Vintage Car Restoration Break-Even Revenue: About $130K/Month

Fixed costs $94.5K/mo Run-rate base

Contribution margin 84% Keeps per job

Break-even revenue $112K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 2 Early ramp

Break-even calculator

Check how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs stack up against break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool that has to cover direct costs and overhead. $ Lower sales Higher sales Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with each job and each service mix. $ Lower direct costs Higher direct costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $279,889 $331,417 revenue - $51,528 variable expenses

Margin ratio

84%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base that contribution margin has to cover. $ Lower overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which restoration shop expenses are fixed, variable, semi-variable, or semi-fixed for break-even?

Cost classification

Break-even only works if stable overhead, job-level spend, and capacity steps are separated. For this shop, fixed overhead starts at $23,000/month before payroll, while parts, paint, machining, and travel move with project volume.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Workshop Rent Mortgage	Fixed	Use $15,000/month as baseline overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Spreading rent across jobs and hiding idle bay risk.
Specialized Insurance	Fixed	Use $1,800/month as required shop coverage within monthly break-even overhead.	Dropping insurance from break-even because it doesn’t touch each vehicle.
Rare Parts Acquisition	Variable	Apply the $15,000 per full restoration unit item to project-level contribution.	Ignoring parts pass-through timing when deposits lag purchases.
Engine Overhaul Kit	Variable	Apply the $4,000 per engine rebuild unit item before measuring job margin.	Using revenue as margin and missing direct engine parts.
Utilities Workshop Office	Semi-variable	Start with the $2,500/month base and track usage tied to paint, lifts, and machining.	Treating all power use as fixed when production hours rise.
Client Hospitality Travel	Variable	Model as revenue-linked selling spend: 3.0% in the first year, falling to 1.0% by the fifth year.	Parking client travel in overhead instead of reducing contribution margin.
Master Technician	Semi-fixed	Add payroll in hiring steps: 2.0 FTE in the first year, rising to 4.0 FTE by the fifth year.	Treating skilled labor as perfectly variable by job.

How does break-even shift from lean to full restoration workload?

Scenario table

The lean case is the tightest test: revenue still covers fixed labor and workshop overhead, but the cushion is thinner than in the base and full cases. As backlog rises from Year 1 to Year 5, monthly profit and break-even headroom both improve.

Planning cases only: these are modeled assumptions, not a guarantee of actual demand, pricing, or margins.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean Year 1 workshop mix	$206K	$68K	$94K	67%	$44K	Clears break-even, but the cushion is thin.
Base Year 3 workshop mix	$331K	$106K	$124K	68%	$101K	Comfortable buffer if signed backlog holds.
Full Year 5 workshop mix	$471K	$148K	$150K	69%	$173K	Strong cushion; labor capacity becomes the gate.

What pressures can push this vintage car restoration shop past break-even?

Stress test

Here’s the quick math: about $2.06M of monthly revenue, $945K of fixed costs, and a 72.6% contribution margin leave a $756K cushion. A 10% revenue dip, 10% higher fixed costs, or a 5-point margin squeeze can shrink that fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$1.30M	$756K cushion	Healthy cushion, but idle bays still matter.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue falls 10% to about $1.85M.	$1.30M	$550K cushion	Signed projects slipping cuts the cushion fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 10% to about $1.04M a month.	$1.43M	$626K cushion	Higher insurance or overhead raises the floor.
Margin pressure	Contribution margin falls 5 points to 67.6% from rework and parts inflation.	$1.40M	$660K cushion	Rework hours and parts inflation eat the buffer.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10%, fixed costs rise 10%, and margin drops 5 points.	$1.54M	$315K cushion	One delayed full restoration can wipe out most of the cushion.

Can this vintage car restoration shop clear break-even before you sign the lease?

Founder checklist

Don’t sign the lease until you have committed deposits and a staffed shop plan that matches the model. The first-year math works only if the Year 1 backlog survives the $645K build-out and the cash low point near $876K in Month 6.

1Signed Backlog46 jobs

Verify deposits cover 4 full restorations, 8 engine rebuilds, 8 paint bodywork jobs, 6 interiors, and 20 inspections before you commit lease dollars.

2Monthly Load$91.1K/mo

Check that rent, utilities, insurance, software, and payroll can stay covered at about $91.1K a month before variable parts and event spend, because that is the fixed floor.

3Job Margin84.5% CM

Verify each signed job still clears margin after parts and travel, since the model's weighted variable load is about 15.5% and scope creep can erase that fast.

4Crew Ramp8.5 FTE

Make sure the Year 1 crew can run 8.5 full-time equivalents and still hit the planned mix, then track bay use weekly so bottlenecks show up early.

5Cash Buffer$876K

Keep cash near the model's Month 6 low point, because the shop needs to absorb $645K of build-out and equipment spend before the work turns into billings.

6Intake GateBefore intake

Bind specialized insurance, lock rare parts and paint suppliers, and use change-order rules before vehicle intake so rework and missing parts do not stall cash.