1. I personally would never install a rebuilt motor, for hire. To do so would put me in the position of having warranty responsibility for a motor that is not as good as OEM. I've been burnt on that before, and learned to avoid the situation.

2. Market prices for pool work in your area, are the market prices for your area. I can't change that.

3. The "I buy the parts, you do the labor" approach is a bad idea, unless you *could* do the work yourself. First, you end up assuming warranty responsibility for the motor & seal . . . and will have to pay for additional labor if anything goes wrong. The profit your pool guy makes on the motor covers him against the risk (maybe, 5%?) that the new motor will have a problem, and that he'll have to swap out a replacement for free. If YOU buy the motor and it's bad, you'd have to pay him to remove the motor, pay the shipping to return the motor, wait for a replacement, and then pay him to re-install the motor.

4. Once you rule out doing it yourself, your cheapest option is simply whatever you can hire someone to do it for you. I don't mean to be harsh, but those are the facts. Nothing I can do here will change that.

5. With an old pump, and very limited parts availability, I can't even offer to help you with motor and parts selection: you're going to have to take what you can get, unless you upgrade to a new pump. This is another reason why you want some local and reputable -- who will stand behind the repair -- doing the work. (This may be why they're charging what they are: they may not be sure what it will take to repair that old pump.)

6. You probably ought to consider a new pump: Amazon has the 3/4 HP Super pump for ~$300. That would give you a new, very reliable pump that should fit with the energy guidelines you described. [ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...924/poolbooks/ ] . Given your small pool size, you could also use the 1/2 HP pump from A1 [ http://www.a1poolparts.com/-strse-89...0x5/Detail.bok ] Apparently, this pump doesn't count as an energy efficient pump . . . but compared to a 1 HP pump, it will use less electricity, and will still circulate enough water for a 6,000 gallon pool, unless you have major filter and/or piping problems.

I'm sorry, but that's all I can do for you. I understand financial limitation; my family has struggled with the burden of major medical debt and some bad decisions on my part, for years. But facts are facts for both of us. And in-ground pools have a certain cost attached to them. PoolSolutions & PoolForum can help make things easier and cheaper for pool owners, but that's relative: "cheaper" does not equal "cheap".

Good luck.