It unfair to see your gently driven car implode at 80k, especially given my towing and other "abuse" on my 175k car. I recently replaced the engine on my daughter's Golf with 123,000 miles. It has a 70k engine now. Her local dealer quoted $10,400 plus tax for a new long block installed and $8400 plus tax for a used engine from LKQ. Labor alone was $2600! I KNEW that I didn't want a dealer to do the work. So, I rented a U-Haul truck and trailer then towed the car 225 miles to my local mechanic. U-Haul rental and gas was <$400, BTW.
He quoted "not to exceed $6500" installed and his quote included a new timing chain, tensioner, and rear main seal. I added additional parts such as an IS20 turbo upgrade, new injectors, water pump/t-stat/housing, radiator
(leaking), and an intake cleaning to bring the total to just under $10k. The car is in excellent shape (engine aside); so, I hope it will last a long time.
I recall looking at new engines when her engine first failed. At the time, a new long block listed for $5900 plus tax and shipping. Just two weeks later, the same online dealer was listing a "coming soon" part for $8400 plus tax and shipping. So, I consider $10k for an installed new engine to be a good price, albeit one that you should not have to face with such a young car.
Still, $4000 is $4000. Could you be happy again with used engine? If you sold your car, what would you replace it with? I don't know if you're a VW fan or if you'd jump ship, perhaps in total disgust of what has happened. There are other cars that I've considered as my next car, but I think they'd be less satisfying than my GTI. I think I'm done with buying or "building" sporty cars, though. So, I hope to stretch my GTI's lifespan to its fullest! I created a video to share my thought process and shared it at
.
Good Luck!
