I just recently took my car into the shop. It is a high mileage (140k miles) Toyota Corolla. I took it in because it was getting really loud, both in the engine when stopped and a lot of road noise. I live in the NYC area, and expected to pay a LOT of money for that, but surprisingly, it was only a $1200 visit.

Here is everything he did:

A/C Tune Up

Front Brakes (Rotors and Pads)

Back Brakes (Drums)

Rear Hub Assemblies on both sides

High Mileage Synthetic Oil

Intake and Cabin Filters

And full fluid flush

That took care of 90% of my issues, but he didn't have time to replace my water pump before I had to leave for a road trip. So when the water pump's bearings finally exploded going down I-81 in West Virginia, I stopped at a local repair shop and $350 later I had a water pump installed and I moseyed on down the road.

I have felt I paid too much before, but it was by big chains, never local shops. And I recognized that the big shop wouldn't need to order parts for me, they would have them in stock, so it is more convenient.

Check out what the main dealers offer e.g. https://www.bmw-service.co.uk/ with an M3's plate and wonder at the mentality.

However, having the mythical full service history is enough reason for everyone to play the game

Surprisingly my mechanic doesn't seem to rip me off, or at least I haven't caught it. My car is old enough that he knows that problems will pop up here and there so he just fixes them as they come up. He's playing the long game I guess.