I came here hopefully looking for some advice and/or an opinion with regard to my '07 Passat. Purchased new/used about 5 months ago, had it inspected at a VW dealer which other than some upcoming maintenance items there were no issues, also performed oil change.

A month later when the temp outside dropped (live in Northern Ohio) the oil pressure alarm/light would come on when going around a steep entrance ramp to the highway but would go off almost as quick as it came on. This happened 4 or 5x's.

Two weeks after the alarm first came on was driving through town when the alarm began to go off, the oil can light began flashing and it didn't go off. I immediately pulled into a Napa Auto Parts store, popped the hood and checked the oil. I could not get an oil reading, dip stick was barely moist. The engine was cold as I had literally turned it on and drove about a mile before the alarm began to sound.

An employee at the store came out and also checked the oil and said the same thing, there was no oil in the car. I explained that I had the changed about a month and a half prior, there were no oil spots on my driveway so how could this be! We added 4 qts of oil, turned the car on and everything was okay. The engine was noticeably quiet.

Fast forward another month and a half, was driving down the highway when my car began making this sickly noise, the alarm came on intermittently and would then go off, the oil can light was flashing. I drove a few miles looking for an auto parts store or someplace that I knew would carry oil as I figured that was the problem. Found a store bought the pure synthetic oil 5w30, checked the oil and it was @ the min line so I added about 2 qts. I noticed sludge when removing the engine cap to put the oil in and also some on the dip stick. Adding oil did not resolve anything, the engine would turn on but it sounded bad. I had the car towed to a mechanic (on a Sunday); the next day he called and said he started the car right up and it sounded fine, it was quiet. It was only after it ran a while did it start to sound bad. He feared that my car would not be repairable but that he would look at things closer.

They ended up replacing the oil pan, some tubing and a screen as well as the oil filter which he said was caked with something he could scrape off. When I picked up the car he asked that I drive the car and touch base with him every couple hundred miles to let him know how things were going, which I did. Car was running good, checked the oil once a week and all was well. A week ago today a checked the oil, my normal weekly thing, and it was just below min., filled the frat little circle at the bottom of the dip stick. I checked it 3 times just to make sure and the engine was cold. I added just under two qts of oil as that was all that I had at the time. Drove the car around town on two separate trips Friday evening, Saturday afternoon was driving for 10-15 mins on the highway when the car began making this faint ticking noise almost like Morris code. I could feel the vibration in the gas pedal. It was something that I never had experienced before so I quick began recording the sound knowing I am terrible at describing car noises. There were a couple quick pauses in the ticking and the last time the ticking stopped the car shut down, the engine stopped, I pressed the accelerator and nothing, I looked at the dash, an EPC light came on and then the red battery light which indicated I had no power. I pulled off onto the shoulder and sat for a minute in "what the heck just happened land!" There was no smoke, no funny smells, the car just stopped. I got out popped the hood, everything look good, again no smoke, no smell....strange. I pulled the dip stick twice and there was no oil! I got down on the ground, looked under the car and there was no dripping.

I call my x husband and a tow truck....about 15 mins later a nice motorists stopped to see if I needed help. I explained what had happened. Turns out he owns a car dealership so he knew about cars. He looked on the instrument panel, checked the oil, looked under the car and said there is no oil in the car but no leaks. My x said the same thing.....he tried to start the car and the engine would not turnover. I had the car towed back to the mechanic who had fixed it a few weeks ago. I had put 2k miles on the car since it was repaired, it was running great then all of a sudden this! I spoke with the mechanic this past Monday and the first thing that he said was I told it was a 50/50 chance that the car would be okay and that he for sure thought the car was dead.

Today he called me and informed me that the engine had blown, that there was too much oil in it. I was shocked and explained how I checked the oil less than 24 hrs prior to it dying on the highway, that the dip stick read a smudge below min and that I added a little less than 2 qts of oil. He then told me that I added too much oil! I should have only added a qt and that there was a quart too much in the car. Earlier in the week I told him that same story and that when the car died not only me but two others checked the oil and there was NO oil in the car.

So my questions are, how is it possible for an engine to go from not having any oil to having a qt too much? Why if there was a qt too much was it not seeping out, why did the dip stick not shoot out of the dip stick holder which in turn would have sprayed the excess oil over the inside hood of my car? Why was there no smoke, no smells? I am a single mother of three, going back to college after 20 years to get a Bachelors of Science degree. I paid cash for my car so that I could not have a car payment, affording me the opportunity to not have to work and be a full time student. At this point I don't know who or what to believe, something just doesn't add up. I looked into replacing the engine with a used engine that has a 6 month warranty. This would be a lot cheaper than a $300 a month car payment. I don't care about resale value, I just need it to make it 3 years until I graduate! My car had 154k miles on it, the car aside from the current problem is a good car and did I mention it was paid off The garage where my car is at, the place that repaired it, it is a small garage. They quoted me a price to replace the engine (with a new one) for 7500+labor and so on.

Whatever advice anyone could offer I would REALLY appreciate it!!! If you need any additional information before giving any feedback, I can provide whatever you need to know. Thank you in advance for your time!!!