Portion of Screen Does not Display -- Options?

Hi there, I have a 2010 11" MacBook Air. Right after the complementary 1 year of AppleCare expired, the screen stopped displaying on the left side for about ~200 pixels. It also has some vertical refresh issue, but that is nothing compared to the "dead" pixels on the left side. The "color" on the "dead" pixel area changes over time -- sometimes white, then goes to a grey shade, then complete black. Then it cycles through those shades again.

Any thoughts or suggestions? A repair place quoted ~$300, but I could get a refurbished MBA 11" for just a little more than that.

I have photos attached to more elegantly describe the issue.

A cheap solution I thought of is a utility that "re-sizes" your Mac's screen, so I could disable the area of the screen where the pixel issues are and have the display begin there. No idea if this exists, or how low-level of a hack that would have to be with software.

Thanks!