My PS3 BluRay...  

Ok so last week my husband was playing our PS3 and all of a sudden the game froze and he had to shut off the whole system before the console ejected the game. After research through google and an error message from the PS3 we've concluded the BluRay laser is broken!
I called PS and they said we can send our console in and if they can replace the system they will charge $175 and if they can't they will send a new one for $145. The one we have is one of the originals the 60GB so it can play PS2 and PS3 games and the new ones can't.
I asked why it's cheaper to get a new PS3 and he didn't really answer my question. I asked that if they couldn't fix my PS3 console would they let me know before they replaced it and he said no.
I read some blogs where people have fixed there own BlueRay lasers and it's not difficult my very time consuming and detailed. I'm wondering if it's worth it to just see if Sony can fix my PS3 or should I just fix it myself? My PS3 is out of waranty to I'm screwed either way. I just don't want to make if worse if I don't have to.
Any suggestions?