I have found that any modern car repair is costly and highly dependant on the dealer. Our local VW dealer charged me $50 to replace a failed cig plug in our 2001 Jetta. A dealer 8 miles away quoted me $300 and said they would need to remove parts of the dash and replace some dohicky under the hood.
Having now lived a yr with a 2005 SLK 350 2800 miles put on it during that time, replaced a windshield, flushed fluids, had belts and tensioner replaced age related, and had some rodent damage fixed, all cost less than my 2001 vw getting its TB and water pump service last summer.
Repair costs today are highly dependant on just how fleeced you get by the dealer or shop doing the work and does not seem brand specific. Especially when you see regular forum posts about people paying Subaru Dealers $400 for a "dealer suggested 30k service" thats nothing more than an oil change.
More and more I see the value of a vehicle largely being how well the auto maker manages its dealers and the quality of the parts they put into the vehicle. Given costly repairs seem to be across the board and non brand specific today.