B7 ECU problem

[TheWizardofOdds]

Hi, I'm looking for some help please. My wife's 2011 b7 passat estate left me stranded on Christmas eve. I'd noticed for a while that when trying to start the car the delay between pressing the key in and the car coming to life seemed a bit too long. On the 24th when I put the key in and tried to start it took maybe 5 to 10 seconds to start. I went to the shops, came out and tried to start the car. Nothing. I eventually got the rac out on 27th I think. The tech said it seemed like an ecu fault after a diagnostic check. He towed it to my vw indie garage. They got the car to start like the rac, but it cut out completely after a minute or so. They sent the ecu to a local company after telling me it was hella rusty. No dice. They returned it and it couldn't be refurbished. The garage told me it would be a grand or so from vw for the part, plus their labour.

In the summer of '20 I spent 2 grand on the car for a ton of work including timing belt, water pump, shocks, brakes, wheel bearing etc. It has covered 208k, it's a 2.0 tdi bluemotion estate. This car has cost me a frigging fortune, I've replaced damn near everything you can in nearly 6 years. Apart from everything, it's a beast, is great to drive, is great for the family etc it's killing me though.

The garage I sent it to are saying that they'll keep it in exchange for the work they've done, leaving us all square. To be fair, the car is a mess cosmetically, there are dents, scratches, etc They say that they've tried to replace 3 ecu recently to no avail with other Passats.I'm unsure what to do here. I am having second thoughts over the weekend. I can't replace this car for a couple of grand as they are generally about 4k upwards. I could get it recovered to my mechanic locally to try. It's hard to kiss goodbye to 2 k worth of work when the car has done 1500 miles in that time. I think I would be about 500 quid down just taking it to my mechanic, and then I'd need a new or reconditioned ecu and his time from there. He is very reasonable and is an old geezer, honest as the day is long. Should I give up on this car guys, or give it a go? Please give me advice on this. I've got the money to repair it, it just seems never-ending.