I just thought I'd share about my most recent endeavor to keep my car going. My 2001 VW Beetle TDI flipped to 341,000 miles back in July. It was still running the original clutch. One morning on my way home from work I stopped at a store one mile from home. Got back in the car and immediately felt something different in the clutch, just didn't feel right so when I got it home I told Tony I have to park him til further notice and started driving my 19 frontier 4x4. I called three independent VW mechanics to see what they would charge for a clutch job and was quoted over $4000! Not! So I did some research for parts and ordered a clutch kit, new motor and trans mounts, and a few new tools I'd need.  Parts came in and I just began taking things apart, labeling every part in a Ziploc bag. Pulled the tranny out in the driveway lying on gravel. Surprisingly, the clutch disc wasn't too bad but the release bearing had disintegrated. It took me a few weeks of working for a few hours at a time but last week I got everything reassembled and have now put 500 miles on its new clutch. I had been having some shifting issues I attributed to age and wear but they all resolved. It shifts better than when it was new. So for $900 I did the work and saved over $4000. I am so glad to have my fahrvergnügen back, not to mention 50mpg+ instead of 18mpg in the truck. I've rebuilt a diesel engine before but I've never pulled a tranny and this was more physically demanding on my bones.  Not bad for a nerdy queen. Instead of buying a trans jack I used one of those airbag jacks. I am impressed at how well it worked. I just bought a second one to connect together and be able to raise a whole side of the vehicle at once for tire rotations.  Just a little good news instead of focusing on the bad....I just hope my turbo holds up for a good while before I have to change it out. I still love my car!

Great job, Greg!  I know the original air cooled Beetles are fairly easy to work on, but have no idea about whether the same applies to the newer generation.  Your determination is admirable.  I wouldn't take on a repair like this anymore, for a few reasons.  If I could, I'd tackle my 2003 Subaru Baja's clutch and shifter, which totally suck even after major repairs a couple of years ago.  Maybe it's a Subaru thing, but I kind of doubt it.