Timing Belt broken at 30,000 on my 2002 Jetta
Last week the timing belt broke on my 2002 Jetta TDI. The car had 161,000 on it and I thought it was going strong. I thought it would be the last car I owned. I had had other diesel Rabbits, Golfs and Jettas. I take very good care of my cars. I had changed the oil at all the recommended times, etc. My last Jettas went over 250,000 but rusted out. They were a 1985 and 1986.
I was going up a slight hill in 3rd gear and all of a sudden the engine locked up. Fortunately I was near a home. I called our mechanic to see what he thought. He asked me to try to start the car again as he believed he knew what it was. The lower engine was trying to start but to no avail.
I had the car towed to the garage. The engine head was disassembled and it looked like there was damage done to the valve stems as they were bent.
My question is , does anyone think that it is good to try to order a new full cylinder head or a full engine? I found one online that matched the ALH engine code. They are asking $3250 for it.
I have been advised by several people not to waste the money in fixing it up. My problem is is that this car is in very good condition otherwise. It never lost a drop of oil between oil changes which a 1998 TDI Jetta I had did do that.
This car has the heated seats, sunroof and a CD player cassette. Tires that are in very good shape, plus snow tires not on rims in very good shape. The car handled so well and it didn't have any rust except for a little starting on the edge of the front hood, which could be easily fixed.So you can see why I'm torn between these two options.
I have test driven a couple of TDI's in our area. One is a 2013 with only 25,000 mi. on it. They want $17,000. Another one is a 2009 TDI that has 51,000 mi on it and they want $14,500. So it boils down to the question if anybody would fix up a 2002 if they had one???
Thanks for your help.