That's a good point; my VW GTI got one at a local shop under insurance a few years back. The turbocharger wasn't hooked up quite right the first time. It wasn't a severe issue - the engine was just noticeably less powerful. Luckily it was a quick fix and they were very good about rectifying the issue, but yeah, what you're saying checks out, even in the outlier cases where a fix is covered.

(Humorously, in a chain of weird luck, I also had a full rebuild of a regular Golf engine in the same five year span, but that one was done at the dealer.)

I’ve got an LS6 build in process right now. Lots of us do it on the regular.

It’s not that common with shitboxes, but even then it happens. We swapped my kids Honda Civic’s head about a year ago after a blown head gasket.

I've just finished rebuilding my BP4W race engine for my mazda. It seems like an annual event for me considering the amount of power I'm pushing through the poor thing.