big windows

What bigger windows can you get than a convertible?

We used to drive ours with the roof down at zero degrees. The heaters are very effective and there’s nothing like driving with the roof down.

It’s not the temperature that’d bother me. It’s the pissing rain.

Not that we shouldn’t be looking for viable alternative futures, but we could take all the cars off the road the world over tomorrow, and nothing would happen to improve climate change!

You obviously haven’t understood a thing about what’s driving climatic change and the proportion of greenhouses gase produced by automobile transport.

Not that I’m suggesting removing all cars fromt ehroad tomorrow, it’ll be a progressive thing if we’re wise, a transition. At some point people will understand that gratuitously burning fossil fuel in a thrash around Scotland has to stop as one of the measures needed to make our children’s future more than a fight for survival. Our excesses are condeming our children to a miserable future. You’re young enough to really suffer from your own excesses, mboy. One day you’ll realise that.

Why if you don’t have kids ?

Just sayin..

Fiat Panda 100hp are hugely fun to drive, would be great for this trip I reckon.

Is that what your realosed after you burnt more than your lifetime share rallying your self round the country side. ?

You obviously haven’t understood a thing about what’s driving climatic change and the proportion of greenhouses gase produced by automobile transport.

I can assure you that I have…

At some point people will understand that gratuitously burning fossil fuel in a thrash around Scotland has to stop as one of the measures needed to make our children’s future more than a fight for survival.

You really have this trolling malarkey down to a fine art don’t you! Would you like to get on your high horse about people flying all over the world too? Just for the record, in the last 8 years I’ve probably done about 6k miles per year average in/on a car/van/motorbike, and have only flown on a plane 6 times (all short haul) in that time too, so if this is a pissing contest, I’m certainly not winning the carbon emissions race!

Our excesses are condeming our children to a miserable future. You’re young enough to really suffer from your own excesses, mboy. One day you’ll realise that.

You’re speaking to someone who has not only gone out of my way to be much greener than average in my own personal life, but has also been workplace green champion in previous roles… Anyway…

Is that what your realosed after you burnt more than your lifetime share rallying your self round the country side. ?

He really is the newly self righteous, reformed smoker isn’t he!

It’s not the temperature that’d bother me. It’s the pissing rain.

Fair point… GF it turns out isn’t so keen on a soft top anyway! That surprised me…

Now looking at mk2 Audi TT coupe’s and putting a little more into the budget. She could use that happily for work (she does about 8-10k miles per year for her job, but has to run her own car and gets paid a mileage rate) especially if we got the TDI Quattro version, and we would then sell her 3 series or my Passat.

EDIT: Oh and for the nay sayers… TT I’m gonna go look at is on 17’s with 50 profile tyres rather than 18 or 19″ rims, so…

Take a look at the TT Owners/OEM site in FB… you’ll find some decent well looked after TT’s on there.

Sounds like you’ll be looking at a MK2, £3-£5k then..

If you bin the car idea, spend a night in Glasgow’s Central Station Hotel (very nice and very reasonably priced), stunning 5hr train journey to Millaig, ferry to wherever, eat and drink like a laird and don’t risk your licence, car or your relationship.
Having seen a bit of that road, I wouldn’t dream of it (in the rain or fog you could be anywhere, and equally pissed off) and I quite like driving.

Late to the thread, but MX5 for sure. There’s a million and one out there for sale and they are cheap this time of year. Also, the heater and roof works and it has a vaguely sensible boot, and will go around roundabouts sideways if you’re feeling lairy (says a friend, etc). Buy it now. Drive it a bit. Sell it in May.

I miss our MX5, still, that’s kids for you. I’d have our old one (G plate!) back, no question.

Bear in mind despite some people suggesting the NC500 is some sort of car destroying Scottish version of the Paris – Dakar mixed with the Okavango Delta the vast majority of it is on well surfaced 2 lane ashphalt.

There are 3 sections of single track road. If you go clockwise from Inverness then the first section is the Applecross penninsula and the Bealach Na Ba. I’m not sure I’d want to tackle it towing a caravan but in a normal car its would be fine and its a rewarding drive with great views both over the pass and along the penninsula. Past Sheldaig its back to a 2 lane road.

Next section is from Lochinver around to Kyleshu, this is quite a twisty section of road with lots of sharp elevation changes and short sight lines. Personally I’d skip it as you won’t really miss anything.

Next section is the longest, but also the easiest. About 12 miles before Durness its a continuous singletrack road until just before Tongue. But long sections of it are flat and straight with good sight lines

Any sensible car that can deal with speed bumps will be fine on these roads.

Bear in mind despite some people suggesting the NC500 is some sort of car destroying Scottish version of the Paris – Dakar mixed with the Okavango Delta the vast majority of it is on well surfaced 2 lane ashphalt.

Thank you for being a rare (This is STW I guess!) voice of calm in the storm… I grew up living down old farm tracks, until I moved out of my parents for good in my late 20’s I had to deal with dirt tracks and gravel roads in a “normal” (shock horror!) car on a regular basis! I think I’ll manage… 😉

Went and test drove a 2008 Audi TT TDI Quattro today. It will blow the budget massively (isn’t that how all the best stories start?), but it’s just had a full service (inc cambelt, water pump, 4 new tyres, tracking etc.) and has a clean bill of health and drives like a new car. Think I may just put a deposit on it tomorrow, then just get a 0% balance transfer card in a month to transfer the balance to and pay the extra £3k off @ £100 a month going forward… It’s even half practical, my mate has assured me that with the rear seats down and both wheels out, he can get his 29er full sus in the back of his TT (just!).

“my mate has assured me that with the rear seats down and both wheels out, he can get his 29er full sus in the back of his TT (just!)” I can confirm this is true in a Mk1 as well.

You can get bikes in the back of them.. and surfboards… plenty of my TT mates do sports/hobbies and they drive coupe’s.

And you mentioned 17’s with 50′ tyres on them.. you can fit the 50’s on 18’s too.. it’s a common choice considering the pot holes we drive on.. (I’ve done it on mine and it’s fine, doesn’t impinge on any bodywork and still has loads of room in the wheel arches)

HTHs

So… I had another realisation that whatever happens, if I keep the car I’m not likely to do more than 3-4k a year in it, which made diesel seem like a ridiculous choice. So I started looking at petrol TT’s again, more specifically Mk1 225’s as these are (to me) not only far more interesting, but also you can get a hell of a lot of car for not very much money if you’re very thorough…

I pick up an immaculate low mileage, FSH, every i dotted and t crossed 225 mk1 TT Roadster either later today or tomorrow… I can’t wait!

Excellent. I didn’t want to comment when you were talking about Mk2 diesels but a Mk1 225 is a much better choice. The Mk2 looks so bland.

Check the floors are dry, it’s a pain (but not very expensive) to fix dodgy drain tubes for the hood.

Also check the temperature gauge gets up to and sits at 90 with no fluctuating.

One other issue we had was total brake failure…. if the cambelt has been changed there’s a coolant pipe that often gets bent out of the way for access, if it’s not bent back again then it can rub on the brake line where it exits the master cylinder. It’s difficult to see but have a good look with a torch under the master cylinder and you should see a coolant pipe close to a brake pipe. As long as there’s no evidence of them touching you should be good.

Oh and enjoy, ours was great fun. I’d have another if I found some cash spare and an empty garage to put it in.

Excellent, good choice.

You don’t want to go spoiling a little coupe with the engine from a taxi!

I pick up an immaculate low mileage, FSH, every i dotted and t crossed 225 mk1 TT Roadster either later today or tomorrow… I can’t wait!

Awesome… if you want some help with issues/niggles let me know (I have a MK1 Roadster, the 3.2DSG one)

If you are on FB get yourself on the MK1 TT Owners Club, the MK1 TT OEM Club, the MK1 TT Parts and Service Club.

There are some very good MK1 TT breakers (who take good bits off cars) which means you can buy stuff at a fraction of the price thats in VGC

Excellent. I didn’t want to comment when you were talking about Mk2 diesels but a Mk1 225 is a much better choice.

Having driven both… Agreed! Mk1 is much more of an experience, much nicer interior. Also we took the diesel mk2 for a test drive, GF said “this doesn’t exactly feel special does it”… She was grinning from ear to ear in the mk1 225 roadster!

Check the floors are dry, it’s a pain (but not very expensive) to fix dodgy drain tubes for the hood.

The one I’m buying is from a guy who owns his own (Audi main dealer approved no less!) body shop. We even have some mutual friends it turns out. He’s only had it a couple of years, but in that time he removed the roof, completely cleared out the drain channels, and replaced the drain tubes with a more effective solution. It’s bone dry inside! Unlike the other one I viewed which had a paddling pool under the seats!

Also check the temperature gauge gets up to and sits at 90 with no fluctuating.

It gets up there but it’s a little slow, booking it in for a replacement thermostat ASAP. It’s literally the only fault I could find on the car though! Spoke to my mechanic and he said more of an issue on short journeys, won’t cause a problem immediately but he’ll sort it for me soon.

One other issue we had was total brake failure…. if the cambelt has been changed there’s a coolant pipe that often gets bent out of the way for access, if it’s not bent back again then it can rub on the brake line where it exits the master cylinder. It’s difficult to see but have a good look with a torch under the master cylinder and you should see a coolant pipe close to a brake pipe. As long as there’s no evidence of them touching you should be good.

I’ve heard of this. First drive, the brakes didn’t feel impressive on this car, but turns out he’d only just had a rear (seized) caliper replaced, and all new brake pads fitted, so they weren’t bedded in! Drove it again the day after, it stopped better. Certainly the servo is working, and I can’t detect any vacuum leaks.

Oh and enjoy, ours was great fun. I’d have another if I found some cash spare and an empty garage to put it in.

I will do, but garage is full of bikes sadly… This one will have to live outside (though will get a cover for it for extended periods).

You don’t want to go spoiling a little coupe with the engine from a taxi!

Roadster in the end, but yeah noted… Once the trip is over, I will probably get it remapped to Stage1 and slowly go about replacing anything that is wearing/worn out over time.

Awesome… if you want some help with issues/niggles let me know (I have a MK1 Roadster, the 3.2DSG one)

Cheers. Will do.

If you are on FB get yourself on the MK1 TT Owners Club, the MK1 TT OEM Club, the MK1 TT Parts and Service Club.

One step ahead of you. From what I can tell already, it seems to be an excellent and helpful community, far more so than for most other cars!

There are some very good MK1 TT breakers (who take good bits off cars) which means you can buy stuff at a fraction of the price thats in VGC

Have already spoken to a couple, they do seem very good indeed, though annoyingly they’re all 100+ miles from me.

I’m in the norf ATM, theres two brilliant breakers 20miles from me ATM… if you need anything in the next week let me know..

@mboy (and anyone else with a Mk1) the brake issue isn’t the vacuum pipe, it’s the actual hydraulic brake line that runs from master cylinder, across the firewall behind the engine, and to the ABS unit.

I found a picture that I took at the time, it’s difficult to get a good view of as it’s right down the side of the engine but the arrow points at the 2 pipes that rub together.

Oh and while I’m digging out photos, this was one of the photos I took when it was up for sale 😞

That is lovely…

Sold now I assume?

Yep sold year and a half ago.
Replaced with a Polo GTI.

Good choice. I am sure you will enjoy it, we have with ours. Ours has to live outside, & if you do get a cover for it I can recommend this https://cabrioshield.com/uk/audi-tt-2000-2006-premium.html . I did get a cheaper one but it fell apart after 6 months so was a false economy. Best to use OEM thermostat apparently. My brakes weren’t good but new pads have made a big difference. TT Forum has some very knowledgeable folks on & is good for searching for issues.

phil5556, I will checking my pipes!

phil5556, I will checking my pipes!

I’d definitely recommend checking.

Took about 2years/25k miles to wear through after cambelt change. Became apparent when the other half braked hard due to an oncoming vehicle on her side of the road, just about stopped her enough as the pedal went to the floor and then nothing.

The pipe was cheap enough from Audi, just a hassle to change.

Wow that mk1 is a nice looking car, shame Audi spent the last decade styling out all the character so it looks like every other angry faced coupe.

@fooman I always thought they looked great, prefer the Coupe but she wanted a convertible.

I like the fact that (allegedly) Audi actually built it to look like the concept car, which very rarely happens once a car makes it to production

Good choice. I am sure you will enjoy it, we have with ours. Ours has to live outside, & if you do get a cover for it I can recommend this https://cabrioshield.com/uk/audi-tt-2000-2006-premium.html .

Many thanks. My next port of call was going to be a request for recommendations for a cover, thanks for pre-empting me!

Best to use OEM thermostat apparently

I went and had a conversation with Badger5 today, they reckon cos the car is warming up very quick but the temps aren’t showing correctly, it’s not the thermostat but a faulty temp sensor on the side of the block, and therefore a much cheaper fix. Fingers crossed!

My brakes weren’t good but new pads have made a big difference.

The brakes on this car are starting to work well now. I guess it wasn’t the best idea for the guy selling it to not bed the new pads in before he let me test drive it, but it seems ok now. That said, it does seem underbraked compared to the Z4 I had, and it seems a very popular mod to fit bigger front brakes and 4 pot calipers to these cars.

Wow that mk1 is a nice looking car

That’s a big thing that brought me round in the end. The mk1 is just much more exciting car both inside and out, more of an experience etc.

“I went and had a conversation with Badger5 today, they reckon cos the car is warming up very quick but the temps aren’t showing correctly, it’s not the thermostat but a faulty temp sensor on the side of the block, and therefore a much cheaper fix. Fingers crossed!” A common fault, I had to change mine. Its very easy to do, definitely use OEM for this (I tried a cheap one & it was no good). You can check using the Climate control https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCAPW_wOqfk . It is a popular mod to upgrade the brakes calipers, but I was surprised how well good pads have worked.

Just driven up Bealach Na Ba…

Staying in Applecross tonight, off to the Applecross Inn for some grub in a moment.

And to all the nay sayers… GF is loving it! Hasn’t stopped grinning yet! 👍🏻

Nice boozer. Great spot. Have fun.

You’re speaking to someone who has not only gone out of my way to be much greener than average in my own personal life, but has also been workplace green champion in previous roles… Anyway…

And yet you’re still thrashing around Scotland in that thing.

I gave up rallying in 1986. That was the year the role of CO2 in global warming and climatic change started to come up in the research for the acid waters project I was leading.

Nice boozer.

Just walked back from meal and a couple of drinks in it. Lovely place, great food, huge selection of whiskys and gins… Mmm

Looking forward to the next couple few days now, Lochinver tomorrow night, Thurso Wednesday, gin tour Thursday followed by a night in a castle, then Loch Ness on Friday! Can’t wait!

And yet you’re still thrashing around Scotland in that thing.

Unless you’ve worked from home since then for the entire time, I’d wager your carbon footprint per year has had significantly more impact on the planet than mine has… So please… Just **** off and go find someone who gives a shit! You really are a **** arse aren’t you…

Big thanks to all for the positive inputs on the Mk1 TT too… There’s a wealth of knowledge on them on the Facebook groups thankfully! 👍🏻

Yay! have fun up there….

An amphibious one …
It will rain constantly – well, it did for me

And yet you’re still thrashing around Scotland in that thing.

Did you give the same speach to jnr when he went thrashing round foreign lands in a non electric car ?

@mboy – ignore Edukator, the rest of us do.

An amphibious one

Had the top down all afternoon yesterday, including going up the Bealach Na Ba. Was glorious! It’s bit wetter today mind…

ignore Edukator, the rest of us do.

It’s ok, I found some old car tyres and a can of petrol last night, we had a glorious camp fire! Apparently they could see it all the way from Skye…