[StickMon]

Wow!
Just think about how many tools you can buy for $1250!
Less than 1/2 of that will buy you all the tools and consumables you need to do it yourself, the first time.
After that, it's about $100 in consumables.
It's time consuming, but not very difficult, and you know that it got done.
The thing that bothers me about something like a valve adjustment is that the car is running fine when you bring it in and fine when you drive it out.
Did they even open the hood?

When I tell people I work on my own car they always ask "Don't you need a lot of expensive tools like torque wrenches and stuff?"
My answer is "Do you realize how many torque wrenches you can buy for what you're paying in labor?".