How much should I expect to pay for a head gasket replacement on a 2000 VW Beetle?

Did you over heat the heck out of the car?

If you wanted to go the cheap route, all they do is remove the head and resurface it. Then slap it back on.

If the car overheated, then you also need to fix that too. Which is most likely the waterpump.

In the ball park of $1500 if done right, using factory parts.

Does it use coolant?

If it does then it probably is a head gasket. IF done properly should cost around $1500-$1600.

If it does not use coolant then you have another problem. If you live in a cold weather area and take mostly short trips (7 miles or less) then the oil never gets hot enough to evaporate the condensation leading to the "gunk" in the oil.

And you should be using nothing but full synthetic oil ! VW's really don't like conventional oil.

Either way take it to a VW specialist not some general shop that has a cheeper price.