Well, you know why you bought it cheaply, so I'd say: don't be ashamed!
It sounds like they just want to sell their own instruments. Remember, you can buy a bridge and fine tuners separately.
The violin repairer you're going to might be snobbish too, but, hey, you're paying for those repairs too!

I'm a poor student myself, so if I want to buy an instrument, it'll have to be either a cheap one or I'd be in for a very, very long wait (which is why I bought a Chinese viola for about 150 Euros on e-bay recently!).
That said, a quality instrument usually plays a lot easier...

Letty