Ball joints are expensive no only in the cost of the material but also in the cost of labor. Over half of that bill will be labor alone. Tag on brakes and alignment (to save the brakes and the tires) you are easily looking at hundreds of dollars. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1188525,parttype,10070 gives the prices of different parts related to the 97 year. you wil find that in the autotive industry a 'set' of parts usually is sold per each part. Thus each ball joint, each susupender arm, etc will be sold seperately. Each ball joint costs 109.00 on that site - a dealership or a mechanic most likely will spend around 125 to 150 for the ball joint and hopefully they will replace the rest of the stuff around it too keep you on the safe side. So you are easily looking at around $300.00 for parts for the ball joints themselves. Brakes, pads, rotors, shoes - etc will have their costs too. Labor is usually around half the price of the total - or if you spend 25.00 on parts you end up spending an additional 25.00 for labor (as an example). However there are some areas where labor is intensive. as example replacing the heater core in a late model mercury can cost hundreds of dollars, even though the core itself runs less than 100. This is due to how much has to be removed out of the car to reach the heater core. I would say that for what you have lined up in work you are getting a decent deal - not over priced.