Coming back from the Canadian side of the falls with my wife and kids (4 yrs and 2 yrs), it felt as if my front wheel was about to fall off. Down that stretch, there were about 2 or 3 other service stations, but finding ANY open on a Sunday afternoon would have been a miracle. I saw the owner and his companion in the front office. He was wearing shorts a white t-shirt and flip-flops, and I told them my story.
Hoping he would use his "mechanic's ear", and tell me I can make it back to Rochester, I would have easily thrown him $60 for taking the time to listen. As I feared however, it was a bearing, which would have meant the wheel would have fallen off on the thruway!
I asked him what he wanted to do. There was a hotel nearby, but it would have been excruciating for the little ones to stay overnight with nothing to do. I didn't have to explain that to him however, since he was more than understanding and was happy to help me out.
The book rate for labor on a bearing job is about 2 hours, and the part is around $130. At $75 per hour, that's $280. He pointed us to a diner nearby where we waited. When he was finished and we settled up, I threw him an extra $80 for getting his shirt dirty on a Sunday afternoon.
Great guy. Lifesaver! read more