It sounds to me like the car has not been serviced for a while. Before spending hundreds change the plugs, oil and filter and give a good run down the motorway to blow off a few cobwebs.
Failing that it could be head gasket gone, but id you're not losing any coolant you should investigate further - maybe injection/ECU problem
It is not the valves that are skimmed, it's the cylinder head.
For a new gasket and head skimmed I would charge you around �200, and it would probably take the best part of a days work plus the time to get head skimmed. If your valves need re-grinding it's therefore going to cost more.
It just goes on and on - believe me.
I'm not a cowboy and wouldn't rip you off, but things cost too much nowadays and besides, I wouldn't want you to come back to me in a few weeks with the same problem again, if you know what I mean.
My advise would be to fix the problem and get rid of it and buy a diesel. They might be noisy, smokey and slow but properly maintained they will outlive any petrol car.