>> The whole get-it-fixed-first and ask-questions-later mentality is crap. <<
Well, my guess is the failure has nothing to do with anything you did; it's something weird in the camera.
Basically, you have to find out the cost to repair and compare that to the cost of replacement. If the camera's under warranty that's a no-brainer. Otherwise I'd wonder. I'm sure K-M can give you a rough estimate (at least a minimum and maximum) on the phone.
Do check on the extended warranty that might come from a Gold or Platinum credit card. I try very hard to not pay cash on anything these days because of this, and tend to sort my purchases by whether or not I care about a warranty extension.