Sorry you've had such a ****ty experience
I was reading/replying with Tapatalk so I didn't see you were a Brit
I've got to assume it's quite a different situation in the UK, I could see german cars/parts being more reasonable than Fords. Here in the states VWs, Audis, BMWs, and Mercs are probably the most expensive cars on the road to own and maintain.
It can be a headache even finding an American mechanic who's willing to work on German cars like that. The mechanic I've been going to for a few years will only do basic stuff like oil changes, air filters, tires, etc on VW's but he will tear into just about any project on a Ford or Chevy
) I usually end up at a VW specialty shop for anything in-depth because of the array of special tools required and various gotcha's on German cars.