What should I buy instead...of a TT

DiG

DiG

DiG

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16 Mar 2004
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Ok, so the only thing keeping me going through revision is choosing what car I will buy in a couple of months time when I start my new job, now at the moment I'm liking the look of an Audi TT, but have noticed a few people saying they think they are bad cars.

So what should I buy instead? My requirements are:

* £6-7k
* Probably <10k miles a year
* Comfortable on the motorway
* Quick and fun to drive

I would get myself a nice MX-5, but I will be doing regular 3 hour motorway journeys and I don't think that would be fun!
 
in what sense has anyone said the TT is a bad car? it may not be the sharpest thing going, but being essentially a golf with a pretty body, there isnt much to go wrong or to dislike
 
Saytan said:
in what sense has anyone said the TT is a bad car? it may not be the sharpest thing going, but being essentially a golf with a pretty body, there isnt much to go wrong or to dislike
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If it's anything like the Golf, Leon, or A3 it isn't very interesting to drive.

I'd probably be looking at a 330ci or trying to stretch the budget to a 350z if you can live with the impracticality of it.
 
Gribs said:
If it's anything like the Golf, Leon, or A3 it isn't very interesting to drive.

I'd probably be looking at a 330ci or trying to stretch the budget to a 350z if you can live with the impracticality of it.
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He's going to need to stretch his budget by about 3-4k to get a half decent 350z - something i doubt he's able to do.

A 330ci isn't a bad idea - can get a decent prefacelift one at this price. Just make sure you know the costs involved before you jump in.

Were you specificially after a coupe or were you interested in any sort of car?
 
Gaygle said:
He's going to need to stretch his budget by about 3-4k to get a half decent 350z - something i doubt he's able to do.

A 330ci isn't a bad idea - can get a decent prefacelift one at this price. Just make sure you know the costs involved before you jump in.

Were you specificially after a coupe or were you interested in any sort of car?
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I'm open to any suggestions, but a coupe did appeal

In terms of looks I find the BMW 3 series a bit boring, but that doesn't rule it out, how bad are the running costs? I'm coming from a Rover 220 that I'm running into the ground so anything is going to be a lot more expensive!

About £9k should get a good early one.
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While I like the look of the 350z a lot, £9k is too much, I want a car where I can get a good example for £6k, that way I have £1k to find one in really good condition with all the kit!
 
in all seriousness, unless you're really into driving hard, the TT seems to fit the bill pretty well. If you were into driving hard, you'd know not to be considering the TT. I think it was eidolon who's had a few special cars and couldnt fault his TT?
 
An LT1 engined Corvette.

1996TRZ516-SpdLT4.jpg


Yea, I said it :p

Sorry, just can't help myself some times, plus it would be a pretty good choice! :D

1800RPM at 70-odd, sitting at about 30+mpg, with the best climate in the world, electric everything (including adjustable bolsters) and a great motorway ride with the FX electronically adjustable suspension = win.

One of the best cars I ever had for sitting on the motorway, even more so if it's an automatic. Plus, if you put your foot down, everything goes backwaaaaaaaardssssssss.............
 
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To be honest I loved my TT's. It perhaps wasn't the absolutely best handling car on the road but it was certainly more than enough for my limited skills. It had huge amounts of grip, was quick, extremely comfortable and very practical with a huge load area when the seats were down. I only sold it because I was driving around 3k a year and was having kids.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
GHD's

;)
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I'm impressed we got to post 10! Doesn't bother me in the slightest, I'm buying a car for me not the world :p

Lashout_UK said:
An LT1 engined Corvette.
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Interesting curveball, can't seem to find much info about them though? A 5.7L v8 does sound like fun, though would probably end up killing me :D

Hades said:
To be honest I loved my TT's. It perhaps wasn't the absolutely best handling car on the road but it was certainly more than enough for my limited skills. It had huge amounts of grip, was quick, extremely comfortable and very practical with a huge load area when the seats were down. I only sold it because I was driving around 3k a year and was having kids.
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This is what I'm thinking, it looks like a good compromise between sporty/comfortable . I'm not really looking for it to be a focused track car, that can wait until I can afford to run two cars. Most important is that I want it to be fun. That means comfortable, esp. on the motorway but also fast and good on its feet, the only area the TT seems to struggle
 
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DiG said:
I know, don't worry! I would love an S2000 but they are a bit expensive, the running costs are also pretty high aren't they?
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Well mate anything saucy isn't going to be super cheap to run, but they tend not to break and you did say your annual mileage was quite low. Plus they do hold their money extremely well so factoring in low depreciation might well offset slightly higher running costs. You may just be able to find a few in your price range but if they're anything less that v.good examples you should walk away.
 
If you're worried about the handling then try to get one of the 'facelifted' mk1's (not sure when they came out - 2002?) rather than the very early ones. They had larger alloys (9 spoke RS's) and slightly lower suspension.

I had both - a 2001 original model and a 2002 on the revised suspension and I recall it feeling a lot more sporty (the body, interior and engine was identical).
 
Erm, let me think of a quick rundown for you. There's plenty out there but the UK based club, the CCCUK (Classic Corvette Club...) is fairly busy and their forum is active and offers plenty of support - they have a lot of big shows too.

Plenty of retailers in the UK offer parts and support as well, so not hard to maintain and relatively cheap to keep running - only need oil, filters and plugs, barring other consumables such as pads. That's it! Anyone can maintain them :)

The LT1's all have traction control (great feedback system, actually takes the pedal away from you so you can judge the limits! :D), ABS and an LSD - and they're very docile in daily driving - plenty of traction.

You'll get a really nice one for 7k - I got mine for 5.6 but that was a bit of a bargain (only 48k miles approximately too off the top of my head!).

Figures!:

- Engine: 5.7 litre Chevrolet V8, 2 valves per cylinder, multipoint fuel injection
- Transmission: Either 4 speed automatic or 6-speed manual
- Power: 300BHP @ 5000RPM
- Torque: 340ft.lb @ 4000RPM
- 0-60: 5.1 seconds manual, 5.5 seconds automatic
- 0-100: 12.9 seconds
- Top speed: 161mph
- Fuel consumption, town: 19.6mpg
- Fuel consumption, motorway: 31mpg
- Average fuel consumption: 25.3mpg
- Length: 4534mm
- Width: 1796mm
- Height: 1176mm
- Weight: 1544kg
- Fuel capacity: 75.8 litres, 16.7 UK gallons

Output is very easily increased however, quite flexible and potent powerplants to say the least. Economy can be improved with a few choice mods too.

Brakes are huge ventilated discs all round. Front suspension is lightweight alloy independent unequal-length double wishbones with transverse fiberglass mono-leaf spring mounted to allow for anti-roll effect. The rear is, again, lightweight alloy independent suspension with trailing and lateral links supported by a centrally mounted fiberglass mono-leaf spring. A very trick setup!

Inside you get fully electric bucket leather seats, electric one touch windows, electric mirrors, remote central locking, keyless entry on some models, remote rear hatch release, climate, cruise, various trip computers, oil & trans temp gauges, economy gauge, various lockable storage compartments, typically a Bose sound system, adjustable steering wheel, cup holders, power steering, leather steering wheel, and more I've no doubt forgotten.

Digital speedo as well :p

About the only thing to look for is the Optispark ignition system failing and the water pump leaking - they tend to be the only common foibles and are both relatively easily fixed (they both tend to happen at the same time too - the water pump leaks and knocks out the Optispark, later modifications prevent this happening so it's usually a case of doing it once).

If you want any more information just let me know.....
 
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DiG said:
Interesting curveball, can't seem to find much info about them though? A 5.7L v8 does sound like fun, though would probably end up killing me
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http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1339782.htm

Change the wheels (or the wheel colour) and you're on to a winner. That said, I doubt it's the car to buy if you're worried about running costs - though Lashout knows a lot more about these and may be able to give you a breakdown?
 
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