Nexus 7 broken screen

[Android Central Question]

2012 edition -- love the tablet, want to keep using it as an e-reader (primary use now).
Have a new 2013 7'' tablet and... it's just not the same.
Local repair shops both tell me they can't fix it as cheaply as replacing the entire device. (I have doubts, given that Amazon sells kits to replace the screen for <$50.)
Please advise.

 

[Rukbat]

The kit doesn't include the experience you need to do it successfully. My usual procedure when hiring a new tech was to five him a dead phone to remove the screen from, then replace it. If he could do it properly by the 6th try, he was hired. (That's how difficult it is.)

These "I've never tried this, so let's see how it goes" YouTube videos you see, where the job goes about as easily as blowing your nose, are lies - the guy in the video has probably replaced at least a dozen screens successfully before making the video. (You recognize little signs that say "I've been here before".) You pay for that experience. (And it usually doesn't pay to replace the screen on a device older than 3 years old.)

 

[Kodak2]

You can probably pick up a working Nexus 7 2012 on eBay for less than the cost of repairing your broken one.