Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): Briggs & Stratton hole in engine block ?, john deere l100, briggs stratton

Question
I finally heard from my local repair shop that my 5 year old John Deere L100 has a hole in the engine block and will cost $1000 to repair.  I had it taken to the shop because when I went to start it this year (by jumping with a car battery), all I heard was a humming / buzzing from the battery.  I thought it might be just a solenoid, or perhaps a starter, but now they tell me they pulled the engine and found a hole in the block ?  I'm pretty meticulous about maintenance, so there is no way I was running the engine without oil (I drain it and the gas at the end of each year). They told me they found a small amount of clean oil in the engine - well, duh, I added a small amount before I tried to start it.  How can tell that I'm not being $crewed?  At $1000 I may need to buy a new one, and I thought a Deere would have lasted longer than 5 years.  Advice, please.

Answer
Hello Mike, what can I say? My experience has been if you really have a hole in your engine block; the shop cannot weld anything. It would be an oxymoran reason being is because of heat temperatures etc. Probably what your best bet is buy a new one and see if you cannot trade that one in. However, my hat is off to you because you know as well as I do preventative maintenance is the key.