Great at first but broke after less than a year and a half

I got this for Christmas 2003 and for the first year it worked great. The picture quality was good, compact size makes it easy to carry, and it was easy to use. However, Murphys Law kicked in and as soon as the warranty was up I started having problems. At first it took forever for the lens cover to close. I had to try 2-3 times before the lens would finally retract. Then, one day I closed it to look at a picture and when I opened the lens cover again, the lens never came out. I took it to the shop to get an estimate on the cost to repair it and it came to between $180-$230 plus shipping to Olympus and insurance. For that price I might as well buy a new camera. I think it's ridiculous (unless you are the type of person who likes the "latest" version of everything) to pay $400 for a camera and need to replace it a year later.