Is it worth getting a new Apple Watch?

So I have been using my AppleWatch Series 3 religiously- it has been a great addition to my personal apple family, but unfortunately, the watch band it came with must've been worn down because earlier this week I was going for a walk, and simply pulled my wrist out of my very open pocket and SMACK - the watch band disconnects and the watch falls face first on the sidewalk. The screen chipped in the corner (as is expected with the rounded edges) and was not responding when I touched the screen, but the screen visuals and general hardware itself was still working in prime condition. Luckily for me (or so I thought), I had AppleCare+ which is valid up until today. So I went ahead and messaged Apple Support about the issue, and they recommended I go to the store for an in-house repair. Knowing what the Apple store experience is usually like, I figured it might be worth calling ahead to see if it would even be worth driving into the city during the busy Christmas shopping season because I know that many of the parts needed for the apple watch are not usually kept in-house. Once I called ahead and wasted about 30-45 minutes getting rerouted from one customer support agent to another, I was then told that they had no idea if the parts were there because they don't work there and are unable to see their inventory, but she insisted that it was still worth my time to go in. So I did.

I was told that the watch couldn't be repaired in-house and that with my AppleCare+ (costing about $25+) I would have to pay an additional $75 to have the screen of my apple watch repaired. I was honestly amazed that I was being told to pay a collective $100 for a watch that was going on 5 years old. Especially when the AppleCare+ webpage says that screen damage repairs are priced at $29 (which is entirely reasonable). After expressing my amazement, the gentleman at the genius bar tried to sell me on buying a new watch for around $300, when asked what the differences between the watches were, he struggled to find a compelling difference worth spending an additional $200 on. Even telling me that the trade-in value for my watch was $0 and that they had been taking them in for recycled parts.

So putting Apple seemingly trying to nickel and dime its loyal customers for tech they won't even support and get free repair parts for aside, which of the new watches are recommended out there/ is it worth getting a new one or simply paying the disingenuous AppleCare+ price for the repair?

Please let me know your thoughts!

Sincerely,

Not a cranky boomer, but a fed-up zoomer.