92 Passat Temp Gage

Just got my bomber back from VW after having a lot of engine seal work done
on it. The service rep and I and the mech discussed a problem with the
readings on the temp gage. They put a new thermostat in it and the water
temp is right at about 195F. The gage, on the other hand, reads just a hair
above 230F at this point. They had also put in a new temp sender and tried
a new gage, but the higher temp still registers.

After a long steady run (450+ miles at 70mph mostly, heater slightly on due
to a chilly Minnesota morning), the temp still shows about a half needle
width above 230, but doesn't go higher, no apparent overheat from the
engine. Engine cooling fan cycles for a while after shutdown and seems
normal.

The next thought is to lay in a separate lead from the sender to the gage
and see if that changes anything. The instrument panel did have to have
some solder points remade a month ago ( both the fuel and temp gages were
intermittent), but the resistor that is part of that circuit was not
replaced - should it have been? Or would that effect the temp gage?

Anyone run into something like this before?

Ed