Anyone else keep costs tracked on their projects?

[Nine Ball]

Just curious, but how many of you guys (non-pro builders) monitor costs involved on your project vehicles? I've kept track of the costs to build my '69, even though I built it myself. I added in an estimated amount of labor per section (probably not enough) and added in a normal shop rate of $65/hour.

Summary: It would cost about $78K to duplicate my car if you paid someone to build a clone, using an authentic X55 SS. If you can turn your own wrenches, about $64K. Here is a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of everything:

http://www.ls1tech.com/69Camaro/Project69costs.xls

Pretty sick huh? Those costs just add up quickly!

Tony

[Steve1968LS2]

I immediatly shred then burn all receipts for my car build.. I then slam my head into a wall so that I loose my short term memory just incase I am interrogated by my wife.

;)

[sporter]

Keep track of costs? You're not married are you? I'm with Steve, destroy all evidence!

Actually, I've owned the car long enough to have replaced the entire drivetrain several times and changed the "theme" of the car at least 3 times. I have over 9 years of receipts and they fill a 3 drawer filing cabinet. Gets kinda depressing to track the actual costs. Better to just consider how much the car has appreciated since you bought it. And how much fun you've had with it.

[Nine Ball]

I'm engaged, but my lady enjoys the hobby too. She daily-drives a 6-spd ram air LS1 Trans Am.

[Bill Howell]

Ya'll are too funny.
Tony, my wife keeps up with all that. Since she does all the books for our businesses she needs those tax deductions. She has a detailed tally of every car we have owned since we got married. Toys are ok if you can deduct them right?

[Nine Ball]

Toys are a very nice "business expense". Its marketing, right?

[parsonsj]

I've done the same for II Much, except for labor. I'm in for about $40K, with engine, body/paint, and interior to go.

Estimated labor costs over the past 4.5 years: say 10 hrs per week (conservative) * 225 weeks * $65/hour is over $140K.

But ... I did everything at least 3 times, so divide by 3: $45K or so.

Now I'm depressed. Thanks Tony.

jp

[ViperBlue68]

hey guys am I missing something :rolleyes5 how do I write off some of my costs on my taxes?
fill me in! thanks

[Nine Ball]

If you are a business owner in the automotive market, you can write some of it off. Other than that, you are SOL.

John, labor is the killer. Most guys that don't build the cars themselves learn that quickly!

[MangeMD]

My 67 Camaro is only mildly modified and it's gonna bite me for about 35-36k.
(of course all of my sheetmetal is NOS, which hurt)

[Steve Chryssos]

Cost tracking is also essential if you want to get a good appraisal at insurance time. Excel works wonders since it can run totals on sub-categories as well as grand totals.

[rocketrod]

WOW $65 an hour!!! I just called DSE yesterday and they said their hourly rate is $45. You guys must be really good. LOL
Anyway I do keep an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of $$ and help me stay focused on what I need to buy for the project versus winging it. It is also nice when you go to sell the vehicle and have a detailed list of parts for prospective buyers.

[MuscleRodz]

Cost tracking? If you can call a shoebox full of receipts cost tracking. I don't dare total it up. I could probably have bought something ready to drive and saved the aggrevation and years of spitting on the dash goin V-room V-room.

Mike

[Andrew McBride]

Tony,

Your not alone. I have kept up with my costs to a T. were talking cents here. Although I haven't updated my reciepts lately I have kept a close cost. I think it's cool to see the numbers. It's a hobby so you can't get mad at going overboard

The only thing I haven't figured in is hours. but parts ect. yes. I have kept a good tally of hours also. I am around 13,000 and hadn't finished buying all my suspension upgrades and I also have interior, and paint before I am done.

Andrew

[Nine Ball]

Glad to see I'm not the only nut in the shell. HAHA!

$65/hr is a normal shop rate in the Houston area. That probably varies region to region depending on overhead costs and cost of living differences. When I calculated labor, I only added up the amount of time it took to do each task one time, without any re-work. Needless to say, alot of rework and 'ooops' work was not captured ;)

[TPI Monte SS]

Hmmm, I'm in for pretty cheap compared to most of the builds here. I bought the car for $2600 as a roller, then sold the rear and wheels/tires for $1300. So, cost of car =$1300. I've got maybe $4500 invested in the motor and exhaust, $1500 for the T5, clutch, bellhousing, etc. $1300 for wheels/tires, and maybe $1200 for my suspension rebuild. Not bad, right around $10K! Of course, this isn't a frame-off resto, with mega-dollar parts, but something that my friend and I built on my driveway and can beat on any time it's nice out.

[Conekiller13]

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. Parts cost over last 7 years is around 30 -35k starting with an $800.00 car sans drivetrain. Of course not doing things to level I really wanted the first time around has led to plenty re-doing things..........that's really expensive. :sad4:

[Martin71RS]

I think I have allready spent...ehhhh a lot....Problem I have is each parts has to be shipped to me ($$$) and I have to pay taxes (approx 25%) over the amount+shipping....so you can understand it adds up quickly...

lets say I could have build my car in the states for about $10k ~ $15k less.....

[TonyHuntimer]

I stopped keeping track ages ago. It's bad enough that my wife knows how much I have spent on the car in the last 3 years since we combined our finances.

Your shop rates are low. My time on my car is worth more to me just because of the area I live in. GOOD shops in San Jose area are charging between $100 to $125/hr. I've been doing work on my car for a bargain of $85/hr.

Maybe I'll add everything up again. I keep track of my hours by way of time stamps on photos I take.

Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[StRacerDuke]

Being a Financial Nerd I have kept track of all my costs for the past 4 cars I have built down to the penny. I save every reciept (even the ones from the hardware stores for materials). Each project has thier own file, with totals when I'm done. It's strange to see the total amount down to the penny vs. what you originally projected. My first project that I completed I had just over 21K in and sold it for 13.5K. I learned real quick about how fast the spending can add up.

The last two projects I sold as rollers before moving over to Italy for the year. I don't have the exact numbers (as the records are still in CA), but I took in an exact profit on both of them. (Labor not included because it's just a hobby)

My motto: "If you don't know your numbers, you don't know where you're going"

Ciao,