[happy1]

Hi Boza,
I haven't built a kit car yet, but have been very close to start a few times.
The first one I nearly started 15 years ago was a Dax Rush, (Super 7) with Sierra Cosworth AWD. I spent hours studying parts lists and doing up a spreadsheet of parts to buy, but didn't go ahead, mostly due to there wasn't an approval scheme for individually built cars where I lived then.
About 8 years ago my neighbor was fabricating his own 4-seat stretch 'Lamborghini' kits in Perth, and for a while I was tempted to get one kit from him, however his body finishes and interior details was not great. And a Lambo shouldn't be (under)powered by a Camry V6, so I didn't go that route either.

You have got a great reply from Warrenk, with his hands on experiences and cost examples. (But I don't know if build time is included or not in the cost figures, probably not). Building a kit would take you something like 1000 hours. If you are retired and just need an unpaid hobby, then the cost of this DIY labor could be $0. On the other hand if you place an average $30/hour value of your time for lost income, then you are suddenly looking at $30.000 on top of the parts cost.

It would be interesting to hear more about your DIY capabilities and reasons for building a kit. Is it to find a hobby, or is it to build a unique car that can't be had by purchasing it from someone? Building a kit will involve custom fabrication, and it will take more time and skills than for example just heavy panel beating / rebuild of a car.
For example a big panel beating job on a factory built car, with stripping most of a body shell, replacing near half the shell, painting it, and just re-fitting all the original parts could take someone about 200 hours of DIY time. Currently I'm in the middle of engine and drivetrain conversion of my E90 from a dead 4-cylinder to a near new S65 V8 (M3). Still no fabrication involved, and it has taken all my spare time for the last 2 months, and I'm not yet half way through.
In my view building a kit car would be the next level of effort involved, as the parts will need fabrication and adjustment. The statistics referred to above, about half the kits ending up unfinished, is not surprising.
Cheers,