Recommendations for Mechanic near Atlanta (for combination meter repair)

I bought a 2005 Prius with 92,000 miles on it in December. All maintenance appeared to have been done at the dealer, which showed up on the CarFax report. The prior owners had driven it less over the last few years, and they'd taken it in a few times for "inspection" before selling it. (Of course I didn't notice how suspicious that was until my dashboard went dark.) Thanks to these forums, I'm 99% certain my combination meter is bad.

While on my first road trip in the car, my battery died, and after it was restarted, my dashboard was dark. I found the recommendation here to reset it by unplugging the white plug to my 12V battery. That worked, and I kept a rear door ajar to keep the "door ajar" light on on the dashboard (with the overhead lights set to "off," of course, so no other lights were on from the door being ajar).

Things worked for a while (having to occasionally reset the dashboard via the battery plug when I closed all the doors), but I needed a jump for the second time in a few months and replaced the 12V battery (which was allegedly done by the dealer when I bought it, after he needed to jump it before I test-drove it). The old battery was from 2012 (thanks, dealer, for following through on your promises), and the dashboard stopped having its issues for a few weeks after I replaced the 12V, even when I inadvertently closed all the doors (which the mechanic had said might happen if I was lucky).

Until it went dark again one day when we closed all the doors. Unplugging the battery didn't reset it, but my fuel was a little low, and it came back once the "low fuel" warning came on (mid-drive). After that, I've been really careful to keep at least one door ajar at all times. In the past week, the dashboard has gone dark again even though the rear doors have been ajar. The first time it happened while I was driving it; it just suddenly went away. I tried resetting it by unplugging the battery, but it didn't work. The next morning, it was back. And then less than a week later, it was dark when I started it, and even though it's been a few days, and I've tried several times over several days to reset it by unplugging the battery, I can't get it back. (I had just gassed up, so I don't know if the low fuel warning would bring it back. At this point, I realize it's time to fix it because it's a safety hazard not having a working speedometer.)

I've searched the forums for recommendations for mechanics in the Atlanta metro area (I'm on the east side, near Decatur/Stone Mountain), but the newest recommendations were from 2010. Atlanta Hybrid Repair, which seems to be highly recommended (and who replaced the battery for me), wants $800, can't even look at it until Wed., and said it will take 3-5 business days because they have to order the part from the dealer before installing it, and probably on the longer side of that because the last one took 4 days to arrive, which would push me to being carless over a weekend and possibly also over July 4th.

Another hybrid shop recommended to me was Medlock Gulf, but they don't do electronics and referred me to A1 Auto Electric, who estimated $150 in labor just to get to the part, and $250 to repair it (time 1-2 days). They didn't sound like they worked on a lot of Prii (they had to research how to get to the part online).

And I also found "Atlanta Prius" "service team, inc.," which I couldn't find very many reviews for. Their quote was similar to A1, at $395 for a 2-day repair. I remembered to ask them about a warranty, and they said they have a 6-month warranty.

And then there are numerous Toyota dealers in the area with service departments. I'm honestly just feeling overwhelmed right now. I don't know whom to trust with my baby. Obviously I'd like to pay as little as possible while being inconvenienced as little as possible and still fixing the car "right." I know you can only get 2 of any 3 things you want, so my priorities are 1) getting the right fix done right, 2) saving money, 3) being inconvenienced (though obviously only to a point).

I'm not a complete novice when it comes to mechanical stuff, but I'm closer to a novice than anything else. I only own basic tools (nothing car-specific), and I've only soldered one thing ever, way back in middle school shop class, so I definitely think I should leave this to the experts, though if I could do some of the taking-the-dash labor apart myself with minimal tools and save significantly on the labor, I'd consider doing that.

I apologize if I made any mistakes or etiquette faux pas in this first post on the forums.

 

Thanks. Is there somewhere I can find a list of the "many places" that give a lifetime guarantee on a rebuilt meter? Or even just one or two that people here have used and trusted? A lifetime guarantee is only worth the integrity and length of the business, and I have no idea who is actually reputable. Buying a bad part could wreck my car.

I'd also appreciate a link to a detailed step-by-step video. I've watched a few, but they skip some or all of the steps of actually removing the combination meter from the car. I did read through the thread about repairing it yourself, but I don't remember seeing a video in that thread.

I heard that it's an hour or two of labor on either end. But that's assuming you have the strength and don't break anything. I replaced a broken turn light in my old car, and what was supposed to be a five-minute fix took my friend and I over an hour because the plastic was brittle and it was so hard to undo the coupling (and even harder to get the new one into place) without breaking it. So is this an hour or two for regular people or mechanics?

I'm terrible with anything liquid (glue, paint, etc.), and I don't relish the thought of dripping hot solder on myself, so if I do any DIY, it would definitely be the "order one online and install it myself" route. But if it's going to take me ten hours on either end, it might be worth the additional $300 for the cheapest local repair - again, assuming they're reputable.