Twinspark

Right..... the 146Ti.Great little cars - the closest thing to a modern Sud you can buy.However.... things to know:1. Cambelts should be done on 36k - 48k miles, despite the manual saying 72k miles. If you're looking at one that's due, you need at least 300 quid off the asking price.2. Depending on the age of it, make sure you get both the burgundy master key and 2 red normal keys. If you don't have the burgundy, you're looking at a bill for a new ECU at nearly a grand, or a 3rd party bodge with a 300 quid alarm / immobiliser. You can, however, duplicate the transponder in the red key, but can't get an aftermarket remote key - Alfa won't give you a new red key without a burgundy key. This does not apply to facelift models.3. Any 'diesel' rattle from cold (even if only for a few seconds) tells you the cam variator is on it's way out- see point 1.4. Listen for knocks and squeeks from the front suspension as they can go through bushes quickly. Not expensive or hard to replace - it's usually the drop-link bushes at fault.5. Finally, any rust signifies accident damage as they're galvanised from new.Actually, just to add.....When you have a potential purchase nice and warm, sit in it and hold the revs. at 2700-2900 rpm. If the engine speed dips to 2200 or so rpm for a few seconds and then recovers, then don't buy it - our 156 is doing this at the moment which is playing hell with the MOT emissions testing kit - we now need to find out which sensor is playing up before it can be used again..... Argh!