Volkswagen: Passat doesnt start, head gasket, white smoke

Question
Hi,

Last week my Passat (Manual-petrol- 2.0S-year 2001) started up slowly, but died after a minute or two- the brake peddle was locked and wouldn't depress at all- and there was a lot of grey/white smoke pouring from the exhaust each time I tried to restart.
The breakdown people didn't know what was wrong- and the garage say it may be a flooded manifold and I may need a new engine.
This seems rather extreme for a sudden non-start.
Is it possible (as they suggest) that this may have been caused by just going through a large puddle ?????

Answer
sadly it is possible, as the water gathers in the intake system. then when you try to start the car it "hydraulics" the engine. this is because water doesn't compress like air, and can cause the head gasket to blow, and bend the con rods. this effectively kils the engine. sorry to bear bad news.