So my 24-105 with 5D Mark III fell in the pool and was fully submerged. Both lens and camera stopped working. I sent both into Canon and they fixed the 5DIII for free under warranty. But they said that there was too much corrosion in the 24-105 and that it would cost me $400 in parts and $400 in labor to fix it. I politely declined since I purchased the lens for $800. I had an engineer friend look at it and he said that the computer chip is just corroded but everything else looks fine.

The lens is less than a year old (got it last Christmas) and it looks pristine on the outside, zero scratches or dents. What should I do? Is there a cheaper place to get it fixed than Canon? Where could I get that chip to replace it?

I read somewhere than if you have a lens that's beyond repair you could exchange it for a refurbished one with Canon for a cost.

Have any of you ever had a lens that was broken? How did you fix it?