I don't know much about 3d printing, so disclaimer. The modern printers are very much built on open source so it shouldn't matter too much which screen you use.
I have also not done a firmware flash myself yet, but doing that sounds plausible to me.
I can’t believe that was the only issue that made someone trash it.
As you can see (and as you will see), it's a bit tinkering leaning hobby, if someone doesn't have the energy, patience, skill or motivation to learn, a broken part can be a major problem. I don't think there are repair shops you can go to...