kocour

I have been considering buying a used Porsche Boxter and test drove one yesterday. It was a 2002 with only 28,000 miles. Near the end of the test drive several of the dash board lights came one. First the battery, then the air bag and then the ABS light. When I stopped at a light it died and we could not get it restarted. We had to push it out of traffic. That raised alarm bells about the car. Next I drove a 2004 TT S-line 6 cylinder quatro with 66,000 miles. To my surprise it was more fun to drive than the Boxster. It seemed to grip the road better. I am now considering buying a TT rather than a Boxster. There was one fault with the TT. The center screen on the dash that shows the milage and radio stations had pixels missing in some of the lines. Does this signal a series issue? How much would it cost to fix? I may just wait to find a similar car with lower miles. It was priced at $16,900 which seems like a lot for a car with that many miles. Any advice would be appreciated.

AudiMick

The "cluster pox" is a common problem, you can send it in to BB manufacturing or modulemaster for a replacement panel for around $250, however you will need to remove the cluster yourself. The immobilizer is coded to the cluster so if you buy a new one (instead of repairing the old one) and replace it you will need to flatbed the car to dealer for recoding all your ignition keys.

Audi has apparently extended the warranty on the DSG transmission, see if that car qualifies as if it fails it's $7000 + to repair. The non dealer support for that transmission is very weak. When it breaks replace it.

Unfortunately the MK 1 TT never came with a manual and V6. That was what I originally was waiting for but decided to go with the turbo and manual quattro.

The Mk 2 TT had the V6 with a 6 speed manual and quattro for the first two years.Now they are all DSG and the car is failing in the market place.

Early Boxsters are not the most reliable car out there, check how many are advertised with new/ rebuilt motors.RMS problem wasn't corrected until 2003 and IMS failure wasn't fixed until late 2004 I believe. Either caused the motor to self destruct.

dale55

Funny I too drove many boxsters before moving on to the Audi TT because of the RMS issue as well. I have a 2005 3.2 V6 with the DSG trans. I have no issues at all with the car. It is a blast to drive. Quick, engine sound awesome and it is built like a tank. It is not the best handling car I have ever owned, but the build quality itself is reason enough to buy the car. I would make sure you change the DSG fluid, oil and filter, haldex unit oil and filter, and then just drive the crap out of it!

misTTerg2k

I have an 04 S-Line and I love it! I had an 00 FWD and loved that too but the 04 is my favorite car ever.

tt32dsg

Have had my 04 3.2 for a few years now, only lost a secondary cooling fan, but purchased cert. used, so only paid $50 co-pay to fix.

The car is very fun, more of a small luxury car than the boxter. I am very happy with the purchase. I really enjoy the exhaust note when taking off. Small pleasures. I purchased the TT coupe as is has the micro seats in back for the kids.

BosTTon

Owned a 2004 V6 S-line DSG for 3 years......AMAZING CAR! Had owned an SLK320 and my choice was between the MK1 and a Boxster S....and I'm glad I made the right decision! In quite a few ways, the MK1 beats the MK2 (though must say I'm very happy now "sampling" a 2009 MK2. Never had any issues with my 2004....but the mileage was not 66k when I sold it, instead it was 26K (still a relative newbie). The big difference between the MK1 and MK2 is the engine note and feel of the road. If not in New England, I'd stll have my MK1.

BosTTon

ScoTTyNeutron

I've had my 2004 3.2 DSG for two years now (bought it CPO with 39,000 miles, now has about 59,000). Great car. DSG tranny is great, and paddle shifters are a hoot. Bose stereo is great. Handling is amazing in all weather, although the ride can be a little harsh at times.

If you can pick one up with the Audi CPO warranty (to 100K miles), that would be the way to go. My cluster also went bad and it was replaced for $0 right before the original 50K warranty expired.

Also consider a 2005 or 2006.

BosTTon

Move on to am MK2 and the harsh ride will be a thing of the past.....but while you gain, there are things you will miss..

ScoTTyNeutron

BosTTon,

It's funny, because while shopping for our MkI 3.2, the dealer also had a used '08 with DSG , but with the 4 banger.

Test drove them both. You're right, the '08 was much more refined. The '04 was more visceral. I wanted the original styling, both interior and exterior.

The harsh ride is mostly only a problem on Los Angeles roads and freeways. once I get into Ventura County, all is well....

EighTT

I own a 2004 DSG 3.2 TTR and this is my 3rd TT. For anyone unfamiliar, my first 2 TTs were returned to Audi via the lemon law.

For the most part, this car has been pretty reliable. There have been a few issues, but Audi has been good about taking care of problems.

I think that the DSG transmission is underrated. It's quite advanced and can outshift any human. Having written this, I did have some problems with DSG not too long ago, but Audi replaced the tranny even though it's well out of warranty. Furthermore, they have warrantied the replacement to 100,000 miles and I paid nothing out-of-pocket.

What can I say? I like the car and anticipate owning it for a long time. It's now over 6 years old and it looks and runs great. If the price is reasonable, I'd recommend the car. Only thing to consider is that obviously repairs are expensive if you do end up with a car that is problematic. But overall, my experience has been very good with this car.