Can anyone explain to me why
 

...it would cost $1100.00 to replace a blown head gasket. I recently bought a '95 Buick Skylark and at the same time bought an '80 Buick Skylark for a friend of mine. I bought the '80 because it is slick as a whistle. Well I took it into the shop to have the brakes checked and to put on a temperature and oil gage as I do not like idiot lights. When they took it for a test drive they said it overheated and did some diagnostics and found that it has a blown head gasket.

BTW...if one is having one head shaved and a gasket replaced...shouldn't one have both heads shaved and change both gaskets. None the less I am going to talk to the mechanic again this morning about that subject.