An Unexpected Car Repair

The car was making a funny scraping noise in the right rear. Oh crap. We let it go on as long as possible (read: too long) and finally took it to our trusty mechanic, Dave. Dave is old school - leave your car in the yard with a note on the windshield and he'll fix it right up. He's reliable, trustworthy, and has low labor costs. Everyone's dream guy. That's why I go to a mechanic located 45 minutes from my house.

I dropped the car off Friday night, and though it was done on Saturday, I was able to get it back today. The damage? $233.22. Ouch. That ruins my car service budget, putting me over for the month and the year. Since I $150 was in parts - a new set of brake and a new rotor, I still feel like I got off easy. He only charges $50 an hour in labor. I tried to find a national average labor cost, but google failed me. I think $50/hour is a good rate - do you think so?

Although I am upset to spend the money, I know that it's necessary. We need to have 2 cars. We need reliable transportation for our jobs. Especially brakes, it's non-negotiable; it's a safety issue. I just hate spending unplanned money. I wanted than money to go to our debt. I need to find a way to make up the money so I can at least balance out the month.