to have a life-changing experience in what can only be described as pottery heaven.

How many pots have you got?

There's in excess of half a million.

-No!

-It's an amazing sight!

There can't be many places like this, there really can't!

Knocker can hardly contain himself!

This massive porcelain megastore has him in raptures.

Chinasearch provides replacement pieces for sets of china,

and Eric reckons it's the ideal place to try and sell his car-boot pieces.

-What have we got here?

-Well, this is Royal Albert Old Country Roses.

All this looks to be in nice order.

Let's start with the teapot.

It's very important that the quality is superb as far as we're concerned,

so on teapots, are they sound at the lip of the spout?

Is the lid sound? It is. You look to be on form today - this is in good condition.

So far, so good in pottery heaven, but the rapture of Eric

could be about to take a knock.

The gilding has come away, and it is therefore not saleable.

You ought to tell me what you're looking for.

I was looking for around about £80 in total.

I would have thought much more 65.

65? Are you sure this is not of any commercial value?

Because £70, and I'd throw that one in, you know.

70 and throw that one in? So I sell it with my thumb over the one piece?

-No, I'll ink that in for you before I go.

-£70.

All right, OK.

-Well, that's sound business.

-Well done, Eric!

Our favourite pot-aholic has netted £30 profit for his tea set,

and he's not about to stop there.

-Thank you very much indeed, Eric.

-Lovely.

He makes another £30 on his Hornsey pottery pieces.

The only blemish on Knocker's spotless ceramic-selling record is a loss of just over £12

on his bisque porcelain figures,

including Mrs Bardell and the Poole Pottery dolphin. And that's it.

Knocker's done it! He's sold up...

..leaving the Fox to try and execute his most audacious sale so far.

His bulging contacts book has brought him to Oxfordshire,

where he is hoping he can persuade champion racehorse trainer Henrietta Knight to buy his car-boot tack.

He paid £30 for it.

The only problem is, it's made to fit a pony, not a horse.

-You must be Hen. How are you?

-Hello, Phil.

I'm just going to plonk this down.

-The much awaited-for tack.

-Oh, yes, very valuable tack, isn't it, look?

-We hope so, but you hope so!

We'll have to see if it fits him, won't we?

Right, well, this bit is the bit that goes around his middle, is it?

We put this here. You're lucky we've got a pony here, or I'd never be buying it off you.

Well, this wouldn't fit this pony, you see, because it's too short.

-The reins then would come back through here.

-Yes.

The person behind would then be sitting in the cart and steering.

It's too small for him, isn't it? Do you want to buy it?

Yes, at the right price.

I reckon it's got to be worth 80 quid.

Oh, no, not in this condition!

-50.

-Is that the best you can do?

-He says that's enough. He said 50 and that's it!

-Get out of here!

Good boy! Clever boy! That's it.

I haven't got a chance!

Go on, 50 quid. How can I beat these three?!

My word, the Fox outfoxed by a pony!

If only he'd made a pony on the deal!

But he's come up just short, with a profit of £20.

Phil keeps selling, and makes a £10 profit on his old tools.

Ten the pressure's on to make money on his final batch of goods -

the two soda siphons he picked up for £1

and that cocktail shaker, bought for the rather ludicrous sum of ten pence!

So, what's the asking price?

That's 30 quid, and you can have those two for nothing.

Too much.

25 quid for the three.

It's still too much. 15?

You're getting closer to it.

15.50?

£18.

You've got a deal.

£18 and I'll do it.

Go on, then. You're a good man.

Ooh! That's a profit of over 1,600%,

which must rank up there as one of the Fox's all-time greats.

So, has the Fox done enough to beat Knocker?

Time to tot up the totals and reveal who's made the most cash.

Our duelling duo had £250 of their own money to spend

at the car-boot sale.

Eric spent a healthy £203,

whilst rival Phil took the road of less risk and spent just £83.10.

Over a week of challenges, all the profit Eric and Phil make will go to a charity of their choice.

So, without further ado, let's find out who is today's car-boot Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

Car boots - see yourself getting out of bed at 5:00 in the morning on a regular basis?

Absolutely, definitely no. I mean, I was struggling until I found

my leather screen, and I love that. How about you, Knocker?

To be frank, one of the best things I bought was damaged.

It was a Chinese bowl. I wanted to keep it, but hey-ho, it had to go!

-Shall we do a "Three, two, one" moment?

-One, two, three...

Yeah! Ho ho! Get in there!

Trounced me!

Good one. So I think, if I can say it, the drinks are on thee!

The Fox stands victorious, and here's why.

The centrepiece of his selling strategy, his leather screen,

delivered the biggest profit for a single item managed by either dealer.

130 quid and it's yours.

125 and you've got yourself a deal.

-Go on!

-Oh, go on, then!

Phil's impressive three-figure profit on the screen made the difference

between crushing defeat and sublime victory!

In life, there are winners

and there are losers. And today, the car-boot amateur has beaten the car-boot pro!

The Fox takes the spoils!

I can't believe it! Beaten by a car-boot novice?! It was all to do with that screen.

He bought for what?! And sold it for what?!

Well, I'll tell you what, I couldn't sleep with that on my conscience,

but at least I've discovered the animal that I'm dealing with -

a sly, cunning Fox!

Don't worry, it ain't over till it's over. We'll see who banks the most profit.

Tomorrow, our dealers face off at auction.

That Phil Serrell, If I get my way, he's going to be one Fox on the run today!

30, sir? 32?

That's Eric, isn't it? Yeah!

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