I wonder if their has been any recall or tech bulletin or other unusual 
policies or offers by VW regarding heads, because:

My local VW dealer service dept. just determined that my head gaskets are 
goners, and are checking for any related problems, like condition of the 
heads now. Interestingly, they offered to contact VW regarding having 
them pay for 50% to 80% of my costs on this problem. I appreciate their 
offer but now wonder if they're doing it because of some problem or 
obligation they're aware of or if I'm sort of a special case.

Problem:

Recently I had a temp light and gauge start maxing out, suggesting 
overheating. Initially coolant levels looked fine. A few days later I had 
very thick smoke coming out of the 1985 Westy with a water vapor odor. At 
that point, there was zero fluid in the refill and expansion tanks. This 
was refilled without following the tilting guidelines and phosphate free 
admonitions. When I learned of these I had the dealership tow the vehicle 
in to give it a proper check (hopefully).

I understand that it's possible that overheating may have damaged or 
warped the heads and gaskets in the process of releasing the smoke/steam. 
The heads were replaced two to three years ago. My mileage was about 
133,000 at the time the heads were fixed, and ais about 155,000 now. This 
seemed to be a factor in the Vw dealer's decision to seek from VW an 
offer to pay a portion of the costs.

Is this standard procedure?  What guidelines govern their policy as to 
how much VW will pay for variouos things? Do they actually owe more for 
any reason? 

TIA

James Cook
1985 Westphalia
San Francisco Bay Area