Hello all! I own a 1997, R Reg, Seat Alhambra, 2.0ltr Manual, Petrol. Only bought it about 3 weeks ago from a dealer. On the test drive I noticed that it didn't accelerate smoothly, but seemed to tick over fine when idling. The dealer said that they'd washed the engine & that it was proberbly alittle damp, nothing to worry about. Since then, sometimes I jump in and it runs perfectly.. Good acceleration, no jerking or lumpyness, other times it runs really lumpy, as if it's about to run out of fuel. When turning the key to start the engine, if I start it as you would a normal engine, it cranks 4-5 times before firing, if I turn the key from off to starting in one swift movement, it fires straight away. I drove it to my regular mechanic and asked him to look over it quickly.. The first thing he pointed out, was that the plugs were shot and that I had a corroded ht lead. He replaced the plugs and cleaned out the lead. I've since cleaned out the distributer cap too, as there had been plenty of arcing. The engine still runs lumpy 50% of the time. I've checked the distributer cap again yesterday, no signs of arcing. Moreoften than not, the engine is now surging when ideling/standing. What I don't understand, is why at any given time of day or state of engine temperature.. I can start and it may drive perfectly normal. Please note, if it starts and drives fine, it remains fine for the remainder of the journey. If it starts and runs lumpy, it runs lumpy for the remainder of the journey. I'm told it was serviced only 4 thousand miles ago. Any recommendations from previous experience, GREATLY APPRECIATED. I'm currently broke and cannot afford to waste any money on resolving this issue. Thankyou!! Apollo apolloblaze@hotmail.com