need some advice

[85grandprix]

So as you all know Ive been having the grand prix in the shop for about 4 months now and it started with nothing. Every month I come to find out that something is always missing or unserviceable. Never any good news I guess the car was in worse shape than I thought. I removed the 305 that wasn't even completely installed and dropped in a sbc 350. I do believe my mechanic had to fix the mess ups of another mechanic which could be the reason this build got so expensive. My mechanic charged me 1k for labor and the rest was parts and I believe the labor to install the exhaust. All together I ended up paying 7100.00 to get my car running. Ive looked at the invoice and the only thing I haven't seen yet is the exhaust cost and labor. I want to know is this the norm...it shows on the receipts I just didn't expect to be so much into this car especially with parts lol..This is my first big build so I don't know average numbers. I thought a motor swap was a little cheaper before you guys say I should've did it myself I'm deployed and I wanted the car running before I got home..

 

[UNGN]

That is pretty typical, which is why most of us do try to do everything ourselves...and why most normal people want to buy "finished" cars and avoid projects cars.

Most of my cars are projects, because I enjoy working on them and don't think about the costs too much.

 

[Jeff L]

Thanks for your service! Stay safe where ever you are!

Labor can add up very quickly for sure. The few times friends used a shop for some form of restoration they were given an itemized sheet of parts used, when ordered, received, put on the car, time to apply the parts, labor cost per hour and total for the job. It was easy to follow.

When I had to have a new transmission and driveshaft put in the shop basically gave me a standard yellow sheet listing the parts, cost, and labor in a bulk fashion. Not itemized. It was not a surprise since nothing was done without my ok. They had done a couple other little things that only showed up as parts like a free oil change, cooling system flush. They did that because the first transmission they put in was defective and I had to wait another month before I finally got my car back. I had done business with them plenty of times before so they wanted to keep me happy.

If the garage had the car for 4 months and it was encountering problems, not hard to imagine a $7000 bill. Does not sound unusual from what I have experienced.

 

[85grandprix]

Thanks for your service! Stay safe where ever you are!

Labor can add up very quickly for sure. The few times friends used a shop for some form of restoration they were given an itemized sheet of parts used, when ordered, received, put on the car, time to apply the parts, labor cost per hour and total for the job. It was easy to follow.

When I had to have a new transmission and driveshaft put in the shop basically gave me a standard yellow sheet listing the parts, cost, and labor in a bulk fashion. Not itemized. It was not a surprise since nothing was done without my ok. They had done a couple other little things that only showed up as parts like a free oil change, cooling system flush. They did that because the first transmission they put in was defective and I had to wait another month before I finally got my car back. I had done business with them plenty of times before so they wanted to keep me happy.

If the garage had the car for 4 months and it was encountering problems, not hard to imagine a $7000 bill. Does not sound unusual from what I have experienced.

Thank You! He did give me an itemized sheet and I like him a s a mechanic bc his attention to detail is incredible he even wanted to find things like fan shrouds for me..he does do lots of classic cars and he told me he rarely works on 80s bc they are still new to him lol. One thing he did tell me is it wasn't going to be half assed . So even tho I have not driven it yet I'm confident it's done right..that price just hurt oh so bad lol

 

[85grandprix]

That is pretty typical, which is why most of us do try to do everything ourselves...and why most normal people want to buy "finished" cars and avoid projects cars.

Most of my cars are projects, because I enjoy working on them and don't think about the costs too much.

Well I'm usually good at tackling projects but most are already running so this was something new to me but now I know what to expect if ever buy a non running vehicle again. Im glad you guys say this is typical I dont feel so bad now

 

[UNGN]

My son and I bought a $850 Miata when he was 14 as a father son project as a car that was rwd, fun to drive and he could learn how to drive a stick. We built it from only junkyard and craiglist parts to where cosmetically it was still a complete turd, but mechanically it was very good. I added up the receipts and we had $4,300 in it and only about $500 of that was outside labor (tire mounting/balancing, front end alignment, diagnosing/fixing a no start issue, etc)... and cosmetically, it was still a complete turd.

Stuff adds up fast.

 

[85grandprix]

My son and I bought a $850 Miata when he was 14 as a father son project as a car that was rwd, fun to drive and he could learn how to drive a stick. We built it from only junkyard and craiglist parts to where cosmetically it was still a complete turd, but mechanically it was very good. I added up the receipts and we had $4,300 in it and only about $500 of that was outside labor (tire mounting/balancing, front end alignment, diagnosing/fixing a no start issue, etc)... and cosmetically, it was still a complete turd.

Stuff adds up fast.

Oh man I laughed out loud at that one..im way more comfortable with what i paid now

 

[Jeff L]

Oh man I laughed out loud at that one..im way more comfortable with what i paid now

Once you get home and drive it and chirp the tires a few times, it will end up being the best money you ever spent! No amount of money can compare to the smile you will have from ear to ear!

 

[TURNA]

Sounds like a lot of money.

I would like to see the itemized invoice for it.

Did he supply the 350?

 

[85grandprix]

Sounds like a lot of money.

I would like to see the itemized invoice for it.

Did he supply the 350?

Yes he did and it went to the machine as well