Almost here. Can't wait this will be my first one this year. Not looking forward to the 14 hour drives but I know it is going to be well worth it. See ya's there.
Yea chances are you will be able to salvage them unless they are pretty horrible. But if they are pretty old maybe now would be a good time to do ball joints and think for the future.
Its all about how they are taken care of maintenance wise. I bought my 93 tsi with 175,000 on it from a kid that had it for 12 years and took really good care of it. I have since had it for 8 months and have run the shit out of that car with next to no problems(Speedo cable, Power steering belt...
+1 battery connection same issue with mine last week charged the battery twice and after driving it both times it still wouldn't start the next day. It was the connection.
Lower compression pistons the more boost you can through at it. Higher compression pistons you will see more power out of your engine but will be more limited on boost. And some cams thats my 2 cents.