Ken wrote:
> I took it to the local dealership and the problem was diagnosed
> as a faulty turbo that would cost $1,500+ to replace. I was
> dumbstruck. There went all the fuel savings for the life of
> that car and more.

You bought a turbo car in order to save fuel ?

> However a second opinion from a local non-VW mechanic suggested
> that the essential problem was a defective waste gate valve
> on the turbo. After many hours of searching it was apparent that
> Garrett (the maker of the turbo) and/or Volkswagen had made sure
> that replacing this valve was not possible.

> Obviously they wanted to sale a $1500 turbo rather than a lousy valve.
> So they get my perfectly good turbo, clean it up, paint it, replace
> the valve and resale it for $1500.

You just said it can't be replaced. So how can they replace it and
re-sell it?

> What a racquet!!!

You can play tennis with it?

>In my book this thievery.

Go to a mechanic who specializes in turbos.
Even if you don't want to fix that valve, you could disable it
and install an external wastegate.