Ouch. Your story makes me very sad. It's especially cringeworthy to hear of the loss of two good A4000 system in one go! You did nothing wrong - it's something I couldn certainly have fell victim to. I would definitely try getting these boards repaired if at all possible, especially if it's going to be covered by Belkin. All original Amigas are now a finite resource and should never be tossed until there is no last resort.
Even if you can't fix them, keep them for parts, or sell them on Ebay as damaged. There is always SOMEONE out there who needs some obscure Amiga part you never thought was significant to restore a working Amiga.
