[volksvater]

I looked at this car last night. Tt Roadster

Seemed like a great deal. 91K miles, 225 hp, bone stock. Just needs tires, some switches inoperable, and allegedly needs some front end work.
But there's just something really sketchy about the deal. It was supposedly given the the kid's father from an attorney as payment after the guy died. The kids who's selling it knows nothing about mechanics but offers suggestions about what his mechanic told him. And he's looking for a quick sale because he's going back to Mexico in a couple days....
Too bad. It's just what I'd want - a basically good car that just needs some sorting out.

 

[ttwsm]

Is it close enough to you to go and look at it in person? I have a coupe, not a convertible, but I can suggest a few simple things to look for...

• Try operating the convertible top. Also try raising and lowering the wind deflector. I believe replacing the belt that lifts the wind deflector is quite a pain in the ass - but of course it's do-able. The whole point of a convertible is to enjoy it with the top down, right? So it'd be good to verify that this all works.
• If you can, look under the car and try to gauge the corrosion on the suspension components. From personal experience, the difference between simple and difficult suspension work can come down to just how seized a bolt is. Tie rod ends can be straightforward to replace - unless there's a bolt that just refuses to come out...
• Open and close everything. Glove box, trunk bottom panel to access the spare tire, fuse box cover, everything with a door or a latch. I guess this is just a general suggestion, not related to specific common issues.
• Make sure you look at the instrument cluster with the car on. The center screen always goes, eventually. How far gone is this one, and can you live with it for a while as-is?
• Do you have VCDS, or can you borrow a computer and cable, to run a scan for codes? Again, I guess this is more of a general suggestion, but pulling codes after a test drive can obviously tell you a lot.

If it seems fishy, it probably is - but you're right, cosmetically it looks pretty nice in the pictures! And everything is fixable with sufficient time and/or money. Plus, any time something goes wrong, it's an opportunity to upgrade...

 

[ttwsm]

EDIT - I guess I was wrong about the wind deflector belt replacement - might not be so difficult after all...

 

[volksvater]

I checked the car out - twice. Some items the seller said didn't work were just a matter of reading the owner's manual. The only thing that is non-functional is the radio but I don't really listen to the radio in the car anyway.
The kid was in a big hurry to sell, but it was really his mom's car that she was giving him the money from. So we negotiated a really fair deal and drove it home. We took a spin around town and I'm pretty impressed for the money
It does need tires badly, probably a front end align, and there's a wheel bearing noise. I'll spend some time sorting it out and bringing maintenance up to date. I'll eventually do some suspension and brake upgrades, and possibly a stage 1 tune.

 

[ttwsm]

Awesome! Sounds like a nice find.

 

[volksvater]

If it seems fishy, it probably is - but you're right, cosmetically it looks pretty nice in the pictures! And everything is fixable with sufficient time and/or money. Plus, any time something goes wrong, it's an opportunity to upgrade...

So the title is a bit...complicated. There's about 3 people involved, all who just signed it over to the next person without re-titling or paying sales tax. I'm sure someone in the chain will be reluctant to fork over a few hundred in sales tax for a car they already sold.
So I applied for a non-resident registration in a state that doesn't require a title for cars over 15 years old. Everything done by the book. A bit of time to wait but I'm not in a hurry. A couple of the tires are threadbare and the others are dry-rotted (according to the Carfax, the last owner drove it 15,000 miles in the last 9 years) so I can't really drive it too far, until I get new skins and an alignment anyway.

 

[ttwsm]

Yikes glad there's a relatively simple solution to that title situation!

 

[rodhot]

looks good + be SURE of the timing belt assembly done by miles + time as it can cost $$$$ if anything in the system fails!! i did mine with an upgraded gates belt + even thou i did 2 on my 2001 jetta a member on the UK TT forum posted a fantastic pic heavy how to that i used, similar to my jetta but tighter working conditions.

 

[volksvater]

I have an appointment with my local tech. Timing belt will be on the list

 

[AZaudiTTowl]

How did it go with the title? What state did you use? Hope the cost of the TB didn't scare you off!! Expensive now, but a disaster when it fails!! The TB is the major reason for TTs to the junkyard!! Good Luck

 

[volksvater]

How did it go with the title? What state did you use? Hope the cost of the TB didn't scare you off!! Expensive now, but a disaster when it fails!! The TB is the major reason for TTs to the junkyard!! Good Luck

I went with a VT registration. Took about 4 weeks, but the Toadster is now sporting green plates. No title since VT doesn't title >15 year old cars. I'll re-reg it in RI next spring but still won't get a title since I believe 20 years is the cut-off here.

The car is at the shop right now, getting serviced along with rear brakes, yaw sensor repair, a new N75, Forge DV and a stage 2 remap while it's there. Tech says we can wait on the TB til this winter.

It ran well enough when I got it but I was not impressed with its pulling power. But my last TT was modded so I thought maybe it was just the way the cars are stock. Little did I know, it wasn't really boosting due to a bad N75! Can't wait to see how it runs when I get it back today. I expect it will pick up it's skirts and run!

 

[Vegas-RoadsTTer]

I can't believe your tech said to wait on the TB! He's an idiot! Anyone familiar with the Mk 1 TT knows the TB service is a 5 year 60K mile item and a failure will total your car! Since you can't prove when it was done last, get it and all associated parts (water pump, trensioner, etc) done NOW!!!

 

[AZaudiTTowl]

I went with a VT registration. Took about 4 weeks, but the Toadster is now sporting green plates. No title since VT doesn't title >15 year old cars. I'll re-reg it in RI next spring but still won't get a title since I believe 20 years is the cut-off here.

The car is at the shop right now, getting serviced along with rear brakes, yaw sensor repair, a new N75, Forge DV and a stage 2 remap while it's there. Tech says we can wait on the TB til this winter.

It ran well enough when I got it but I was not impressed with its pulling power. But my last TT was modded so I thought maybe it was just the way the cars are stock. Little did I know, it wasn't really boosting due to a bad N75! Can't wait to see how it runs when I get it back today. I expect it will pick up it's skirts and run!

Thanks for the quick reply!! Love her name "Toadster" with her green plates!! Did you have to take her to VT or was it done by mail? Did VT mail you the plates to a different state? Love the stage 2, but to me that means RPMs and sporty driving!! You sure you want to wait on the TB? High risk for a couple of months!!?? Just saying!!

 

[mdjenkins]

+1 on doing the timing belt now.

Only reason I can think a mechanic would suggest waiting is if they're too busy and need to schedule it later.

The rubber belt and seals on the gas hydraulic tensioner is why there's a shelf life. Plus, many people have been known to cheap out by reusing rollers and pumps and just replacing the belt. Those bearings are only good for so many miles.

Hell, the tensioner roller on the GTI my nefew bought was so bad, it had turned blue and was picking up material from the "new belt" the PO said he put on it.

Skip the tune and start with a known good belt job.

 

[volksvater]

My season with the Toadster may be ending sooner than later. I noticed a slipping clutch while under boost in higher gears. Even though there's a sticker under the bonnet indicating that a single-mass flywheel has been in stalled, I suspect someone neglected to break it in properly.

 

[USMCFieldMP]

Honestly, a clutch break in isn't as big of a deal as most people make it out to be, so I wouldn't put much stock in that being the real reason behind it. I'd drive it a little bit more aggressive, get some good heat in the clutch, harder shifts with less clutch slip, shifter closer to 3k rpm than 2k, and you might actually be able to work it back into submission.

Either way, pulling the trans on a Quattro car is nooooooot fun.

 

[volksvater]

When I had the clutch replaced in my TT coupe, my tech advised no RPM matching, no downshifts for the first 1500 miles. Otherwise the clutch would glaze over and he guaranteed it would be slipping. I've been driving some more and I've only had the clutch slippage under hard acceleration in 5th or 6th and over 4000 rpm or so. Otherwise, boosting in lower gears seems ok.

Another winter project.

 

[USMCFieldMP]

I disagree with the Tech - especially the 1500 mile part - but to each their own; I always rev match and use engine braking/downshifting to slow down. A lot of clutch break-in is antiquated info - like changing your oil every 3000 miles or that turbos need long gears to load them up and go fast. I tend to treat clutches like a brake pad break-in (Hawk's procedure specifically) or like seating piston rings. I'm on an upgraded OE clutch (Sachs w/ heavier pressure plate) in my Cobalt SS. It was at 400hp when I broke it in, was seeing full boost rips within 50 miles, and is now at 500 hp with no signs of slipping. 8000 miles.

The clutch that I just put on the 1.8t in my GTI will be broken in during the 40 mile drive to the racetrack. 😂

I suspect that the real issue you're having isn't the clutch disc's fault, it's that the pressure plate is too light. We had similar issues with OE clutches (again, Sachs) on the early Cobalt SS's ( which are Saab 9-3 engines/clutches/transmission) and the things that I outlined in my last post was how we always worked them into submission. It actually made things worse to drive the car less aggressively.