NO, you did not waste your time no matter what. What you did do is put on a clinic as to how one should look with all the little details. Nice job! The best reference is to have the vehicle in your garage you are trying to replicate.
I can never seem to model a car I now own and always wait until it is gone. Example; I now own a 2000 Beetle and the kit to build it, why don't I do it? I don't know.