Hey! I had sorta the same problem only mine would probably be worse. I called up some paint shop and the quote is ridicules (its even more exp than buying a brand new 1, considering a new 1 is 450 as 1 of the trader is selling it).
Anyway, like you, I dont really feel like spending that much on fixing it. Depending on how much you want to do, it can take VERY long to sand it down. Mine was turning yellow with bird shit size clear gone and I decided to sand it down to the carbon and get it re-coat. The end result was amazing. I never knew its this BLACK to begin with since I'm used to seeing it yellowish.
Anyway what I did was get a 160 to sand of the first few layers of clear (the previous owner obviously didnt sand it before he re-coat it as it feel like sanding 4786239463789 layers when I'm doing it). To cut everything short, it took me a good 8hrs to sand it down. Start with 160 or 180 and change to 240 when you're down to the thinest layer of clear. When you start seeing carbon or you're sanding black stuff, change to 2400 to make the whole thing smooth again. Make sure you've got the wet/dry type of sand paper as you'll need to sand it with water towards the end use of each grit size. Dont be too concern with how scratched it looks at the end. Pour some water over it and if it looks glossy, you'll be fine (thats how it'll look like when its coated).
It cost me around 130 to get everything done.
http://www.sauqld.com/ipb/index.php?showtopic=2248&hl=
Here's some photos of the after pic. Pity I forgot to take the before for comparison. Cheers!