The Budget

The winning bid was only the beginning.

Project 001 — the 2015 Infiniti Q50 Premium. Every figure below is either a confirmed invoice line, a clearly labeled estimate, or still being tracked. Source documents, personal details and account information stay private.

Need vs Want

“Need” means anything required to acquire, transport, title and register, maintain, repair or make the car roadworthy. “Want” means optional sound, appearance, performance or convenience upgrades. A Need being listed does not mean it is already paid — every line also carries a financial status.

Confirmed vs estimated vs planned

Confirmed means paid and verified. Estimated means expected but not yet paid. Planned means intended and not yet purchased. The VR30 transmission swap is a special case: the work is complete, but its published $2,900 figure is a budget/quoted allowance and payment confirmation is still pending.

Vehicle / auction invoice

Sale price: $2,900
Auction fee: $898
Broker / service fee: $295
Document fee: $75
Invoice subtotal: $4,168

Transportation

Austin to McKinney transport/transfer: $613
McKinney to home: $18
Transportation subtotal: $631

Texas title, tax and registration (estimated)

Motor vehicle sales tax: $260.50
Texas title application fee: $33.00
Registration fee: $51.75
Denton County local fee: $10.00
Inspection replacement fee: $7.50
Emissions fee portion collected at registration: $2.75
Processing and handling fee: $4.75
Expected county tax-office total: $370.25

Inspection station charge

Not yet reconciled

The Q50 passed inspection on September 6, 2026. Catalyst-efficiency monitoring for P0420 / P0430 is still incomplete, so the catalytic converters are not confirmed fixed. The station amount and its payment record have not been reconciled, so that charge is excluded from the $370.25 county estimate and from the project snapshot. Title and registration are still not claimed as complete.

What we need to title and register it

Ownership/title document from the auction/broker
Completed Form 130-U
Government-issued photo ID
Proof of Texas liability insurance
Passing Texas inspection — passed September 6, 2026
Odometer disclosure if required by the title documents
Payment for taxes and fees

Title numbers, VIN, addresses and source documents stay private.

Known and planned beyond the invoice

Transportation: $631
Taxes, Title & Registration: $370.25
VR30 Swap: $2,900

Purchases logged so far

Every order gets its own entry with purpose, category, financial status and exact amounts. Vendors are shown generically. Order numbers, addresses, payment information and receipts stay private.

NeedMaintenanceConfirmed

Maintenance & hardware order

Amazon · Purchased Aug. 24 · delivered Aug. 25

Activated-carbon cabin air filter$7.99
A-Premium two-piece engine air-filter set$15.99
LivTee rustproof license-plate screw set$5.99

Merchandise subtotal: $29.97
Tax: $1.87
Confirmed total: $31.84

Delivered — engine air filters installed

Basic filters and plate hardware for the first maintenance pass. Delivered and confirmed paid. The engine air filters have been installed; the cabin filter and plate hardware are not confirmed installed yet.

No affiliate links yet. Exact product links will only be added after fitment and use are verified.

WantAppearance & soundConfirmed

Muffler-delete exhaust

eBay · Purchased Aug. 27

Muffler-delete exhaust for 2014–2024 Infiniti Q50, dual 4.5-inch burnt tips$230.00

Shipping: $0.00
Tax: $14.38
Confirmed total: $244.38

Ordered — awaiting delivery and installation

Optional modification — not required to make the car roadworthy. Confirmed paid, not delivered or installed, so there is no fitment or sound result to report.

Not an affiliate item.

Core car costs (excludes transportation)

$7,470.09

$4,168 invoice + $370.25 expected title, tax and registration + the $2,900 public VR30 swap allowance + $31.84 maintenance and hardware order.

+ $631 transportation (confirmed)

Needs including transportation: $8,101.09

Transportation varies by buyer location, pickup method and distance, so it sits outside the primary Core Car Costs figure while remaining part of this project’s all-in spend. This figure still mixes confirmed, estimated and planned amounts — it is not cash paid or final invested.

Wants / optional modifications confirmed

$244.38

The muffler-delete exhaust order — paid, not delivered, not installed.

Known + expected + planned snapshot

$8,345.47

$7,470.09 core car costs + $631 confirmed transportation + $244.38 wants / optional modifications. That includes $276.22 of newly confirmed purchases ($31.84 maintenance and hardware + $244.38 exhaust). This snapshot mixes confirmed, expected and planned amounts, so it is not cash paid and not total invested. It excludes the emissions inspection station charge, diagnosis and other repairs, further maintenance, tools and remaining modifications.

Still tracking

Diagnosis & Additional Repairs: Tracking
Further Maintenance & Fluids: Tracking
Tools: Tracking
Remaining Modifications: Tracking

For comparison, not an expense

A diagnostic shop recommended a full transmission replacement estimated at $7,000–$8,000. That recommendation was declined in favor of the $2,900 VR30 swap plan, so it never became a cost — it is listed here only as the decision we were weighing.

The VR30 transmission swap is complete and the transmission is working. The $2,900 shown publicly is the budgeted/quoted allowance for that work, not a verified paid receipt — payment confirmation is still pending.

Not included above: the emissions inspection station charge, Cataclean and additional drive-cycle attempts, further diagnosis, additional repairs, tools and remaining modifications. Those costs have not been recorded here yet.

Numbers will change as invoices are reconciled and work is completed.