How much should I pay for break pads replacement and how do I know they really need replaced? (N. Virginia)?

My car was rejected on my Virginia Safety Inspection. The mechanic led me to believe that the break pads were worn down and he wrote on the sticker ';front breaks';. However, he acted as if he didn't want to talk to me about, as if he was lying. Nonetheless, Virginia's got you because you need to pass that inspection so I need to have the pads replaced. All my quotes are around $175. Is a fair price? Also, my breaks work great! I have noticed no problems whatsoever does this not matter or should this be an indicator that they are scamming me?

I've been told that changing break pads is easy, however, I don't think it is something I want to attempt.

The car is a 1995 Buick LeSabre.How much should I pay for break pads replacement and how do I know they really need replaced? (N. Virginia)?
Just because you dont hear the squeal indicator doesnt mean theres nothing wrong with them, or they are not needing replaced.Squeal indicator is a last notice kind of thing, meaning once you hear it ,its important to have them replaced right away.The liners should be no less than 1/8 inch thick on the pads before they need replacing.They could have been close to spec where they would be needing replacement very shortly, but i cannot speak on behalf of that person who wrote that up for you.If you dont want to do it than take it to a shop and ask then to inspect the front brakes.See what they say.How much should I pay for break pads replacement and how do I know they really need replaced? (N. Virginia)?
how to check your breaks is to drive at about 20 mph and listen to your break pads out the window and see if there screeching. if they are then that means that the metal clip that is a brake pad indicator is hitting the rotor(the thing that the pads touch to stop) and causing the sreeching sound.