Did you buy it in NC?Can"t be much to it.You are just wrapped up in it so much right now.Go work on something else to get your mind off it.It's going to be fixed before long.I bet David could fix it in 2 hours if it wasn't under warranty.If you bought it from a dealer it's surely has a 90 day warranty.That's why I alway's buy a car close to where I live lol.As a matter of fact our mini van is at the dealer now getting some things fix.And yes they will stick it to us like they alway's do.They will get at least 100 out of us even with a warranty.It's called a "stick it to um after the warranty" warranty. :lol:

I don't fix oil leaks . . . I make 'em.   :lol:  It keeps the dust down around where I park.  It also makes the surface of the water turn pretty colors when it rains.  As a bonus, when I retire I'm going to drill for oil in my back yard.  

lol oh lord.

Are these shops VW repair shops or general import shops ?  Is this a "dog house" cooler or straight up old style cooler (60s) ?  The reason i'm asking  there are several types of cooler seals. Some will not interchange and its easy to install the wrong ones if you are not on the ball. Of course this is if your cooler itselve is not the culbrit and the case is not cracked.

It can't be that hard to find,could it? :oops:

I know of at least 3 different types of cooler seals for the old style . The dog house cooler used just one style unless the case was older. The normal dog house use 4 seals, 2 in the case and 2 on the cooler housing.
  I find oil leaks from head studs hard to belive. I would belive if that were the case,most of the leaks would blow out the bottom of the engine and all over the driveway and not on top as you have said. Even if the gaskets on the clylinder bases would blow out the bottom. I have seen cly. base gaskets seep,but not making the mess like you stated.
  If I were doing the job I would look at the cooler and( maybe replace the damn thing anyway) , check the housing, inspect the crankcase for a crack around that area.
  You could even test run the engine out of the car with the fan shoud off to watch whats going on. I have done this before by using a box fan to help cool the engine. You can run it for short times without overheating.
 Cracks in the case are hard to see sometimes until the engine is heated up then they open up and start leaking.
   If you don't want to do all of this,you could give the car back if possible. I guess it depends if you are having a affair the car and want to keep it . Could you get the seller to discount the price of the car enough to cover the cost of repairs ( engine case if needed) and fix the damn thing youselve ? At least you would know what you had. :roll:

Sorry I'm a little late to this topic, but maybe I can help. I had a '98 Mexican Beetle for around 2 years, until Emissions Testing came to Hamilton County and the bastards wouldn't pass it because it didn't have the OBD II computer. Sold it on ebay for $500 more than I originally paid, so all's well... Check the galleries under "Misty and Anthony's stuff" for pics.
Anyway, I tore into the engine compartment a couple of times, notibly for an alternator replacement. The oil cooler is a doghouse-style, and as near as I could tell, is the same piece as used in the '70s. The car had the same smoking issue at startup, just once in a while, depending on where the valves were when the engine was shut down. Don't worry about it. To help clear up from previous posts, the engine is very similar to the F.I. engines in the late-model Beetles, a 1600 DP, but the FI system has been heavily updated. Otherwise, it is very similar to the older cars' engines and any competent VW mechanic should be able to work on it. Get the right guy on it, and you'll be happy again. Other than the alternator, mine was always reliable.