diagnostic scanner

hi all im lookin to get a diagnostic scanner but confused in what to get
hopefully the diagnostic scanner will be used with a laptop with xp pro with a serial port
do i get a v*g com or elm327,it will be used mainly on alfa romero,fiats,nissan
also do these re map ecu's aswell diagnose fault codes etc etc,also what
s/ware would i use on the laptop

tia...

vagcom is for vw group

elm is a generic very basic scanner

take a look at the other thread about scanners

ur best bet is to get 1 of those cheap 70 / 80 quid units that do most stuff

but will u know what to do once u got the fault codes?????

Bluetooth dongle to obd app on smartphone works for me. I used HTC Desire (android) running TORQUE app.

Lets you do all the basic stuff most of us need.

JB.