Home » Fast Cars, Cheap Thrills: 2000 Audi S4 vs 2001 Audi TT

Fast Cars, Cheap Thrills: 2000 Audi S4 vs 2001 Audi TT

Sbsd 11 26 2024
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Welcome back! Or should I say: Audi, partner! Today we’re looking at two cheap fast rides from Volkswagen’s fancy-pants brand. They’ve got twelve gears, three turbochargers, and eight driven wheels between them – enough complicated German engineering to make your mechanic lose his sense, his control, and his mind. But they could also be a lot of fun.

Yesterday’s problem children had quite a few of you reaching for the “Neither” button, but that’s not how this game is played. Among those of you who were good sports about it and voted, the Toyota was the favorite, but it was a narrow win. I do apologize for featuring a car that was already sold; I try not to do that, but sometimes it can’t be helped. I’m not at all surprised that van sold so quickly in Seattle; off-road vans are a huge thing in the Pacific Northwest.

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For me, it would have to be the Isuzu. Yeah, the interior is a little scary, but I think once you cleaned off all the grime it wouldn’t be as bad as it seems, and I’ve always loved the styling of the Impulse. Hopefully it finds a home soon as well. That car definitely deserves to be back on the road.

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I’ve long been a fan of turbocharged Audis. My dad had a couple of them once upon a time, and a poster of the original Group B Quattro adorned one wall of my bedroom for years. I hadn’t experienced a modern Audi turbo until this weekend, though, when my neighbor took me for a ride in his heavily modified S5. It’s terrifyingly fast, and yet utterly composed, even at some truly ill-advised speeds on twisty forest roads. German high-performance cars get a lot of bad press for being overcomplicated and unreliable, but those who love them keep coming back because they’re also really damn good at going fast.

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In that spirit, I decided to show you a couple of fast Audis that fit within our meager budget, but can still deliver the goods. Let’s check them out.

2000 Audi S4 Quattro – $3,900

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Engine/drivetrain: Twin-turbocharged, 2.7-liter dual overhead cam V6, six-speed manual, AWD

Location: Reseda, CA

Odometer reading: 164,000 miles

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Operational status: Runs and drives great

Audi as we know it now, as a purveyor of fun-to-drive luxury sedans, has really only existed since the 1970s. And it wasn’t until its signature five-cylinder engine gained a turbocharger that you could really call them performance cars. In 1980, that turbo five found its way into the nose of Audi’s Coupe, powering its new Quattro all-wheel-drive system, and from that point it was game on. Audi turbo Quattros just got faster and faster. In 2000, the king of the hill was the S4, a version of the A4 sedan with a wild twin-turbo V6 and a six-speed stick.

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This engine is a fire-breather – 260 horsepower, in a car that typically has a hundred less than that – but it has a reputation for trouble that makes most enthusiasts speak of it only in hushed tones. Most of the reputation comes from the difficulties involved in servicing it. You’ve heard of the VW/Audi “service position,” with the entire front end of the car removed? That’s how you change the timing belt on this engine. Need to replace the turbos, which commonly self-destruct after a while? You’ll have to remove the engine entirely. This particular one is just about due for the turbos, unless they’ve already been replaced, but it sounds like it runs and drives just fine at the moment.

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It looks pretty good inside; Volkswagens of this era seem to look old before their time, but the Audis must use higher-quality materials. It has that good-driver-focused feel that German cars tend to have, and as the top of the line, it has all the bells and whistles you could have asked for twenty-four years ago. I’m sure something is broken somewhere, but the seller doesn’t mention anything, and they do say the air conditioning works fine.

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Now for the bad news: It has a salvage title. I’m not surprised a high-performance car like this found itself on the wrong end of a tow truck, but I’d like to know why, and how long ago it happened. It looks all right, but a careful inspection is in order.

2001 Audi TT Quattro – $3,000

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Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 1.8-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, six-speed manual, AWD

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Location: Fort Worth, TX

Odometer reading: 149,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Audi’s small sporty TT doesn’t have much in common with the rest of the line; it’s more closely related to the VW Golf. Introduced around the same time as the VW New Beetle, you could sort of see the TT as a “New Karmann Ghia.” Of course, since it is an Audi, a Quattro all-wheel-drive version was available, as well as a turbocharged engine.

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Two flavors of the VW-Audi Group’s 1.8-liter turbo four were available. This car, as far as I can tell, has the spicy version, with 222 horsepower and a six-speed manual. I’ve never had the pleasure of driving a TT so equipped, but I bet it’s a hoot. These engines aren’t without their problems either; the oil will sludge up if you don’t change it often enough, and timing belt failures were a problem early on, but this one is closing in on 150,000 miles, and the seller says it runs and drives great, which would seem to indicate it has been well-maintained.

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We don’t get a great look at the interior, but it looks pretty good from what I can see. The seats are in decent condition, and nothing looks abused.

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The outside, well… you either like it or you don’t. I don’t know if it’s paint or a wrap, but it definitely makes a statement. I don’t hate it, personally, but I’m not sure how I’d feel about seeing it in the driveway every morning. I’m less fond of the front end, with its giant mesh grille and tacky aftermarket headlights. All the cosmetic stuff can be undone, of course, but at a price. Luckily the car is cheap.

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I know, I know: They’re unreliable, they’re too expensive to maintain, blah blah blah. They’re also quick, fun, finely engineered machines with a pedigree stretching all the way back to the heady days of Group B. And they’re cheap, on the dollar-per-horsepower scale. So which one will it be: the junior-executive sedan, or the zippy sports coupe?

(Image credits: sellers)

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Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
16 days ago

I’d rather light my money on fire than buy either of these.

SCOTT GREEN
SCOTT GREEN
16 days ago

Between the TT’s paint job and BBQ grill, I’d have to go with the S4.

Baja_Engineer
Baja_Engineer
17 days ago

I was ready to vote S4 despite the Salvage title, and the car’s history reaffirmed there was very minor damage to the front passenger side around the headlight and hood. No new fenders, front bumper or grilles needed replacement. That’s great.

https://img.vinchain.io/2017/03/12/2d/686e1aa996c6f838_bff8b18e88bc2d.jpg

What I’m concerned about is the Mileage which doesn’t add up: somehow this car lost 10K miles between the Salvage Auction in 2017 and now. Super red flag to me.

That’s too bad because it looks great, but now we know why it’s this shiny all around.

So I guess it’s TT for me and hopefully a wrap treatment I can pull off quite easily

Last edited 17 days ago by Baja_Engineer
1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
17 days ago

Well at the end of the day it’s cheaper to throw away $3,000 than to throw away $3,900 away. So TT.

Scone Muncher
Scone Muncher
17 days ago

I really like the dazzle camouflage, with the shape of the TT nobody will know if you’re coming or going. But yeah that front grille is horrid. Anyway, I’ll never be late for my tee time in a TT!

1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
17 days ago
Reply to  Scone Muncher

Can it fit a set of clubs?

Scone Muncher
Scone Muncher
17 days ago

Rear luggage rack!

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
17 days ago

I’ll take the S4…it looks way better than the TT…and that’s what matters on this one. That TT looks terrible; yeah I could change it but the S4 looks so much better and will be fun/fast

Dan Parker
Dan Parker
17 days ago

TT, always sorta liked the way they looked and it’s cheaper. The S4 is a good looking car, but I’ve spent enough time around them to know better. Wouldn’t touch one with someone else’s 10′ pole.

1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
17 days ago
Reply to  Dan Parker

How did you know my pole was 10″

Manwich Sandwich
Manwich Sandwich
17 days ago

My vote goes to the TT. It’s the lesser of the two evils and the exterior paint/wrap looks interesting to me. So I would leave it as is.

Baron Usurper
Baron Usurper
17 days ago

I’m sure the TT is a fantastic car and the votes for it suggest that to be the case, but my ego is far too fragile to own something named TT.

Nick Fortes
Nick Fortes
17 days ago

The TT could use proper stock headlights, grille, and wheels, easy stuff. The camo wrap seems to reference an recent Abt Sportsline livery…Almost but, I’m ok with it. And a 1.8T scares me way less than the S4’s V6TT so I’d go with the TT.

OrigamiSensei
OrigamiSensei
17 days ago

Forced to vote I went for the S4 but the truth is that I noped right out of there with either of these two money sinks.

MEK
MEK
17 days ago

I’ll go for the S4. At least I won’t be embarrassed by it when it’s sitting in my driveway broken down 3 days after I bought it.

ADDvanced
ADDvanced
17 days ago

I own a 95 S6 Avant, so for a while all my car friends knew me as ‘the guy with the fast audi wagon’. So they’d inevitably see a deal on a B5 S4, and I’d say NO! RUN AWAY! 10LBS of crap in a 5lb bag!!! Do not do it!”

But did they listen to me? Nope. Not one. Almost every single friend that sent me one wound up buying one. I get it. The styling is perfection, the chassis is great, the suspension is fantastic, and it has great power.

But it’s quite literally the most unreliable Audi ever produced, and service is a engine bay is a friggin nightmare. The suspension is crazy complicated, meaning tons of parts and labor when you need to redo it. The interior took a hit in quality from previous Audis, the leather doesn’t hold up, the MFD quits working, and the side mirrors have dimming fluid and a pump in them to reduce the brightness of lights behind you at night.

I’m going with the awful TT in this case.

Gilbert Wham
Gilbert Wham
17 days ago

I prefer the look of the sedan (well, obviously, the TT looks idiotic), but you scared me with the talk of imminently b0rked turbos. Let’s hope that live laugh love greys dazzle pattern is a wrap…

John Beef
John Beef
17 days ago

Money isn’t actually worth anything until you trade it for something, but I wouldn’t trade any money for either of these.

Phyrkrakr
Phyrkrakr
17 days ago

I always wanted a World War I battleship with the dazzle camouflage, so TT for me.

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
17 days ago

For years my morning commute took me past an early TT in what I called Battleship Gray. This was well before everything was grayscale, and I thought it beautiful.
TT for me, please

JC Miller
JC Miller
17 days ago

S4, too bad that the other one has an unfortunate name:
https://www.ttforum.co.uk/threads/audi-titty.1655058/

Chronometric
Chronometric
17 days ago

I bought an S4 brand new. Added an APR chip to bump up to 345hp and took it to track days. It was a really great driving car but it was delicate. The engine, turbos, giant front brakes, front cats, and intercoolers were all jammed together so after a hard run the heat would build up, coke the turbos, warp the rotors, and toast the hydraulic lines and rubber parts.

In 30k miles, Audi replaced two cooked power steering hoses by removing the entire front end. Each repair would have been $2000. I really liked the car but the impending financial apocalypse caused me to sell it as the warranty expired.

Cyko9
Cyko9
17 days ago

The S4 probably has more life left in it, but I’ll bet the TT is beat.

Chronometric
Chronometric
17 days ago
Reply to  Cyko9

Anyone who would make those TT “upgrades” clearly didn’t respect the car.

Mr. Canoehead
Mr. Canoehead
17 days ago
Reply to  Cyko9

The Hot Air Intake is a huuuuge red flag.

Baja_Engineer
Baja_Engineer
17 days ago
Reply to  Cyko9

Maybe not, as it’s mileage was tampered with . It was 174K miles 7 years ago when it went to Auction for the slight front damage. How does it now come with only 164K?

Last edited 17 days ago by Baja_Engineer
Wezel Boy
Wezel Boy
17 days ago

Agent Orange is always a great show.

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