I recently bought a 1988 Caprice Classic and was told I needed to have the carburetor rebuilt due to excessive tarnishing and extended crank concern. I was charged $545 for labor, $65 for the Carburetor Kit and $165 for parts.
I know nothing about vehicles but I am trying to learn.
Is this reasonable?

 

It has been quite a while since I had a carburetor rebuilt. $545 for labor seems way out of line to me. You don't say which engine you have, but you can get a factory remanufactured carb on Rockauto for the 5.7 engine for $418.00.

 

That price is way out of line. I bought a remanufactured carb off ebay from a company in Gardena, California for $285 for the 350 in my 69 Impala convertible. It included the base gasket and had been tested on a real engine and was pretty much dialed in. All I had to do was install it, hook up the linkages, adjust the idle speed and the idle adjustment screws. I went this route because someone had put a Rochester Quadrajet from a Dodge truck on the engine and the old incorrect carb was warped. Because of the warpage, I couldn't get it to stop leaking and was concerned about an engine fire. Also I took the car to a garage and the mechanic couldn't give me any kind of accurate estimate, so I didn't go the rebuild route. My advice is to get a remanufactured carb and install it yourself. It will be much cheaper and it will work correctly right away.

Harv