Things wear out and when they do, it's not always the simple fix you think it should be. A car with over 150,000 miles is going to have a lot of parts wearing out.

A lot of work that should be done on a car is preventive. It helps to have some knowledge to know what is the highest priorities and the consequences of not fixing it until it fails.

Some things, if not replaced will start to cause problems elsewhere and cause more damage.

If you questioned whether brakes needed to be done, you can check them yourself. Easy. It's a safety thing too.

Everything you described sounded legitimate.