2003 Volkswagen Beetle drivetrain & axles problems

I was driving on the highway and as I was exiting the highway, my car shifted down very hard and the steering wheel jerked causing me to hit a guardrail. I took my car to a shop and had the body repairs done ($3910.00), and upon taking my car, it did the same thing again. I had it taken to a mechanic and he stated that it was a known problem with those vw's and they had a recall on it. My local VW dealership stated that they would not do anything for me because the warranty on the vehicle was up.

I have a 2003 volkswagen beetle convertible with auto and tipronic transmission. At about 64,000 miles the transmission started "slipping". As it would automatically change to a higher gear the change would slip and cause the engine to rev up until it changed into the next gear this would cause the engine to jump or lurch. When in the tiptronic manual mode the gear would slip also. Also when put into reverse it jumps in reverse and wants to accelerate back quickly.