# Is High mileage an issue?



## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

I'm currently looking for a TT 225 quatro and was just wanting to know if anyone has had any major issues with them at 90k and above?

Any info would be much appreciated


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## oVerboost (Apr 8, 2012)

Any used car is a lottery but just check the service history, receipts and general condition of the car. Also, the owner themselves can be a good clue as to how a cars been looked after and driven.


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## kazinak (Mar 23, 2010)

not really, the problems only starts when you decide that you need more power

btw 90k, not exactly high these days


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi Dave, As long as all services completed correctly & on time, shouldn't be a problem. 
Suspension components/clutch etc depends on what has been replaced recently.
Hoggy.


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

oVerboost said:


> Any used car is a lottery but just check the service history, receipts and general condition of the car. Also, the owner themselves can be a good clue as to how a cars been looked after and driven.


Thanks for the advice, I've got one to look at locally tomorrow, it's a trade sale so the guy selling the car isn't the last owner.
It's got 98k with full history not sure if it's full Audi history on not.


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

kazinak said:


> not really, the problems only starts when you decide that you need more power
> 
> btw 90k, not exactly high these days


I know what your saying with regards to 90k miles not being high but I'm used to having 40/50k miles on them.

Is high mileage a problem when it comes to mods?


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi Dave, even with full Audi service history, the cambelt may not have been replaced.. Here's my standard reply..

Service history is very important. cambelt/water pump every 65k miles or 5 years which ever comes first, dash instruments (dashpod) read correctly, coolant temp reaches 90 within a couple of miles & stays there.
Get written confirmation of cambelt/water pump change or reduce price by £500 & get it replaced ASAP.
3.2 V6 no turbo or cambelt to worry about, so should be more reliable, DSG may be weak link, unless you can find a manual.& a nicer exhaust note.
Don't rush into it. A good TT is a wonderful car, a bad un can be a money pit.Plenty of good uns out there, but probably more bad uns.
Hoggy.


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

Hoggy said:


> Hi Dave, As long as all services completed correctly & on time, shouldn't be a problem.
> Suspension components/clutch etc depends on what has been replaced recently.
> Hoggy.


I'll just have to check the service history for that sort of thing.

Thanks for the info


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

dave i got mine at 98k and two years later its at 102 but really does drive like a dream.........HOWEVER when i got it cambelt had not been done or water pump........then clutch went so has cost me a bit and is up for sale. whoever gets it will get a car that is now well maintained and never any errors or problems. so as Hoggy says as long as it has been maintained and looked after like any machine will be a good car........and mine is on a stage to wak map with np's


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

Gazzer said:


> dave i got mine at 98k and two years later its at 102 but really does drive like a dream.........HOWEVER when i got it cambelt had not been done or water pump........then clutch went so has cost me a bit and is up for sale. whoever gets it will get a car that is now well maintained and never any errors or problems. so as Hoggy says as long as it has been maintained and looked after like any machine will be a good car........and mine is on a stage to wak map with np's


So far it sounds like highish mileage isn't that bad


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## stainzy (Apr 22, 2012)

103603 miles and drives like a dream suspension a little tired but same clutch from new and seems to be fine well maintained


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## TT-TOM (Feb 15, 2012)

Just make sure you get a chance to start it from cold, listen to it ticking over, warm her up to operating temperature and listen some more. Test drive with the windows down at low speeds.

If it sounds alright and there's no smoke, then there are normally no major issues.

Its also worth noting they are quite tappy at idle anyway so don't let that put you off.


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

stainzy said:


> 103603 miles and drives like a dream suspension a little tired but same clutch from new and seems to be fine well maintained





TT-TOM said:


> Just make sure you get a chance to start it from cold, listen to it ticking over, warm her up to operating temperature and listen some more. Test drive with the windows down at low speeds.
> 
> If it sounds alright and there's no smoke, then there are normally no major issues.
> 
> Its also worth noting they are quite tappy at idle anyway so don't let that put you off.


Thanks for the info :wink:


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## Jakalus (Jul 28, 2011)

Mine's on 117000 miles, got it at 116000 miles about 2/3 months ago now, was the tidiest and best looked after of the ones I viewed, BUT had clutch woes - turned out to just be master cylinder as slave and clutch had been done in January '12 - and engine mounts completely ruined themselves, can't argue as it was a private sale and both things happened in my ownership. Now running like a dream just got an unintrusive noise to diagnose and a few niggles - door microswitch, a rattle from the aircon fascia and that's about it - should be right as rain. Just take your time in getting one, I looked at loads over one weekend and still ended up with issues!

Best of luck to you sir


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## dbbloke (Jan 30, 2012)

Depends what you mean by an issue. If you like spending endless money and wondering whats next to fail then you are fine 

I bought one with 100k on it, had been serviced (once by halfords!) and had things like clutches / timing belts, plenty of history some of it Audi (who are typically useless, VW seem more knowledgeable) many thousands spent, 5yrs woman driver etc.. So mine was half decent!

BUT

TT's cost a fortune to own especially one getting on, their only saving grace is the parts are cheap.
The parts shop / VAG garage has actually stopped joking - you must have replaced the entire car by now (I wish) which was a little amusing at first.
If you are going to mod then get a cheap one as you are going to replace stuff with uprated bits anyhow.
If you are not then Get the latest model you can or lowest mileage, probably better bet than buying a high mileage oldish one. Part of the problem is not cost of parts but finding an honest mechanic with realistic prices all plus VAT. So if you know a good one who is an 1.8t expert then it'll help a lot.

Listen for any knocks (bushes take ages to replace) and so do wishbones, suspension wears with age as well as rust and needs replacing, check around the engine for any oil (take a bright torch), check history for replacement bits like cambelts, tracking and tyre wear, break at speed .... I could go on. Probably best to turn up with a laptop and a 10 quid lead from ebay and run vcds to check no error codes (but the seller could have reset em for the drive).

Just for the record, you could buy a toyota corolla or 1yr old fiesta with 5-10k miles on the clock for less money and run it for another 100k and not even replace the oil and i bet it will still be going. Guess it depends why you are buying a TT, but dont think they are bombproof, buts wear out and its mostly painful working out why, nice challenge 

In retrospect, I would 100% for sure buy one from someone on this forum, who has done loads of work to it at a specialist garage and _nowhere _else. Good luck, on a plus note at last a good sorted fast one is a pretty nice car


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

I was more interested in seeing if anyone had any major issues like engine failure, turbo problems, gearbox or diff problems.
I wouldn't normally go for a car with high miles but I'm being picky when it comes to colour preference and I'm looking for ether an avus silver or red car and an avus silver one has come up locally at a very reasonable price but it has highish miles.

I'm familiar with a lot of the minor problems like dash pod, coolant temp sensors, thermostat, window micro switches, airbag control unit ect ect.

One of my mates has a X reg 225 and his currently has 133K on the clock but I just thought he may have been lucky and got away without major problems. 
I think the biggest issue he has had to date is the clutch but that's to be expected.

As for a good mechanic I'm fairly handy myself but if I do happen to get stuck with anything I have a mate that works for VW who can help me out


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## Mark Davies (Apr 10, 2007)

I would not say mileage is irrelevant - but then there are high mileage cars and high mileage cars. They're not all the same.

Parts do wear out and I found quite a few things needed replacing at around the 90-110k mark. Suspension bushes tend to reach the end of their serviceable lives around there. If they've not been done yet you'll certainly need new brake discs and pads before long. Sensors on the engine such as the MAF and various temperature sensors are likely to start failing. Shocks and springs are going to be getting a little tired and the car would probably benefit with replacements. Hoses are likely to have leaks. The clutch may be getting worn. But these are all just the expected jobs of routine maintenance.

However just because a car has 100k on the clock doesn't mean it's going to be endless trouble. Find one that's had all this work done already and you've no issues - but buy one that's had nothing done from new and it's all sat there waiting for you. So don't fixate on the abstract numbers displayed on the clocks - far more important is the condition of the car and evidence of how well it has been looked after. Personally I wouldn't be the least bit bothered if the car had high mileage but came with a fat file full of bills showing what work has been done, but I'd be staying clear of a car with much lower mileage but no evidence that it's had any maintenance at all. And I wouldn't be relying on just a service history - it's not evidence that any of these things have ever been attended to, not even the cambelt.

You just have to do your homework, be patient and fussy and look for the right car.


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

I know what your saying, I'm very very picky with my cars and if the cars not right I'll be walking away.

I've just to been to look at a 02 225 with 98K on the clock with FSH, mostly dealer and my god it was rough  
I'd go as far as saying it's one of the roughest audi's I've ever seen  
My mates x reg 133K mileage car is 10 times better!

Never mind the search goes on


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## Leebo310 (Sep 22, 2011)

Mark Davies said:


> Find one that's had all this work done already and you've no issues - but buy one that's had nothing done from new and it's all sat there waiting for you.


Spot on with this comment! Ours had only 50k when we bought it so looked a great deal but in reality I've had to replace so much in the last 18 months. Clutch/cam belt/thermostat/MAF/LAMDA/front pads and discs etc etc.


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## Garth (Feb 7, 2012)

Mine's on 127k now. I bought it on 127k (i've done less than 100 miles since I bought it in feb).
My engine runs really sweet now but then since I bought it, I've replaced the following:
Cambelt (inc tensioner and damper)
water pump
Alternator belt
Spark plugs
Coolant
Thermostat
Temp sensor
Shocks
Springs
Arb bushes (front and rear)
Drop links (front and rear)
Top mounts
Ball joints
Oil & filter
Various pipes and hoses
Oil cap
Expansion tank & cap
Dipstick and tube
Plus loads more I've forgotten about!
Most of that really needed doing too, only a couple of non-essentials.

Whoever buys my 127k car is going to get one that is better than any TT with 30k miles on, as most of it is brand new.


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

Well I've looked at 3 cars today and all of them were rough, the last one was the one with the most miles but was the best of the 3


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## kazinak (Mar 23, 2010)

What is your budged ?

Send from my Android using Tapatalk 2


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

kazinak said:


> What is your budged ?
> 
> Send from my Android using Tapatalk 2


ok give us a clue Kaz is it bugged budged or budget


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

Budgie, maybe? :?

:wink:

PS: Zeroing in on 145K. Solid as a rock.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

Mondo said:


> Budgie, maybe? :?
> 
> :wink:
> 
> PS: Zeroing in on 145K. Solid as a rock.


so what you are saying mond is that Kaz is in actual fact a BIRD??/


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

No, just asking about one.

He only had to ask me...


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

I'm assuming spelling mistakes on here = [smiley=behead.gif]

My budget is around £5,500 give or take.


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

Not at all; they're just an opportunity for pi$$-takery of the 1st order.


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

That's what I thought  a bit banter never hurt anyone


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## TT-Dave (Aug 3, 2011)

Well I've arranger to have a look at a car with less miles on, I'll see what comes of this one.


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## Soton (Jan 15, 2011)

Everything has been said already i think.

Sometimes its a risk.

I looked at it this way, i bought mine on 90k, now on 103k.

Mines a 51 plate so its 11 years old now, average 10k a year and its spot on for what it is.


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