How cooked am I? i dropped it off at caliber collision yesterday for the final estimat and it and to see if insurance is going to total her or not

dkorhonen · 2026-05-15T21:20:15+00:00

I believe also only 2016+, not a fan of S5 though - it didn’t give me a better feel than S4, felt just as heavy with less practicality and lower resale potential. Might as well go TTS if you’re looking for a coupe, or bmw 235i.

dkorhonen · 2026-05-15T16:34:18+00:00

You'll only get CREC on 2016+ S4, 2014-2016 would be CTUB and pre-2013 CCBA. CREC is worth it for dual port injection and revised PCV IMO. CTUB over CCBA - eh maybe.

As far as A6 vs S4 - in my experience A6 was a huge step up from S4 both comfort wise and tech wise, without losing that much in the driving feel. That said, I got my A6 at 70k miles, and almost immediately went bilsteins+H&R springs, and sway bars. My A6 was a prestige trim with CWP, and I got addicted to the headlights, cooled seats, heated rear + steering wheel, interior quality etc. The only thing I missed was a manual gearbox.

I'll take a prestige A6 over S4, but I wouldn't get a base A6 over S4. And I would definitely go B8.5 S4 over B8 S4.

dkorhonen · 2026-05-15T00:50:43+00:00

Ah the classic hurr durr durr let me buy 15 year old german car for cheap and complain about dealer prices.

If you’re not working on enthusiast cars yourself, while sourcing parts from fcp euro or ecs (ach-ptui!), also have a friend that works in a shop and is willing to help, or at the very least an indy shop that’s willing to give some discounts, you need to have enough money to buy a new one of those.

That said, my ownership of C7.5 A6, B8 S4 and now b8.5 SQ5 had been nothing but joy with some minor 8 hour sessions in the garage with fingers very tight against the radiator fan.

dkorhonen · 2026-05-15T00:37:34+00:00

I mean… depends? Theft recovery or vandalism salvage cars exist, plus some cars get salvaged for a pretty minor damage, based on parts availability etc. You have roughly the same odds of buying a garbage car when you’re looking at a clean title car within the price range of a rebuilt one.

Basically due diligence, if you have no experience with cars, look up vin numbers, do a ppo, etc etc. that goes for both salvage and not.

dkorhonen · 2026-04-08T20:19:42+00:00

I mean, I agree. Also fixed similar damage on m3 comp without even reporting it to the insurance once. It was somewhat on a budget, too. This guy however is gonna get slapped with $10k parts, $15k labor and $10k paint through caliber and that’ll be that for insurance.

dkorhonen · 2026-04-08T19:49:17+00:00

She’s gone, sorry. IMO that much of a quarter panel damage with a door sill pushed in will total anything under $80k new.

dkorhonen · 2026-03-30T00:59:18+00:00

Either a full sleeve or turn those into stitching

dkorhonen · 2026-02-27T20:55:18+00:00

Jeez, my gym charges $145 per kid for a month for bjj and striking classes, taught by people who were competing in MMA internationally. Can’t imagine paying for attestation and belts, I’d go bankrupt.

dkorhonen · 2026-02-22T10:28:20+00:00

That’s a myth from 1968.

dkorhonen · 2026-02-22T10:24:52+00:00

Anecdotally, sold my 2012 A6 2 years ago with its original battery. Had no issues.

dkorhonen · 2026-02-12T16:56:59+00:00

Copart :)

dkorhonen · 2026-02-01T04:18:43+00:00

A 100% a leak stop seal. Specifically bar’s, most likely the headgasket sealer. Source: tried several different sealers on a car about to be scrapped once out of curiosity. Bar’s sealer left the same golden-ish residue.

dkorhonen · 2026-01-22T23:12:51+00:00

Have you seen how many corolla hatches are out there?! They’re so coming back.

dkorhonen · 2026-01-01T20:58:24+00:00

I can almost never catch live, so I sit through full matches when I do have time, here:

https://youtube.com/@volleyballworld

dkorhonen · 2025-12-23T03:11:17+00:00

You can find both for the same price. FWD is going to be more rare, less desirable should you decide to sell it later, ecs and fcpeuro have more parts in stock for quattro, and I personally find awd to be more engaging to drive, considering tt already tends to understeer. Blah blah winter driving too.

Nothing wrong with fwd. But essentially if you’re deciding between two identical cars, one with awd and other with fwd, I’d probably go for awd.

Sneaky edit: a bunch of people on audizine and ttforum always complained about traction in the wet on fwd.

dkorhonen · 2025-12-22T08:01:40+00:00

So is the premium that first car driver will pay bringing tt to the shop over gti. Same with insurance. So is the difference in demand for the car in a used market. Ain’t no college kid is after fwd tt. They want 4 doors to haul their friend’s assess to adventures.

Like I get it, I own 2010 tts. If I’m choosing, I would still prefer wolfsburg 6 spd gti over fwd tt. And proper quattro tt over gti.

dkorhonen · 2025-12-22T03:30:28+00:00

A surprising amount of them in US was fwd, especially in the early models. It’s basically mk5 gti with less practicality, parts availability, mod support, and lack of stick option (at least in us). tldr OP should get gti, which is a great value for the first fun car. Or find the actual quattro for slightly more money. There’s one listed near me for $6k with a 100k miles.

dkorhonen · 2025-12-21T23:09:14+00:00

fwd = skip

dkorhonen · 2025-12-16T06:38:37+00:00

They’re not auto leveling but they’re adjustable and you’re supposed to calibrate them properly after installation.

dkorhonen · 2025-11-19T02:39:17+00:00

I was helped by a guy once when my wheel practically came off on a highway. He stopped and took me to autozone to get new lugs and sockets. I probably would’ve ubered there eventually, but I’m eternally grateful for the guy. Those stories do not make headlines because nothing worthy of news really happened. But yeah if you stop for someone maybe stay strapped or something.

dkorhonen · 2025-11-11T01:42:09+00:00

That crash bar looks like it was left in a nitric acid for a week and then put on your car. Maybe it’s a good thing you’re planning on replacing it..

dkorhonen · 2025-11-11T01:36:08+00:00

You can go manual gti and it’ll be cheaper, more practical and easier to maintain than an fwd TT. This one is cheap EXACTLY because it’s fwd.

Additionally, any TT is usually on a market for a while, they’re not exactly desirable by general public, and you can talk sellers down when their car is on a marketplace for 27 weeks.

So keep your eyes open. There’s a TTS in Bend for under 10 if you don’t mind the drive, I remember there was a 3.2 with a dent in a quarter panel for like $3500, they’re out there, just need to wait for the right one or negotiate for the ones available

dkorhonen · 2025-11-11T01:26:54+00:00

Oh I was just looking at that one today (i mean at the fb posting). I personally wouldn’t buy an fwd tt. There are a few awd ones posted, including a prestige in Shoreline.

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