hey guys, i'm new here......maybe it's the german in me but i recently fell in love with the audi tt! i am looking to buy a 2001 1.8 t 6speed quattro, silver.
i was reading reviews on edmunds and many people say it is a great car, but then there are just as many reviews that say to avoid the tt and that it is nothing but problems. i am scared that if i buy the car that it will break every other week like some people say. i know you guys are going to be biased becasue you own them, but please just give me the truth, do they break alot? is it something i should avoid? thanks in advance for all your help

 

I've got over 80,000 miles on my 2000 Quattro Coupe and I haven't had any problem that I would call major. Most of the money spent has been on modifications. On the 1.8T engines it is necessary to replace the timing belt and tensioner every 60K miles. Although Audi says replace it at 115K, there are numerous cases of failure at 70-80K. The consensus on the forums is to replace it at 60K or 5 years. This runs about $800-$900 US in an independant shop. If you are of the DIY ilk you can buy the kit for around $250.

The other weak point is the instrument cluster which fails at a fairly high rate. You read about this a lot on the forums, but for me it's hard to put a number on it, because the only time you hear about it is when it fails. Some can be repaired for $250 bba-reman.com, but many must be replaced at a cost of $1000 US. There are some people who have compained to AoA and gotten at least some shared cost.

Other than that there are always a few lemons out there that have had nothing but problems. But from my standpoint as long as you do proper maintenance the car is reliable. The engines are stout, stock suspensions are, well, stock. Most have gone to an aftermarket coilover suspension after a few thousand miles.

Lots of modification fun and it's still a rare enough car that you'll still get attention.

 

i admit, the TT is definitely an attention *****. as for modifications...

i usually do looks before i do performance.

 

i recently bought a 2000 180hp 5sp quattro..about a month ago. Depends who you buy it from. The previous owner had pretty much every service receipt and he took it to the dealer for service. it has 101k miles and seems to be in great shape.

His previous 'major' service included: gauge cluster because chime didn't work when door was open, rear control arms cracked while he was driving..so had that replaced..he replaced either the upper or lower rear control arms (the ones that haven't been changed before) at his own expense, MAF sensor and diverter valve replaced early in it's life.

right now the only thing that bugs me is the front and rear squeeking..front is prolly from sway bar bushings that need replacing/upgrading..the rear could be the sway bar bushings or the muffler mount..not sure yet. Also, the dome light doesnt work when you open the door..which is annoying..also, there is a dead line in the upper screen of the cluster..where it would show the symbols (low gas, etc)..which is annoying as well.

but those aren't major issues.

hope this helps.

 

^ sure, but did he have timing belt/water pump/belt tensior replaced in those 'major' services?

 

thanks for the info guys, i am really considdering this car now!!!! i want it so bad, it looks soooooo goooood!!!!!!!! what would i expect to run in the quarter mile stock?

 

Oops...yea he did i left out an important one! he changed timing belt/water pump etc at 62k

haha

 

are they pretty quick stock? what do you guys run in the 1/4 mile stock?

 

Stock 180 quattro coupe 15.3 1/4 mile
Stock 225 quattro coupe 14.7(or 14.3 can't remember) 1/4 mile

 

I have no idea what my 1/4 mile time is, I have waaaaaayyyy too much fun driving road racing courses. Not a lot on Hp, but I've spent a lot of money on brakes, suspension and tuning to make the handling at the track keep me competitive.