OT: Grown-up Car, Audi TT, S2000, ??? Options

[bryanf]

I've been driving my '75 2.0 daily to work for the last 12 years or so and have loved it. For those of you familiar with bay area I probably have the perfect 914 commute because I drive from half moon bay to Menlo Park...so its about 12 miles of twisty mountain roads followed by about 12 miles of blasting down the highway. Unfortunately, I'm getting to the point in my career where I need to project a successful "image" and my poor little 914 is just too tired looking...

Sooooo I need a new car...my criteria are

1. Fun
2. Professional
3. Fun
4. under $20k (used)
5. Reliable


Drove a tt and had a blast, but haven't driven an s2000 yet. I would love an Elise, but it is just too spendy right now.

suggestions?

[TonyAKAVW]

I posted some of this in the other thread in the sandbox, but my wife's 2001 225 HP Quattro TT is a lot of fun to drive. Its great for highway cruising, very comfortable etc. The design of the car is really nice, both inside and out. The PO put on some really nice BBS rims and lowered it with new shocks and springs, so it looks even better (IMHO).

We bought it with 50k on the odometer and since then several things have gone wrong with the car that are notorious.

1. Gas tank sender sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Apparently the 225 HP version has two gas tanks and the sender is problematic.

2. Clutch hydraulics gave out. The master cylinder is plastic and prone to failure. I replaced this and while it was doable, it was not fun. Unfortunately the slave was the real culprit. Apparently the slave is even mor notorious for going out. Its located between the clutch and the transmission, so all that has to come out. Its a really big job and the dealer quoted $1500 in labor alone. Luckily I found a shop in Santa Monica that did it for $500 and I bought the parts for another $350 or so. Tip: Do not use Super Blue, apparently it eats the plastic hydraulic parts.

3. I replaced the timing belt. These are supposed to last to 100k miles, but tyically they break at 60-70k if you are unlucky, so most people get them changed around then. This is another >$1000 job if you have someone do it. It took me and a friend a full 10 hour day to do, and was maybe $300 in parts.

4. Minor electrical bugs. The turn signal flasher is another notoriously bad part that in some cars has to be replaced more than once. Also the heated seat on the driver's side went out, the guage cluster is notoriously bad (our tach is dead currently) and expensive to repair. The interior lights seem to be of the Lucas variety, they come on sometimes, when they feel like it.

Aside from these issues, its a really fun car to drive and looks great. Its one of those designs that will stay nice looking for a long time. The new TT is finally coming out for 2007, but in my opinion it looks worse.

-Tony