It's threads like these that make me wonder - what has our family done right that our FGCs are reliable ?
. No really, since about a decade ago we've only had BMWs and VW group products and they've been fine. The 2010 X5 diesel had teething problems the first 6 months then smoothed out (was my father's lease). My dad's 2013 VW Tiguan is approaching 150k without issue.
That said, 10 years (about 220k km) is about the point where the original equipment starts falling apart from wear-and-tear......bringing with it the costs of repair. But 10 years is pretty good for our standards. After that I'd swap cars.......that's the lifespan I'm willing to go for on a FGC- not that I'd buy one again.
Having lived here now, I will say that "tying everything together" seems to be a German mentality because they think it makes things easier. "Oh, with just one input, everything is accomplished ! Very simple ! "
My response:
"But when something doesn't work, it takes hours to figure out"*blank stare* "No, it is easier, because you only need to have one input, the rest is linked....."
"No, you don't understand, it's harder to troubleshoot when it goes wrong.......you don't know what is causing an error" 
*blank stare*
I do wish you luck with sorting out the TT, although it is disturbing but I guess not unexpected given the rarity of your vehicle in Canada. Parts probably won't be cheap either......
If it makes you feel better, I have a Peugeot and it's been fine. But generally speaking, French cars make German cars look reliable !
(The good thing is that they can be generally driven half-broken though)
