Looks like the death knell hath sounded for my motor, so i'm trying to consider my options here; i'm already into it for a few bucks as some of you might remember.

Should my insurance company be involved in this? Although i'm insured out the wazoo, i didnt know if this was insurance related, so i haven't mentioned anything as of yet...

i guess the options seem to be down to
1.8t
built 1.8t / 2.0t
or something special... (specifically an '01 2.5L TDI v6 w/ full 6-sp quattro tranny)

i'm just not sure what's feasable given NoVA emissions rules, etc, and

It would in my mind be almost a crime to spend the money required to go back to essentially stock trim :(

First off, I'm guessing it'd be a warranty issue, not an insurance issue. Insurance would only be in play if this were the result of some sort of accident, vandalism, flood damage (depending on coverage).

I'm guessing no warranty, so:

Go BIG or bail out, IMO. Either:
A. Go w/ some sort of bigger/better engine, or get a hold of a 1.8T and go stage 3. That way when the car is done, you have a really nice, custom/project car, worth the money you've had to put into it. If it looks more like you'll go for a stock replacement, I'd lean toward:

B. Bail. Sell it as/is for parts. Either part it out if you want to manage it, or see if you could get anything from a salvage yard. If you are considering B, get prices on what you can get out of the car for as is, price out a comparable new car, and compare the difference to what it would cost to fix AND think about the risk associated with all of that work that would have to be done vs having a car out of the box or pre-0wned/assured.

If you are considering A, I would get on the phone w/ the guys over at Induktion, go over in some detail what you'd like to do, and see if they can run some rough numbers and possibilities back at you.

If B, I really don't know who to contact...maybe someone else here would know.

In any event, good luck.

honestly. thats what i'd do

don't want to seem to give up too soon, but i'm just exasperated. I had made a list of ish to do to get the car back in sellable condition, just so that it would be ready if i ever needed to do it, and that night it died on me.. karma ;)

if you go stage 3 now, say you need 2k for the motor, another 4k for the stage 3, exhaust, suspension, clutch, intercooler, etc etc etc. its just such a long list to hammer out at once. i dont think you should mod out of force

<ul><li><a href="http://www.eiptuning.com/eip/18t20vcompleteengines.html">eip built motor. I'm sure cost to much tho.</a></li></ul>