Can you get a "freebie" iphone with no warranty?

Kay so, i have the iphone 3gs & i recently dropped it & cracked the screen. I then went to amazon.com & got a replacement screen & followed the directions as to how to put it back on & change it or whatever.. however, i can't figure out how to actually connect the screen & idk what i did. butt anyways my one friend told me that her boyfriend did the same & he went to the apple store & he had no warranty & they gave him a brand new phone. could i do the same?