Sending Macbook in for Repair

I ichatted with an apple rep last night about trying to clear my hard drive of my macbook pro. We came to the conclusion that I needed to bring my laptop in for repair. The problem is that the nearest authorized apple service center is about an hour and a half away. He suggested that I send my computer in for repairs and they would send it back after it was fixed. My question is if anyone has experience with this, and about how long should it take for my macbook to be repaired?