Hello all. I am serioulsy considering a 2001 TT Roadster 1.8 225 and am wondering what, if anything, you an advise me that I'd be getting into. Thank you in advance.

 

What's the service record? No record, no sale.
Timing belt and water pump must be replaced every 60,000 miles or so.
Any segments missing in the dashboard cluster? Known design flaw, fixed in later years.
Rear window famous for leaking, spilling water into the control module. So does the top go up, doors lock, etc? If not, module may be shot.
Original coolant temp sensor design flaky, but it's cheap to replace...

There are way better posts about all this on the boards, I just covered the most common ones.

Basically, if it's been maintained, it'll last 200K miles. If not, it'll last about 100K and blow an engine.
I bought the exact same model as your spec, decent maintenance record, and still threw $1500 parts at it. But that's OK, I just factored that on to the purchase price and still came out with a really nice reasonably-priced gem.

 

I came across a potential "gem" as well. It's a 2001 with the MT6 and twin exhausts, so I assume 225hp. Only 42k miles and no body dings or wheel rash. The owner bought it from a relative and has stored it the last 7 years, only minimally starting and driving it. The last part scares me the most. I already told him it needs a TB job and all fluids replaced, estimated at $2k. I have not had a chance to start, let alone drive the beast. He wants $13k; KBB shows $9.1k; and I told him I would consider $8k which he turned down. Thoughts??