I've had a 2001 black TT quattro since 2003 when I bought it from a single owner with about 35,000 miles. LOVED the car. Put 100k miles on it. Kept it spotless, treated it wonderfully, and thought I maintained it well. Apparently I did not...

So I self admittedly am not a car-guy. And I thought I was doing all routine maintenance on the car but I found out today that the reason it died on the highway last week was a slipped timing belt which apparently has wreaked havoc on the heads/valves etc. $3000 minimum to repair up to $5000+ if new valves are required. After searching the problem online it is clear that everyone and their mom knew about this flaw... except me, and apparently the mechanics at a "trusted" Audi/BMW/Volks shop in Columbus, Ohio that has been working on this car for the last 50, 000 miles. My feelings for this shop right now could be an entire other post... but anyhow.

I digress... I guess I'm just looking for some advice. The car was in great condition... looked five years younger. I just can't justify spending $4-5k on a car that would have probably only sold for $9-11k. Plus I know the CV joints need fixing sometime in the near future and I don't think that's cheap.

To sell? Or not to selll? Leaning towards selling... on ebay? classifieds? here?

Thanks for not referencing the 1001 posts concerning the timing belt maintenance that I should have had done... hindsight is 20/20. :-/

 

You can try posting it on the classifieds here. Another option is to part it out if you really don't want to fix it. It'll probably net more cash BUT it takes much longer to get rid of the car.

 

Bummer!

 

^No kidding...

I know you said you're not a car-guy, but why not find yourself a new daily driver, then fix this one as a learning experience?

And CV joints are that expensive if you do them yourself

 

It all depends on how much the car is worth to you. Based on what you said, it seems like you love the car a lot so if that was the case, I personally would fix the car. My car is priceless in my eyes since I will never find one that is in similar condition so I'm usually willing to spend the money to get it up and running.

Or do what Brad said and try fixing it your self. There are a lot of DIY's online how to work on this matter. Plus your engine (I'm guessing you have the 1.8T) is the same engine/similar to the ones in the B5's, B6's, Passats, some Jettas, and GTIs.

But if you decide to part with it, parting out would be the way to go. You'll be able to get a lot more money this (but it takes time).

Best of luck!

 

Thanks for the advice folks. Besides being cathartic this is actually warming me to the idea of potentially trying to fix this myself. If I sell the car, I'm going to do without a new one for a while so there's not much downside to trying I guess.

But some more questions from a self-admitted novice. ie the most car work I've ever done was replacing a radiator and some power steering lines on an old jeep where I could practically stand inside the engine housing.

1) Is there a snowball chance in hell I could successfully complete this work? I'm reasonably smart... but never worked on a an engine before. Found some wonderful documentation today for a 2002 TT (yet to be determined if it applies to my 2001) http://www.modshack.info/images/blue...eplacement.pdf

2) Even if I am able to fix the timing belt... the top half of my engine is hosed right? New valves minimum? Possibly new heads? Possibly worse? So even if I can do the timing belt, can I repair/replace the heads?

3) Assuming yes to #2... what is the ballpark cost going to be to do all of that myself? I'm attempting to expand my mechanical know-how to save a car that I love (I can't afford 3-5 G's to fix it) but am I going to be approaching that level of cost even if I do it myself? Because if so I sure as heck don't want to spend that much money for a 50% chance I got it right only to find out I didn't.

Still warming to the idea of garaging it for the winter and digging in... but the rational part of my brain still feels like it's a fantasy to think I can do all the work. I realize I have to make the call but requesting info from folks who have been there before to make an educated decision. Thanks!

Oh two more questions...

1) What could I expect to get for it parted out versus as is? Before this happened I would have expected no less than $10k for the condition it was in (or I thought it was in). As is? $4k? $5k?

2) What if anything should be done/said to the Audi shop that has seen this car for the last two years and never once mentioned timing belt maintenance? This is an AUDI shop mind you. ANd I've taken it there for over two years, over 50k miles for routine maintenance and for engine specific issues. Never.Mentioned.Timing Belt. I realize ultimately responsibility is my own... but this is kinda why I pay for a mechanic. Infuriating.

 

First thing to do is get the head off it and take a look at the damage.

If the valves are wrecked, its because the pistons beat the hell out of them, and probably took a good amount of damage themselves. If by some miracle the pistons survived alright, you MIGHT be able to get away with just dropping another head on the engine. Otherwise you're looking at dropping the crank out of the bottom of the engine to replace the pistons too. Lots of work.
Also a lot of work, but less critical in the details might be to try to find an entire (running) replacement engine, and just worry about bolting up parts to the outside of the engine.
I'd start looking around vwvortex in the classifieds, and audifans as well. Generally where I've had the best luck sourcing used parts.

Also, in regards to your Audi shop and their not mentioning the timing belt...
Generally, it's the water pump or the timing belt tensioner that lets go, causing catastrophic damage like you've experienced. Audi service is/was rated around the service life of the timing belt itself, not the parts it makes contact with, which unfortunately, have been known to fail as early as 60,000 miles. If I remember correctly, the service interval of the belt was 120,000 miles.
There's been successful class action suits around the world, but I don't remember hearing much about any success with Audi America. :/

 

Where are you located? Perhaps there are some members around you that can guide you through out the whole process.

 

Even if having the money to fix it in the next year or two (maybe even more) isn't feasible, if you have the storage space and enough love for the car, I'd just keep it. One day you'll have the means to do the repairs and may appreciate that you decided to hang on to it. After three years and 40k miles of ownership I know I couldn't let my car go if something similar happened and there was even the slightest chance I could someday have it up and running again. I really love my car, though... Perhaps a bit too much.

Best of luck with whatever decision you make!

 

You said heads, as in plural... I'm assuming you have a V6 model? Honestly, I didn't think/ know they made them back then... Then again, I don't know much about the TT's. If you have a 1.8T, then you can probably make a pretty beast ride out of a complete rebuild... Just saying. The 1.8T is a pretty common engine, and there is a world of knowledge here. I never really did much outside the basics before my A4, but since joining here, I've build up the courage to do my own timing belt, complete front control arms, both front half shafts, and a few other things. As long as you consider yourself pretty smart, you'd be surprised what you can do.

I vote rebuild if it's 1.8T!!! (And make a Timeline thread while you're at it.)