Thanks for the info. It's a counterproductive and unethical way to do business, and it offends customers, which is a very bad idea. I would never do it.
When I worked as a lawyer, I quoted an hourly rate, and that's what I got. I didn't say, "Oh, the air conditioning was on all month, so here's a 10% power surcharge. Oh, I had to buy printer toner, so there's another $90. Oh, my paralegal had a toothache, so chip in $30 toward the dentist's bill. Oh, your memorandum used 18 sheets of paper, so that will be $18.00." Certain incidental charges had to be added to bills, but they made sense. You wouldn't hire a private detective for a client and pay the bill yourself, but you also wouldn't make him pay for gas money to get you to the courthouse. You would never dream of adding an "office fee" to a bill.
When I go to the doctor, they don't give me a separate bill for gloves, swabs, needles, tongue depressors, medical waste disposal, or anything else. And doctors love money more than just about anyone.
"The cost of doing business." That's a phrase ethical businessmen understand. You don't charge a customer for stamps when you mail him a bill. You don't charge him for parking in your lot. Things like that are understood to be included in the term "quote."
If these people had given me an estimate for $1580, I would not be all that annoyed, because I fully expected to be charged for much more time than they actually spent. Quoting me $1325 and then making up an excuse to charge more is bad business. If you want your customers to come back, you quote high and charge low, not the other way around.
Before I moved here, other garages always charged me what they quoted unless additional work was needed, and if that happened, they called for approval. They could still do that.
My buddy made the horrible mistake of buying a Mercedes. It had a coolant leak, and he couldn't fix it, so he took it to a shop. They charged him for disposing of the old hose! No lie. He could have taken it home and put it in the trash for nothing. There is no garbage collection here, so people go to county dumps, and they have hazardous waste disposal. They also nailed him for some other things that were clearly not justified or expected. He left them a pretty bad review before he got off their property. He sat in his car in their driveway and typed it on his phone.