Rear Wheel Bearing Advice

[Skippy]

My 300D started making some funny scraping and grinding noises from the back, and I've come to the conclusion that my left rear wheel bearings are shot. I found this procedure for replacing the bearings PeachPartsWiki: Replacing the Rear Wheel Bearings

From reading the procedure (much more informative than the FSM), I know I will need to buy several tools to do the job myself, including the special socket for the bearing nut, a brass drift, and a three jaw puller. I think the combined cost of parts, tools, and materials is going to run me about $200, and the work should take me about three hours including reading and re-reading the procedure, tea breaks, etc.

I will make some calls Monday for estimates from some shops to see what they would charge for the same job. I am leaning toward doing it myself unless someone quotes me $300 or less.

One of my concerns is that if the left side bearings are toast, the right side probably isn't far behind. Is this right, or does one side routinely outlast the other by a large margin?

Any advice or comments would be appreciated.