Three weeks ago we bought a Renault Espace (2.2dci Privilege Y plate with 102,000 on the clock) from a trader working from home who advertised on Auto Trader.

He was up front about his status as a trader so no concerns there. The car was in good condition and drove fine when we tested it. We paid £2200 which was a little higher than the Parkers recommended value but after looking at a lot of seven seat MPV’s this one was in very good condition for its age.

He stated at the sale that the injectors appeared to be letting in air so he had them resealed. We noticed over the following week that the car was producing a lot of smoke especially under acceleration - something it did not do during our test drive. We decided to have it looked at and get the car serviced at the same time.

A week after buying the car we took it to our local Renault dealer for a full service. They discovered that the front suspension bearings needed replacing as did one of the rear brake callipers. They pulled the EGR valve which turned out to be totally seized and clogged with deposits. They have cleaned the valve and since getting it back it is still very smoky under normal use, especially under acceleration.

Having spoken to the garage and read some forums here we could be looking at a lot of costly work. The invoice states 'Trade sale tried, tested and approved.' Do we have any avenue for compensation from the trader?