3G iPhone won't switch on, losing mind?

Okay, so it began with random shutdowns before eventually going into recovery mode, I attempted a system restore but it looped, then my battery runs out and now I can't even charge it. Worse still, I've just now learned about iRecovery!

The phone was handed down to me, it's cracked but it worked fine until now… Now I want to choke someone with it… And 18 years from now I will be teabagging the last T-800 as Skynet burns.

A similar thing happened to my 3rd gen iPod a while ago, so i took it to the apple store (you can book an appointment online) and they said it had water damage and i would have to pay to get a new battery if i wanted it to work again, but the battery cost almost as much as the iPod itself, so i didn't do it, now it won't turn on at all and is no use.
To get help instore, go to the Apple website, click support, click contact support, click visit an Apple retail store, choose a country or region, click the blue writing under the desired location, click Genius Bar, make a reservation at the Genius Bar.
There are other options e.g. Talking to them on the phone or posting on the support community.
Hope this helped