The problem at the moment is anyone with over 1000hrs SEP is generally offski-ing to the airlines, so there are some pretty big holes appearing.
After 1000hrs teaching on SEP I think most should be fine, your case BEB may be different, but the vast majority of my first 1000hrs teaching was with students, not TL's, so my outlook maybe from a different angle.
After 1000 hrs I certainly felt I was ready and I don't feel much has changed since then. I already had my bar set for what I considered to be the acceptable and what wasn't. No different to today.
Prices for tests seem to be between £100 and £150 generally, quite alot of cash, but it is a fair price in my opinion, especially if you do it correctly and it takes nearly a full day.
I wouldn't do it for £30 anymore.
Again Hours are not really the answer, but a guide, there are some atrocious examiners out there with '000's of hours and some very good ones with far less. As ever it comes down to the individual.