Life's not "Good": Looking for Legal Advice wrt LG Small Claims for damage during repair (Ontario, Canada)

Gonna apologize for the long block of text ahead. Just hoping to get some legal advice so feel free to ignore if you don't care.

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We have an approximately 8 year old fridge (confirmed by LG) that stopped cooling December 21st, 2021. It came with the house we purchased and we don't have a receipt, however, research shows its base price was $1599 and probably would go for ~$600 to $800 used (french doors, pullout bottom freezer). Based in Ontario, Canada.

Called LG to set up out-of-warranty repair. Agreed to a $292.67 fee to where we were informed that all parts were included in the repair (up to 5 parts total) and that we would be reimbursed if the repair was unsuccessful. No strings to speak of. No contract signed.

LG sent a "LG certified" technician from a local appliance company:
o Jan3, 1st visit: Technician replaced compressor. Compressor did not activate as it "needed a new circuit board". Later found out the compressor he installed was a "universal compressor" and was not compatible with the existing circuit board, hence why it didn't work.
o Jan26, 2nd visit: Technician arrived with new circuit board. Circuit board was a "dud" and didn't respond out of box (I guess there is a way to check without installing?) or when installed. Left shortly after without resolution.
o Feb14, 3rd visit: Technician installed "working" circuit board. Compressor was now running but blew warm air. After 12hrs, still warm. Called LG to demand and LG payroll technician, not a local outsourced one.
o Feb18, 4th visit: 1st and only visit by LG payroll technician. Confirmed compressor was a "universal compressor" and was jury-rigged in to work. Fridge needed a specific model compressor. Wrong compressor's mounting bolts holes were customized (see first photo) to fit. Quoted "butcher job" and compressor was installed "ass-to-mouth" by 20-year LG technician. He sent pictures to buddies (and us) to show how bad it was and layman explained (via text) that "any technician will look at that for about a minute and go, oh my God" and "one look at the board and one look at the compressor would tell you that they do not belong together".

LG Tech did his best to get a proper compressor installed but noted that now the digital temperature display was also no longer working (likely fried as part of the local tech's handiwork) and other internal wiring was damaged that could not be repaired.

He reiterated that the fridge was approximately 8 years old as confirmed by age of lighting system in the digital display and that, had the correct compressor been installed during the first visit, we would have likely got another 10-15 years out of the fridge given it's a quality model.

After contacting local technician's company and sharing photos, owner agrees (by email) that "I do now realize our guy was misinformed (by who? LG?) about a 'universal compressor' " and "I am not sure why a heat shield or something else wasn't used to avoid the black mark on the back" (with regards to a large black scorch mark on the back of the unit show in the next photo).

LG now insists that, because it is out of warranty and we do not have an 8-year old receipt, we are only entitled to reimbursement of the repair and an additional $100 based on a prorated price of the fridge (again, comparable models go for around $600-$800 at this age). On top of that, in order to possibly qualify for the $392.67 reimbursement, I need to buy a new LG fridge and supply proof of purchase before I can be reimbursed. They must thing I work for the circus with all the hoops I gotta jump through.

I argue that this is no longer a warranty issue as they broke a perfectly repairable fridge (confirmed by 20-year LG veteran technician). Also, that this is no different than me taking my car in for an simple oil change, them dropping my car off the lift, and then asking for what I paid for the car to reimburse me. It doesn't matter what I bought it for, what matters is what it currently would cost to replace.

Do I have a case? Is it even worth it to fight? Should I represent myself? My wife doesn't want to fight it because she's afraid we'll be out even more money. I've recorded a timeline of events and there are even more details. I've lost 4 days in lost wages for repair service visits, made over 20 calls to LG and the local technician, lost hundreds in food costs, and now they slap me in the face with a measly $100 inconvenience fee.

3 months later and I'm still without a fully functioning fridge.

WTF