I'm in the same boat. *Just got this 2011 iMac 27" and the video card is bad.
Apple will not repair free, $576 @ local Apple store. I called APPL corporate, they guy looked into it and said "no". I even emailed tcook@apple.com and asked for an exception. I believe it's *worth repairing, but I'll also want to add an SSD while the work is done. Still searching for a local repair service... Ugh.