Update:
Called Alpine in Torrance on the 28th to inquire about an estimate, confirm they received it etc. They claimed that they had no record of receiving it. Delivery confirmation on the USPS web site said that it had been delivered on the 24th. I decided to let the issue go through the weekend, all the while worried it was "lost" and I'd have to fight with them re: getting them to pay for a new one.

Yesterday morning (Sat) I got a call from a tech in New Jersey telling me he had my unit and I needed to send them a check for $320 for a new LCD screen. So I am. I mentioned that Torrance told me they never received it and he basically told that they are all F&*^%ed up all the time. So what happened is that they did receive the item, and then sent it to NJ without making any notation in their system as such.

So, contrary to what I was told, all these units are fixed in Jersey and not Torrance. I will post more when I get my unit back.