1997 Ford Explorer repair opinion

Hello. I am looking for an opinion of the following: I recently took my car (the above listed) to a local shop for a leak. (I have never done business with these people before, but this national chain franchise --rhymes with "Saamco" -- has been at that location for 3 years now, are AAA-approved, and have no BBB complaints against them).

It turned out that the car was leaking coolant, badly. $2200, and 1 new cylinder head gasket, and 1 repaired (along with a new water pump, and transmission flush for good measure), it is still leaking, although to a much lesser degree. I brought the car back in and after they inspected it, told me that this time it had something to do with the timing cover gasket. They think that since the engine pressure was re-calibrated (due to the head gasket repair), that the gasket couldn't take the pressure, and cracked. This would cost about $790 to fix, they said. However, the manager told me that at this point, the leak was pretty insiginificant and that I could probably ride with it like that for a few years before it got to be a problem. (He also told me that if I decided to get it fixed, he would knock a couple hundred bucks off of the bill).

What are your thoughts after hearing this?

I wish I could make a donation, but after repairs and Christmas, I'm kinda strapped!

Thanks so much for your help!

Also, for what it's worth: even though I bought the car new, they think the engine was remanufactured because it was painted grey? Is there anything I can do about this? What proof would I have?

Thanks again so much!