Honest mechanic

@AshAdu

Ah... unicorns and honest mechanics... :-)

Fortunately, we're in Bulgaria, so I suspect there are a few (of the latter).

Trying to drag one (IF you find one) out on car viewing trips sounds like a bridge too far to me though.

I'm not wild about the idea of Bulgarian car dealers, and I have not done this. But, in the circumstances, as you need a fast deal, I suggest you make a trip out to the car dealer village next to Plovdiv (Trud, I think). There are a bunch of dealers here, so it's easy to go to several lots and check out their inventory. Most of them also advertise on cars (dot bg) so you can see if they have anything interesting (you can search for listings in Plovdiv and specify private/dealer).

Many do imports from other EU countries, so that might be an interesting option for you.

@gwynj

Thanks Gwyn 😀

Hello everyone 😀

I thought newcomers might find our experience of interest.

In April Gwyn took us to Trud Village (outskirts Plovdiv) and we looked at some cars with him, but he then had to go.

We looked at a few dealers but ended up buying  a little second hand car from Toscana77

Adu had looked on mobile.bg and saw that Toscana had many cheaper second hand options.

We took about 30 minutes making a note of what cars we liked that fell into our price and mileage requirements.   We then spoke to the owner and he said the little Citroen C3 (Italian import) was the best in his opinion on our list. We agreed on a price. We had to pay a deposit. We caught a taxi back and the same taxi took Adu back there the next day. He then paid cash for the car. The car was then loaded onto a transporter and taken with Adu to KAT. He spent the full day there getting everything done for registration, insurance, eco tax and number plates.

We have been in Bansko now since 1st May.

Our little car has since gone to Sofia twice and to Kavala Greece and had a service.

So far we are very happy with our experience !

@AshAdu what no scams gyspies and mafia? Gwynj nailed it there. I reckon us lot living in Bulgaria get it pretty easy. Still scratching my head with that paranoid lot sitting on computers s*itting on this country.

@mickeyhart

I feel the same way, mate! I just don't recognize this country in their descriptions of all the scheming, dishonest locals... pea-souper diesel smogs hanging over the cities... and all the tatty, tumble-down houses and apartment blocks being sold off for 10X (or 50X) their real value to us foreign mugs. :-) Maybe it's time we started a new thread about all the good things in Bulgaria?

@AshAdu

Well done, me. :-)

I was really pleasantly surprised by the dealers in Trud. Admittedly, I'm no mechanic, but all the German and Italian imports were really tidy, nice looking cars. I'm (really) glad that your new motor is still going strong... and that you're enjoying your new life in beautiful Bansko!

@mickeyhart

No scams and no gypsies 😀

All just good

@gwynj

Absolutely 😀 You were a star

@AshAdu hi how life in bg  in expat can you life chat