If you have the technical know how to take the charger apart, which is very easy, you can by the bearings and seals for cheap and have a machine shop press in your bearings for far less than $500. I had a machine shop do mine and they charged me $50, bearings cost me around $40 and a seal cost around $10 then get a coupler for $15 and some charger oil for another $10, reassemble and you have a rebuilt charger for a little more than $100. Which is the exact same thing they do when you send it in. I'd say talk him down a few hundred explaining that you would need to send it in and do the work yourself, it' much cheaper and rewarding and there's a great thread on here with pics showing how everything is done. Enjoy!