Mk1 Audi TT 225
Discussion
Had been thinking about getting one of these for a while now after having one back in 2006. Always liked the purity of the original design and have a feeling that they could be a future classic at some point, so a throw-away comment from the better half about how she'd quite like to have a smaller car for the weekends, was all I needed to start looking.
My previous TT was black, so I fancied silver this time for a change. After a fairly lengthy search, I tracked down a 2004 model with just over 100k on the clock, good service history, rust-free bodywork and decent, black leather interior. Ended up paying a bit more than I was intending to, but in the end I'd just had enough of spending my weekends looking, so went for the best one I'd seen to date.
It's getting on for 20 years old, so needs a little TLC in places, but used parts seem to be plentiful and cheap and I quite wanted something to tinker with anyway. First few jobs will be to replace some worn buttons are the radio (donor unit from an A3 has been purchased to canabalise for parts), swap out the door cards and some bits of interior trim that are a bit tired looking. The all-alloy gear knob in the car was pretty scratched, so I bought a used one off eBay, stripped off the anodising with a dremmel and polished it up with various grades of wet & dry and then some autosol to finish. Just waiting for a new rubber gator to arrive and then will be fitting. On close inspection, the headlights seem have a few dessicated woodlice inside, so plan to split them, refinish the outer lenses and replace the orange indicator strips for clear at the same time.
Despite everyone saying that the rear seats are useless, my two kids (8 and 10) seem to quite enjoy shoe-horning themselves into the back for short journeys, so it's not as completely impractical as I was expecting.
Both doors have dropped ever so slightly (a common problem apparently), but there's a fix involving adding shims to the lower hinges, so currently making up some technical drawings so I can get various thicknesses laser cut from stainless steel sheet.
My previous TT was black, so I fancied silver this time for a change. After a fairly lengthy search, I tracked down a 2004 model with just over 100k on the clock, good service history, rust-free bodywork and decent, black leather interior. Ended up paying a bit more than I was intending to, but in the end I'd just had enough of spending my weekends looking, so went for the best one I'd seen to date.
It's getting on for 20 years old, so needs a little TLC in places, but used parts seem to be plentiful and cheap and I quite wanted something to tinker with anyway. First few jobs will be to replace some worn buttons are the radio (donor unit from an A3 has been purchased to canabalise for parts), swap out the door cards and some bits of interior trim that are a bit tired looking. The all-alloy gear knob in the car was pretty scratched, so I bought a used one off eBay, stripped off the anodising with a dremmel and polished it up with various grades of wet & dry and then some autosol to finish. Just waiting for a new rubber gator to arrive and then will be fitting. On close inspection, the headlights seem have a few dessicated woodlice inside, so plan to split them, refinish the outer lenses and replace the orange indicator strips for clear at the same time.
Despite everyone saying that the rear seats are useless, my two kids (8 and 10) seem to quite enjoy shoe-horning themselves into the back for short journeys, so it's not as completely impractical as I was expecting.
Both doors have dropped ever so slightly (a common problem apparently), but there's a fix involving adding shims to the lower hinges, so currently making up some technical drawings so I can get various thicknesses laser cut from stainless steel sheet.
Edited by blade runner on Wednesday 20th October 13:49
Quite a few on here have picked one up recently as they’re so cheap and still look great.
Worth having a look through them to see some of the common issues and mods, if you’re unaware.
Looks a lot like my last one, but that was a lemon and has disappeared from the database now (still a bit sad, as I enjoyed owning it enough to replace it with a near identical one which I still have).
Worth having a look through them to see some of the common issues and mods, if you’re unaware.
Looks a lot like my last one, but that was a lemon and has disappeared from the database now (still a bit sad, as I enjoyed owning it enough to replace it with a near identical one which I still have).
Superchickenn said:
Highly recommend dropping the sump and changing/cleaning the oil pick up pipe.. 30 mins jobs and will save the engine in the log run..
I’ve got 4 1.8ts and they were all massively blocked
Thanks for the tip - I'll add it to my list of jobs to do.I’ve got 4 1.8ts and they were all massively blocked
Here's a couple of photos of the gear knob renovation.
Before...
After...
Lovely, they are cracking motors.
I picked one up for my girlfriend about 6 months ago for £500 with no MOT. It's identical to yours but Y reg, and unfortunately does have a little bit of rust showing in places although nothing drastic. Drove it round Scotland in September, it's a wonderful thing.
Enjoy!
I picked one up for my girlfriend about 6 months ago for £500 with no MOT. It's identical to yours but Y reg, and unfortunately does have a little bit of rust showing in places although nothing drastic. Drove it round Scotland in September, it's a wonderful thing.
Enjoy!
Zlat502 said:
What kind of price point would you be looking at to pick up a nice one of these? is it doable to find a good one with sensible miles for say under 4k?
Yes, absolutely. Sensible miles is relative - they wear 100,000 miles well. Suspension refreshing is cheap too, as it’s mostly simple stuff. You’ll want to see a very comprehensive service history, including Haldex service, cambelts, coolant refresh etc as it’s these being left that can stack the bills up.Your budget will buy a later (‘facelift’ - lower springs, different grille, minor tweaks) car - but for how much longer?
The oil pickup is kept clear for longer with regular services, but even the best ones need checking.
A very timely thread for my purchasing research. My wife’s Kia lease ends in December, and with lack of deals around she has agreed to use my A6 for getting to work…. Opening the door for one of these little bad boys as my WFH runabout. Seem to be plenty available locally on eBay and Gumtree. I’m thinking as unmolested an example as possible is the best idea. Watching with interest.
ST270 said:
Great cars, classic lines and still reasonably priced... But for how long?
I bought mine last year, and still wonder why the Golf R32 command more £... Although in themselves the originals do look unique!
Any excuse for snap though..
.
That looks very nice.I bought mine last year, and still wonder why the Golf R32 command more £... Although in themselves the originals do look unique!
Any excuse for snap though..
.
I did consider a manual 3.2 when I was looking. The one I test drove made a lovely noise but didn't feel significantly quicker than the 225. I do like the look of the 3.2 front bumper though!
They seem to be getting rarer by the day at the moment. From what I see on the various TT Facebook groups, even fairly sound 3.2's are being broken as they are currently worth more in parts than the cost to fix either the mechatronic unit on the DSG box and/or replace timing chains.
Its not so much the body/interior that suffers with these its usually boost related stuff on the engine and coilpacks that give the issues, invest in a VAG Com lead and software.
Also, stuff liek wiper linkages, door locks, stereos etc, can easily chase lots of niggly things, I wouldnt worry about mileage so much at this age as many will have been corrected, so unless you can show its spot on via supporting evidence I wouldnt trust it, also some garage queen lightly used examples may look nice but may give more trouble than a well used one.
They havent gone up as to be honest, despite the niggles they last oo well, many have been broken so bits are plentiful but Audi sold loads of them so even with that attrition they are still a regular sight over twenty years since they appeared.
I miss the interior (so cosy and that view out is lovely) and the nuclear bum warmers.
Also, stuff liek wiper linkages, door locks, stereos etc, can easily chase lots of niggly things, I wouldnt worry about mileage so much at this age as many will have been corrected, so unless you can show its spot on via supporting evidence I wouldnt trust it, also some garage queen lightly used examples may look nice but may give more trouble than a well used one.
They havent gone up as to be honest, despite the niggles they last oo well, many have been broken so bits are plentiful but Audi sold loads of them so even with that attrition they are still a regular sight over twenty years since they appeared.
I miss the interior (so cosy and that view out is lovely) and the nuclear bum warmers.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff