Justified notice of default for sale of caravan?

Questioner

We recently sold our caravan via marktplaats. We wanted a smaller one and had a lot of fun with it for 2 years. The caravan is 23 years old. In the advertisement we have indicated (in good faith) that it concerns a neat and tidy caravan. We have been very careful with it and when selling it we showed the buying party the caravan including the defects that were known to us. The caravan was sold for 5750 euros including awning and canopy. Last year we fitted the caravan with shutters on the outside. The company that did this indicated that a piece of wood was rotten at the front. My husband neatly replaced this last year. Together with loose tape at the front. (Was already there when we bought the caravan). He also sealed some hairline cracks at the front window. Today we received a letter from the selling party that puts us in default because a large part of the front appears to be rotten due to cracks around the plastic covers in the front window. They discovered this because this window did not stay open properly during cleaning. We ourselves have never had this window fully open. And no leakage was noticed either. The request is for free repair or reversal of the purchase. What are our rights and obligations in this?

Lawyer

Dear Sir/Madam, It is difficult to give specific advice based on that information. In general, I can give you the following. A delivered item must correspond to the purchase. An item does not correspond to the agreement if, also taking into account the nature of the item and the statements made by the seller about the item, it does not have the properties that the buyer could expect on the basis of the agreement. The buyer may expect that the item has the properties that are necessary for normal use thereof and of which he did not have to doubt the presence, as well as the properties that are necessary for a special use that is provided for in the agreement. If the delivered item does not correspond to the agreement, the buyer may demand repair of the delivered item, provided that the seller can reasonably comply with this. The seller is obliged, also taking into account the nature of the item and the special use of the item as provided for in the agreement, to fulfil the repair obligations within a reasonable period and without serious inconvenience to the buyer. The buyer may terminate the purchase agreement if repair and replacement are impossible or cannot be required of the seller or if the seller does not repair the item. I cannot judge on the basis of this information whether the caravan corresponds to the purchase agreement. If you need personal advice, please contact me!