I know I should probably ask the question in an Audi forum, but before I go register on one I thought it be best to try asking here since some of you own a TT.

There's this guy selling an '03 TT (the latest model year I can probably afford and the first year with auto/tiptronic). Here's the low down. According to ad, the exterior and interior are in excellent shape, mileage is 160k, clean title, and it's a red coupe (looking for a coupe and I don't mind red). The price is $5600...but...the problem is there's something wrong with the transmission. He says there's something wrong with the sensor that makes it shift hard.

If the problem with this car is only transmission, worse case scenerio would to buy a new/rebuilt tranny. If it's just a sensor thing, then the cost of getting a new one plus the actual cost of the car would still make it a deal?

Anyone know how much it will cost to fix the tranny on a tiptronic TT? THere's another person selling a silver '03 w/ tiptronic for $8700. It has 138k and a rebuilt tranny. Are the TTs known for bad transmissions?

So, given that this car has 160k and a bad tranny, how much should I ask for? The mileage is pretty high, and even if I can fix it for a decent price, I think $5000 plus cost of fixing would be high for a car with this high mileage.

What to do? If I could get it $3500 (I know dream on), then I just might bite.

edit to add: Talked to the seller, she said car is still driveable but shifts hard. Car can get to 50mph but has trouble going any higher. She said it's a sensor issue and just wants to sell the car becasue she's not a mech and doesn't want to deal with it. So could this just be a sensor issue?

Yes - your BS sensor is defective and must be replaced.

1. Is Tiptronic a necessity?

2. She's not a mechanic but knows that it's a sensor issue. How? Did she take the car in for servicing and get a stratospheric estimate for repair?

3. Run.

4. Run.

To be honest with you, when I called the seller, I was a bit surprised it was a girl selling it (dunno why). She really didn't sound like a motivated seller. In fact, I felt like if I asked her anymore questions she might get pissed :| Maybe she's feeling a bit frustrated. Apparently the car is still for sale after I first saw it about 2 weeks ago. Originally it was listed for $5300.

I prefer an auto over a manual, and it looks like the '03 models only had tiptronic in automatic transmissions.

To be fair, she said she thinks it's a sensor issue.

People are so full of ****. I love the "$50 would make this car worth $5,000 more" comments. Well what school of finance did you study?

So should I even look at this car? I told her I'm available later this week and if the car is still for sale I'd like to look at it.

I mean if the car is as clean as she makes it to be and the motor is good and the only thing wrong is the transmission, then would I still get a good deal even after spending extra to fix the tranny?

Whats the car worth, to you? I'd definitely have a look if you really are interested. I would go ahead an price a secondhand transmission and R&R costs.

Former VW / Audi / Land Rover / Benz service advisor at your service.

1 - Quattro or FWD ?
2 - TT is a Golf/Jetta/Beetle under the "flattened Beetle" bodywork. At that mileage, it could be a bad trans but it sounds more like a bad TCM - Trans Control Module. Part & labor probably in the $1200 area.
3 - Call a local Audi service department and ask how much they charge for a Used Car Inspection. At my last Audi dealer, we charged and hour - $130 to give it a look over. Might be worth $130 to save thousands. There could be more wrong with it that the Audi techs know to look for. We actually had a check list to give you with the tech's notes.

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Sharing my partner's 2012 Forte 5dr SX til I find my next 123 or 126..
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Do I miss being a service advisor ???

To many miles and they are junk. It probably needs a tranny and they dealer probably told her it was going to be like $2k to fix or some other huge number.

My friends BIL loves Audi's and has a had a string of A4's, they really don't hold up as well as other German cars as the years get on. 03 should be about that point where the interior starts showing a lot of wear. MB and BMW build a more robust interior...and car for that matter.

They drive well, and are fine cars when under 5 years old.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

They're nice and all but have you looked at real sports cars? Proper RWD ones like 350/370z, maybe used porsche?

If you are finding a lot of them with bad auto trannies I'd be looking at stick shifts lol.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

The Z cars are pretty nice, I also really like the BMW coupes. My cousin has a 330CI thats pretty nice.

Both can be had with proper manuals and nice 6's!

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Speaking as the moderator of AZAudi.org, Audi owner since 1996, Audi tech since 1999, and I fell in love with old Benzes circa 2005:

Life's too short to deal with an automatic TT with stories. Just forget it. Seriously. Those prices, to me, reflect a car which has received a $5000 trans reman quote from the dealer. Full book price is higher, and when you pay it, you'll get a car without any stories about why it doesn't work right.

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1985 300TD
1984 380SL
1983 280SE (full Euro, trunk triangle and all!)

Formerly owned:
1986 420SEL
1984 300D
1983 300D
1981 300SD
1976 300D

Great advice! Thanks! Advisorguy, that info on the transmission module is a great help and gives me some idea what I'm dealing with. I'll have to give the car an initial inspection of my own to determine if I really want it and then pay someone to give it a professional look-over. I didn't dealerships offer this service, so I will have to find if there's an Audi place near the seller.

I may look at it this Friday. She lives in the next county where my friend lives, so I won't be going out of my way to check it out. Gives me a reason to hang out with him.

Yeah, I have to say the mileage is pretty high and for that asking price of $5600 the car's probably not worth it. However, if it's as cherry as the ad says it is, then it just might be worth it if I can bring the price low. The main thing is to find out how much it would cost to fix the transmission. Say it's $3000 (just throwing in a number here), I would need to bring the price down to $3000 to make me feel like I got a deal. But still, $6000 for a car with that high mileage is still a bit too much for me. Maintenance record might help.

I've driven a New Beetle with the TipTronic, and functioning properly they are unimpressive and it's pretty much trashed my opinion of the TipTronic system. If you want a manual, get a manual. At least that way it won't sit there and think about what it wants to do when you floor it at 25 to try and merge with traffic, it'll just go. The throttle delay is incredibly irritating as well, when I press the pedal it's supposed to go. Not half a second later, not a full second later, NOW.