Dropped ipod/buying cases

Question

m thinking about buying a 20 dollar leather case for my ipod but i already dropped it 3 times before finally deciding to buy a case
im worried that even though buying a case will guard against future drops, but the damage is already done and it would just stop working after a while because of the drops before the buying of the case
after dropping it 3 times(seperate times, not in quick sucession) it still works perfectly but recently the back of it was hot, and im afraid its already broken or on the way to being broke
what should i do here

Answer 1

I dropped an older ipod, 20 gig model, numerous times and it kept working for years. It did eventually die, perhaps natural causes, don't know, but I got a lot of use out of it.
When it died I tested the strength of the exterior shell, by throwing off a 8 foot landing onto concrete. It took 2 strong throws to split it open. But that being said the parts inside are very delicate, there is some foam padding to reduce impact vibrations.
I have the 160 gig classic now, and I use a silicone rubber case to protect it. ipods can withstand some abuse, but best to protect it as much as you can.
James