Why Do Car Repairs Cost so Much?

Sometimes I miss living in Boston and taking the T and not having to deal with a car. Of course I'm sure when I lived there, there were times when I hated waiting for the T and wanted a car. So as you may remember from previous blogs, my car and I are not exactly bff's and going to the mechanic stresses me out (for good reason as usually it costs me big bucks). Last week my check engine light came on so I took it to the mechanic (I tried a different one this time that was supposed to be more reasonably priced than the one I've gone to in the past). They ran the test and said all they could figure was the gas cap. So they put a new gas cap on ($13 plus the cost of the test) and said if the light didn't come on again in 100-150 miles the problem was the gas cap and life was peachy (they didn't actually say peachy, I just added that part). Guess what? A week later when I put my car on to leave work, the light was on again. Grr. So I called the mechanic again and they said to bring it back in and they'd do the test for free. So I brought two books (finished one and started another), good thing, as it was only supposed to take an hour... after three hours, I was getitng a little impatient and went to the desk to get a status update. Well, apparently, something was leaking and something else might have been leaking, but they couldn't tell until they drained gas. Of course they were going to charge me $100 to drain the gas out, and then another $100 to put it back in. Um, can't they just fill the tank with one of those little buckets, it should not take an hour, I can fill my gas tank in a few minutes. Plus it was only half full so shouldn't it take less time? If it only takes 10 min, I don't see the point in charging me for a whole hour. If I work for 4 and a half hours, I get paid for four and a half hours, not for five hours. Well, I reluctantly gave the approval, walked home, and they called me a little later to tell me the problem was what they thought it was and the parts would be in on Tuesday. I would tell you what the problem was, but I don't remember. The guy was really nice, showed me a diagram and everything, but I'm a spazz and all I really saw was the price. There was a gas leak so a wire/cable/something had to be replaced and something else with the tank (I think) needed to be fixed too. So I have been carless since Friday. I was able to find a ride to book club, a wedding , and one of the only people at my work who lives in the same city as me said she'd drive me to work tomorrow so it's been doable, but I've been a little annoyed that I couldn't grocery shop, run a couple of errands, or go to the gym. However, since the bill is going to be more than a week's pay perhaps it's for the best as I won't be able to afford to buy any of that stuff. Maybe I'll finally lose that weight I put on ha ha. So once again I ask, why do mechanics make so much money? I mean no disrespect. Cars are important and I'm sure the mechanics work hard, but some people consider my job necessary (others clearly do not) and I make less than half what they do so I have to work over twice as long. Maybe one of the kiddos will grow up to be a mechanic and give me a big discount. I would like my next car to be one that has one of those crazy/long warranties on it and one with a reputation for not breaking every year. Of course with all the money I spend on repairs (for a car that supposedly has a good rep and doesn't have that many miles on it) I won't be affording one any time soon. So here's hoping I can get at least three more years out of this car that do not cost me a fortune.