8N Audi TT 3.2 Quattro... an accidental purchase

[Cambs_Stuart]

That's a fantastic colour combination. I think it'd spend all my time seeing how shiny I could make it!

[Craikeybaby]

Very nice. An ex-colleague used to have one in a lifeboat orange could, which also looked really good. It did have a very expensive DSG failure though. At your sort of miles though I would like to think that the problem part has already been replaced/proved itself not to be a problem though.

[Scoobydrew95]

There's a very neglected 54 plate one of these sat across from my house. Hasn't moved in the 2 years i've lived here. Always wanted to drive one of these to see how they compare to my 2.8Q A4.
Anyway, looks absolutely lovely! Looking forward to further updates.

[J4CKO]

Merlin purple is the best colour on these, glad to see that manufacturers are doing more purple cars.

[fflump]

Bright Halo said:

What an amazing colour.
That will be ideal for a nice road trip.

Is that boot spoiler the standard one on a 3.2? Suits it anyway.

Lovely example of a well cared for mk 1. Future classic. I wonder what it cost.

Is the spoiler not on all TTs since the first ones were subject to a recall due to aerodynamic instability?

[Scoobydrew95]

fflump said:

Lovely example of a well cared for mk 1. Future classic. I wonder what it cost.

Is the spoiler not on all TTs since the first ones were subject to a recall due to aerodynamic instability?

Think the 3.2s had a slightly larger spoiler then the rest of the TTs? Along with the different vented front bumper.
However, i did see one the other day without a wing! It was quite weird.

[MisanoPayments]

Yes the 3.2 spoilers were slightly larger with a non-body-coloured add on, to put it technically :-)

[mwstewart]

Plus from memory there's an additional skirt on the front bumper with a couple of vents fore of each front wheel.

They had a honeycomb mesh rear diffuser as well, didn't they?

[Hoofy]

Congrats.

How does it drive compared to your S3?

[RS Grant]

Thanks for all the comments...a lot/all of them mirror my feelings about the colour combo, it looks fantastic and it doesn't look like the original owner stopped their assault on the options list after that either.

I found this 2005 MK1 Audi TT brochure online: Clicky

Although my car is a 2004, I'm sure the pricing would have been largely similar the year before. But while there isn't a price for the Audi Exclusive leather option, it was still >£35000 at retail price, quite punchy in 2004!

Plate transfer is taking a little longer to complete and while I'd like to get the car ASAP, I'm also in no rush. The current owners are a lovely couple and I don't want them to worry about it taking longer than initially agreed, so I've said we can push the collection back into the second week of June to allow them to get everything sorted out with their new TT. Hoping to get something sorted during that week though as I'm away for a period after that and it would push collection back into mid-July, but again, there's no rush for me so I will just play it by ear.

[RS Grant]

MisanoPayments said:

Great car, and what a way to have seen one! Very envious as I last month sold my MK1 3.2 manual (Mauritius/Anis) for a Golf 1.5T.

What a great colour Merlin is. I'm trying to think what colour the interior is and the only one I can think of is Alabaster white.

If I remember correctly the steering wheel, gear knob, handbrake and knee pads in the same colour as the leather was called the Controls Pack.

Enjoy the car, look forward to updates!

Finding out the official name for the interior colour would be helpful as down the road I'd like to look at getting the seats cleaned up/refurbished; either having a crack at it myself or paying a professional for the pleasure and I would need to know what colour they were aiming for.

So far my Google'ing has turned up: Ecru, Silver White, Champagne and Vanilla... and then subsequent image searches turn up a wiiide variation of photos/colours under these names.

[d_a_n1979]

That's lovely; what a superb colour!

[RS Grant]

Danm1les said:

Lovely colour combo. I had a manual 3.2 a few years ago and loved it, my partner had a 225 manual at the same time. Was quite the driveway

They swerve the nasty road tax too I believe? Unlike the Golf R32 equivalent.

I haven't actually checked road tax yet!! But being pre-2006, I assume it will stay away from the ultra juicy ~£700 a year rate.

I did check insurance for it and I've no idea why it's so comically low, but these were the top three quotes...

Untitled by Grant F, on Flickr

[RS Grant]

CSK423 said:

Looks like Perth Audi ? Great dealership and big lover of S/RS models.

Lovely looking TT and different from the usual silvers you see although this shape is becoming a rare sight.

Cupid-stunt said:

That's what I was thinking.
Is the car local to here??

Great VW/Audi specialist up in Lochty if you need some work done on it.

Well spotted!! It is Camerons, which is the dealer they purchased the car from ~16 years ago and the dealer they are buying the replacement TT from. I've suggested that a photo with both cars together on collection day would be quite a nice thing to have, so hopefully the dates line up for us to make that happen.

Who is the specialist in Lochty? I've got a trusted guy for spannering, but sometimes having a dedicated marque specialist to call upon is worth it's weight in gold from experience.

[RS Grant]

LARK F1 GTR said:

Very nice! The colour is fantastic!!

Please say you'll be lowering it a touch though, the rear is really high (I know they sit comically high at the back lol)

It's not going to end up scraping-the-ground low.. but it will absolutely not remain at it's current altitude either.

[RS Grant]

Craikeybaby said:

Very nice. An ex-colleague used to have one in a lifeboat orange could, which also looked really good. It did have a very expensive DSG failure though. At your sort of miles though I would like to think that the problem part has already been replaced/proved itself not to be a problem though.

Yeah there are a few known areas to be careful of.. the timing chains, DSG DMF and corrosion being the biggie's which I've read about.

[mcpoot]

Owned my 2004 Cherry Black 3.2 for 7 years until the DSG box had problems. The cost of repairing it meant selling was the only sensible option particularly as the timing chains were also outside tolerance and rectifying that is an engine out job.
Car was over 125,000 miles when I sold it so not a youngster.

If you're not already a member I can recommend joining www.ttforum.co.uk. It's a great source of TT knowledge.

[RS Grant]

mwstewart said:

Plus from memory there's an additional skirt on the front bumper with a couple of vents fore of each front wheel.

They had a honeycomb mesh rear diffuser as well, didn't they?

They do.. I think the run-out Quattro Sport edition with the 1.8T engine came with the V6 bodywork tweaks as standard too.

[SamG40]

Good colour. Have a read of this and the forum posts contained within before entertaining the idea of doing the chains, it would seem a lot of people have done them unnecessarily. I've changed to the oil recommended and my chains have never been quitter, do not use the long life stuff specified by Audi.

https://www.ttforum.co.uk/threads/engine-clean.201...

[RS Grant]

Hoofy said:

Congrats.

How does it drive compared to your S3?

I've not had more than a 15-20 minute drive of the TT, so I'll be able to form more of an opinion once I collect it and drive it for a longer period on roads I'm more familiar with. However it has smooth power delivery, feels well screwed together, has a slight rumble (although surprisingly muted) and a steady surge through the rev range. The DSG seems to operate well although is definitely not as sharp as more modern versions of double clutch boxes.

In comparison, while the S3 has marginally more lag than modern FI hot hatches, but it still feels quite boosty and gives you the 'kick' you'd expect once the turbo wakes up. I'm not sure if it's just a manual trait or whether the DSG version is the same in an 8P S3, but it's got slightly shorter gearing than I was expecting.. not to the point of being tiresome on the motorway, but it's certainly not a long legged car.

I'm not sure what the weight difference between the two is but with 250ps in the TT and 265ps in the S3, the S3 certainly feels quicker and is probably the quicker car in reality.