Buy a car in bulgary as a foreighn

Actually this should be quite easy. Nothing special as far as I know.

You can buy the car from a company or from an individual,
Car ownership is transferred by a sales contract and this has to be confirmed by a public notary.
Next - you will have to register the car at the closest Traffic Police Office. You will also need Third party liability insurance, Technical inspection certificate, Road vignette and that's all.

There's another registration at the municipality, where people live in Bulgaria, but I am not quite sure how this will happen in your case. Proably any municipality will do. This goes with a municipal tax.

There's a certain difference in cases when the car is already registered and in use and in cases it is not registeres/not used. The second option will cost you a bit more, so better choose the first one.

Car brokers normally assisst in all stages of this process. You can also negotiate to sell the car back to the same broker before leaving the country.

There are great deals in Bulgaria but be careful and get it inspected before buying. Historically, Bulgaria has been a dumping-ground for cars that should be junked.

We bought a cheap car (2000 US) and found a company that did the inspections and negotiations for us. I believe it cost use around 300 US for them to inspect 10 candidate cars, register the cars, negotiate the deal and deliver it to us. The car has been amazing to own so far and issue-free. I can find the contact information if it would help.

thank you s much for your answer. so you say i won't have any problems buying the car even when i dont have nationality or permanent via en Bulgaria?

@matthewmaday thnk you so much, if you could find that person who helped you to buy the car i would be so appreciative. My budget is a little less than yours, but i also need a simple car, old, but in good conditions

Yes, I think you will have no problems. Car inspection is also possible and I strongly adwise that you do so, in order to know how much money you will need to invest in that car. Generally you will need to change at least the oil,  some filters and the belt. Better plan some 200 - 300 EUR initial investment.

kristiann wrote:

Actually this should be quite easy. Nothing special as far as I know.

You can buy the car from a company or from an individual,
Car ownership is transferred by a sales contract and this has to be confirmed by a public notary.
Next - you will have to register the car at the closest Traffic Police Office. You will also need Third party liability insurance, Technical inspection certificate, Road vignette and that's all.

There's another registration at the municipality, where people live in Bulgaria, but I am not quite sure how this will happen in your case. Proably any municipality will do. This goes with a municipal tax.

There's a certain difference in cases when the car is already registered and in use and in cases it is not registeres/not used. The second option will cost you a bit more, so better choose the first one.

Car brokers normally assisst in all stages of this process. You can also negotiate to sell the car back to the same broker before leaving the country.

The legal process for things generally in Bulgaria sounds a lot different to England. Buying cars, houses, setting up utilities etc. Sounds at least as complicated as England.

luciana de los andes wrote:

@matthewmaday thnk you so much, if you could find that person who helped you to buy the car i would be so appreciative. My budget is a little less than yours, but i also need a simple car, old, but in good conditions

Yes, £1000 or less would be my budget too.

Are there any gumtree / autotrader / ebay type websites in Bulgaria, covering stuff for sale, private - trade / commercial sales?

IIRC you haven’t got a hope of doing it!

Buying a car is no problem, although you need to be VERY careful: very many used cars here are imported from other EU countries and are insurance write-offs/cut-and-shuts or have the clock wound back better than the De Lorean in “Back To The Future” and a catalogue of faults temporarily bodged. You need to go to a notary to ensure that you have a legal document of ownership - as usual, don’t imagine for a moment that any “warranty” you get will be worth anything as used car salesmen here are even bigger crooks than elsewhere in Europe.

Your problems will start when you try to register it here, which I am assuming is what you mean by “to be inscribed”: without an address here and a residence card KAT will not register it or give you a number plate, so you will not be able to legally drive it here.

I’d sat that your best bet is to buy a car in either Germany or Italy and not here; most cheap second-hand cars here, unless you’re thinking of an old Lada or similar, will have come from there anyway and you’d be paying a premium because someone else imported it.  Caveat Emptor is very much the case here, so take very great care!

That actually sounds good ... But ..... just imagine - you're buying an used car here in Bulgaria, then you take it to a car mechanic (or you can even have the car inspected by a mechanic prior you buy it), the car is repaired/serviced and ready for a technical inspection at KAT, registration, insurance and good to go. No hidden expenses or risks.

Car repair services are pretty cheap here, distances are not big and you will have your car ready for a decent amount of money. Variety of cars is also big.

Now imagine you're buying your car in Germany:
1. The car mileage is wound back even in Germany (low priced cars, bought by serbian, turkish, albanian and other retailers)

2. It is very hard to have the car inpected by a mechanic, so you risk buying a car that could break on your way to Bulgaria, which means you will either have to spend a big amount of money somewhere, or abandon it ...

3. If you decide to repair your car in Germany it will cost you about 3-4 times the amount in Bulgaria.

4. If you decide to load the car on a trailer, this will cost you additional 600 EUR, and again you will be buying a car without a proper technical inspection prior the purchase.

In all cases you will lose a lot of time and money and will be saving none of the problems that you might face.

So my advice is to buy a car from Bulgaria, that is currently in use, and to have it checked by a mechanic prior the prurchase.
Registration is another question, there are several ways to register the car and to drive it even with the limitations of not having permanent address here and or Bulgarian ID card.

i agree with you, i don't want o buy a carr in Germany, my options are Serbia or Bulgary, I'm living in Belgrade for now, (but o residency, just tourist visa) and the offers aren't so bad, but the registration is the big issue in both places. If I could have certainties of a way to inscribe the car on my name in Bulgaria, i would make the trip and do it, so if you have a way i would really like to know! I could take the train to Sofia next week and get a car to travel around the balkans!!!

i contact 3 websites that claim to help people to register cars in burglary, but one wanted 800 euros fee, the other one told me it was a bad idea (don't know why, because they supposed to work doing that) and the they won't come back to me at all. So im in the dark. i might have on option with this nice lady i met that say she would put the car on her name, and i would e able to drive it, but im afraid to have problems crossing borders, so,... i don't really know what's the best option...

Nothing happens without efforts or/and money.  Though 800 EUR is too much, you will have to invest some funds in this or use the public transport.

Buying a car on s.o. else's name is an option, but on the one hand, if you do not know that person well he/she might decide to claim the car.
And on the other hand, if you participate in a road accicent, he/she might have to go to court as car owner.

I’ve never been to Bulgaria but I would really question such a strategy. Finding a cheap car that is actually in good repair is a huge risk. And then will registration REALLY work. It is not normal in most EU countries to be able to register a car there without legal residency. And even if possible then you might have trouble later when police or customs officials question why a Chilean-Spaniard not living in Bulgaria has a car registered there. The other thing is that fuel is expensive in most of Europe and then one has parking problems and fees etc.  And then you would most likely have to return to Bulgaria to sell the car!

Trains can be expensive but there are often all kinds of deals instead of the basic price especially when one books trains in advance. Or one can get a Eurail pass for 1 or 2 months for a single or multiple countries. I am posting a link below to a site showing this. Otherwise, unless one is a competent mechanic that can really judge a used car and do repairs themselves, it is a potential disaster what you plan – and unnecessary.

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/pas … pass.shtml

I cannot agree with this :
"Finding a cheap car that is actually in good repair is a huge risk. And then will registration REALLY work. "

and with this too:

"And even if possible then you might have trouble later when police or customs officials question why a Chilean-Spaniard not living in Bulgaria has a car registered there."

First of all, whenever you buy an used car it always needs maintenance and/or repair. Unless you buy it from a friend who has already done this. If the car is checked by a mechanic then it is a known risk, though there's always a chance for some hidden problems to emerge.

And secondly, there are literally thousands of people from Greece and Romania, who have registered their cars in Bulgaria. They do not have any problems with this here. However some of them have problems in Greece.

kristiann wrote:

I cannot agree with this :
"Finding a cheap car that is actually in good repair is a huge risk. And then will registration REALLY work. "

and with this too:

"And even if possible then you might have trouble later when police or customs officials question why a Chilean-Spaniard not living in Bulgaria has a car registered there."

First of all, whenever you buy an used car it always needs maintenance and/or repair. Unless you buy it from a friend who has already done this. If the car is checked by a mechanic then it is a known risk, though there's always a chance for some hidden problems to emerge.

And secondly, there are literally thousands of people from Greece and Romania, who have registered their cars in Bulgaria. They do not have any problems with this here. However some of them have problems in Greece.

Why should someone who is not a mechanic or expert on cars take such a risk - it makes no sense? And the poster's intention is to travel around Europe. Maybe they would not have trouble in Bulgaria because laws are not enforced there. But having a car with Bulgarian registration especially when the person is neither Bulgarian nor a resident of Bulgaria will definitely be very suspicious to the police in countries like Germany. And like I mentioned, there are better possiblities with trains anyway.

TominStuttgart wrote:

Trains can be expensive but there are often all kinds of deals instead of the basic price especially when one books trains in advance. Or one can get a Eurail pass for 1 or 2 months for a single or multiple countries. I am posting a link below to a site showing this. Otherwise, unless one is a competent mechanic that can really judge a used car and do repairs themselves, it is a potential disaster what you plan – and unnecessary.

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/pas … pass.shtml

Also, an added expense is Tolls on Motorways that can add up.

But other to the Link Tom has provided, there is Interrail.

https://www.interrail.eu/en

A great way to travel Europe by train.

TominStuttgart wrote:

Why should someone who is not a mechanic or expert on cars take such a risk - it makes no sense? And the poster's intention is to travel around Europe. Maybe they would not have trouble in Bulgaria because laws are not enforced there. But having a car with Bulgarian registration especially when the person is neither Bulgarian nor a resident of Bulgaria will definitely be very suspicious to the police in countries like Germany. And like I mentioned, there are better possiblities with trains anyway.

Actually 99,99 % of the people in the world are NOT car mechanics. Why would they take risks ? because a risk free car is a new car and it costs 15 times more. But since an external car mechanic can examine the car prior to the purchase, then risks are significantly diminished.

I am not sure how well foreigners are acquainted with the extent of law enforcement in Bulgaria, but since it is not possibel to acquire a car without a local addres ... is a direct proof of the opposite. And yes, I know that many foreigners are doing their best to avoid Bulgarian laws.

Suspicious or not, once the car ownership is a fact there's no difference whether the car will be driven in Bulgaria or outside Bulgaria. That is how Greeks and Romanians drive their cars. Free movement of people is one of the common European values.

And yes, there are better possibilities, but these do not include trains once a person needs a car.

Luckily, there are other legal options to acquire a car in Bulgaria, and one of these is to register a company here and then buy the car for your company.

- Closed for review -