I broke my DS Lite, fix or replace with DSi?

[Tony]

One day I dropped my 3 year old DS Lite. I tried turning it ON by sliding the power switch but nothing happened. I tried charging it and the orange light came on, but the power switch still failed to turn it on.

Guess it's broken.

How might I go about fixing it? Should I disassemble it myself? How? Should I go to a place to get it fixed? Is it worth it and is it reliable?

Should I replace it with a new DS Lite? Or maybe the new DSi? Is the new DSi worth it replacing a DS Lite that has a chance to be fixed?

[Gameboy]

Nintendo will probably do the repairs, but seeing as it is out of warranty they will charge you.

[Tony]

I don't want to send to Nintendo because it will take too long and I will get charged.

Is there a better place I can go to to fix let them fix or just fix it myself? But I don't know where to start.

Or should I just replace it with the DSi altogether. Though DSi looks ****.

[Angel]

Hi Tony

Since its out of warranty, go ahead and disassemble it to have a look at what's broken. You can find disassembly guides online. Since its impact related damage it should be fairly simple to identify the problem.

You might have luck also getting the correct parts off ebay or similar, especially if you know exactly what's wrong.

[Mnke]

Sell it as faulty, (good for parts only) on ebay and use the money to buy a new dsl or dsi. Thats what a lot of people do.

[CHWong]

I would just replace it with another DS Lite. If you don't want to buy a new one, a preowned won't cost too much ($150 max).

[Tony]

I think I have to do this:

http://www.tygarbyte.com/Nintendo%20DSL%20F1%20and%20F2%20Fuse.php

That looks extremely complicated though.

[ianinozzie]

If you're looking to replace it, you've got to consider whether you have a lot of Gameboy Advance games. If you do, then the DS Lite is the way to go (and it's cheaper too).

Otherwise, might as well upgrade to the DSi. Game's having a deal where you can trade in 2 eligible games and pay some dosh for a DSi. Plus DSis are cheaper than they've been on sale at most places at the moment.