You could lower the parts cost by about $200 maybe more by deleting the thermostat replacement. Probably nothing wrong with it anyhow. I didn't replace mine just "excersized" it to make sure it wasn't stuck open or closed. 12k mi later its working just fine. Its a simple device that doesn't necessarily need replacing. If the proper coolant has always been in your car and it looked okay(not brown, thick, etc) and if cash is tight I would forget it. Tell them to check it first and if you aren't 100% sure ask them to show you why it needs replacing before they pull it out. Due diligence my friend and you can whittle that price down here and there. Good Luck! Keep us posted.

I am actually not going to replace the thermostat (unless stuck closed). The price above does not include replacement of it....

Ouch! Sorry to hear that man. Never a cool thing to have to spend that kind of money just to have it perform like it should. That kind of cash should be spent improving it. I feel for you.

Looks like its gonna work out well.......my wifes uncle owns a VW dealership....we worked out a good deal....

looks like i'm gonna do that chip this weekend as well....

Thanks for everyones help...

Glad to hear that man. WHEW!! Sometimes marriage isn't so bad after all eh?

Rather than clog the boards with a new post, I figured I would bump this one. The waterpump and timing belt were replaced. But, still don't have heat....any suggestions?

My 02 1.8t is in the shop as we speak, I brought it in for no heat at heater core. $1,700 later I have new rear brakes and e-brake cable, new timing belt, tensioner and waterpump, oil change and coolant flush paying particular attention to heater core which was clogged after some coaxing gave up some gunk and is now running freely.

The next day the car was back in the shop with no heat! I was on the shop floor when they flushed the core again and it did puke out more gunk. The guy showed me how to bleed the system and still we got no heat! The service dept. told me the old water pump impeller was toast and missing pieces. I did the o-ring flange and temp sensor over the summer so thats all ok, what I'm worried about is a piece of broken impeller lodged somewhere and blocking water flow to my heater. I am at their mercy and I am worried.

Any thoughts from the collective?

When I pulled my impeller out of the housing it was in two pieces. I think that it is pretty common for them to break into 2-3 pieces from what i've read and they would be much too large to actually get deeply into the core and cause blockage. Your situation could be different however with them telling you it was missing pieces. Did they save the pieces for you to look at? If not why? Also if they knew it was missing pieces that should have clued them to the fact that the missing piece(s) are still in the system and they should have anticipated a problem similar to what you're having. After spending the kind of money you have I find it utterly careless, reckless and dimwitted that they did not thoroughly test the vehicle before returning it to you. I would be PISSED OFF!! Especially since they knew or should have known(that they didn't actually boggles my mind) that those "missing" impeller pieces do not belong in the system. Raise hell man. Wish you luck, keep us posted.

Sorry crzyfckup forgot about your post...
My car after I replaced t-belt and pump did not have heat for a few hours afterwards because there was an air pocket in the heater core. It worked itself out without me doing a thing. Pretty common because the heater core sits higher than the rest of the cooling system and it's naturally the place the air would "hide-out". Monitor the level in your resevoir. If the air pocket is indeed working itself out of the system you will notice that your fluid level in your resevoir drops. Monitor that and fill as necessary with G-12 coolant only! If it does not work itself out have it serviced. Good luck.

I don't actually know if those pieces are in there, I was told that the impeller was in bad shape. It's me who thinks pieces are in there clogging up the system. The heat worked when I left the shop, everything was fine on the way home. It wasn't until the next day the heat stopped working.

I'll try to play nice as long as possible, so far these guys have been good to me. I'll know more later today and if it's bad I'm gonna go nuts on the service manager.