Yeah I'm in Chicagoland so ours are not too far behind your cost these days.
It's absurd, and why I learned to work on my own vehicles.
I have a friend that runs a shop too, but I don't go there for anything unless I need to use his lifts.
I've put a new engine in my Tahoe in his shop, and I've put my new Jeep steering gear in at his shop.
That's about it so far. A lift is a huuuuuuuge asset and very necessary sometimes.
His guys always bring me tools and sometimes if slow will help and I'll buy em pizza
Cases of beer is an expected contribution
I have a buddy with a small shop does early bronco conversions, 5.0 AOD’s suspension etc. I do the electrical, plumbing and A/C for him. So I can use the one of the lifts when needed. I have to schedule shop is small with 2 lifts. One issue is it’s 1/2 hour away, so a few miles in So Cal.