Liability in Car Ownership: What to Do?

Questioner

I bought a car on 08-04-2017 for an amount of 5400 euros via Marktplaats from a garage. The advertisement stated The car is a neat car for its age, and is equipped with many options. The car has here and there are some user traces which is logical for a 10 year old car. A new gearbox was installed last year, and recently the camshaft was advanced, including the camshaft. replace chain and tensioner, also replace discs, pads and rear brake calipers and rear suspension replaced. All receipts are present. Technically the car is in new condition. MOT runs until October 2017! In the purchase agreement I have explicitly stated that I am buying the car based on the description in the advertisement. In the meantime I have driven about 10,000 km with the car and suddenly the car stood still on the highway yesterday. Without notification suddenly bang boom. Once at the garage they found that the timing belt had blown. It surprised me enormously because the seller told me that this car had a chain. In addition, according to the seller, these had recently been replaced. The result is now that the engine is broken. My question is whether I can hold the seller liable because he promised me a chain while there was a belt in the car. Furthermore, I have only driven 10,000 km where the manufacturer advises that if the car works with a belt, it should be replaced after every 50,0000 km. Yours sincerely.

Lawyer

The seller has a duty to report defects and information about the car. You indicate that he indicated/promised that there is a chain instead of a timing belt. You were allowed to assume this statement, because it is crucial for the use of the car. Now that the engine is broken as a result of this problem, you can hold the seller liable in writing to repair the problem within a certain period, failing which you will have this done elsewhere at their expense. If you cannot resolve it together, please contact me immediately and without obligation for assistance.