Where to hire a van to go from uk to Bulgaria ?

@Suzi Masterson

Ah, the ropey old Ebay van with a dodgy MOT adventure. It's all fun and games until it breaks down on a German autobahn, stuffed with your belongings and animals. :-) But you're not alone, I'm sure many of us (including me) have managed to buy a lemon. Hopefully, Plan B will be a success...

    @Suzi Masterson
Ah, the ropey old Ebay van with a dodgy MOT adventure. It's all fun and games until it breaks down on a German autobahn, stuffed with your belongings and animals. :-)
   

    -@gwynj i didnt buy it through ebay believe it or not. i did buy it privately. id got it booked in to get serviced before we drove it. but the garage which is always reliable thought he could fit us in. he took on a welding job which he cant move off his ramp. taking his wiggle room away

a brakedown was the least of the issues with it tbh. it was dangerous. the RAC man said i was lucky no one was hurt or worse!

the stupid thing is id never ever buy anything like this on ebay. yet i thought it was ok to privately . my logic is so flawed on this clearly. lesson learnt. i just need to sort another plan as my house is gone a week monday. no where to live or keep the dogs a week monday. hense leaving a week sunday. hey ho we live and learn dont we

A one-way hire will be very expensive, but you could try Europcar, they do most of Europe.

They can provide a 6-seat combi van, but again this is a specialist vehicle and more for commercial stuff, They will most likely charge you for a two-way journey and the cost of getting someone to drive it back, unless you can get your brother to return it.

Might be easier to get a flight and get your brother to drive the dogs over in a small van with your belongings?

Oh Suzi! I have no help to offer, just hugs and prayers.

    A one-way hire will be very expensive, but you could try Europcar, they do most of Europe.
They can provide a 6-seat combi van, but again this is a specialist vehicle and more for commercial stuff, They will most likely charge you for a two-way journey and the cost of getting someone to drive it back, unless you can get your brother to return it.

Might be easier to get a flight and get your brother to drive the dogs over in a small van with your belongings?
   

    -@CarlS1986

europcar dont hire to bulgaria unfortunatley. no where seems too!

my brother is going to fly over and drive the van back for me.

il trying to get the van fixed and legal. i have found the mot garage now so a step in the right direction.

    Oh Suzi! I have no help to offer, just hugs and prayers.
   

    -@janemulberry

inswear im jinxed 😂

the challenge makes the end reailt more desirable.

im just glad no one was hurt. my 3 yearvold daughter was in the van with me when it went wrong.

does make you wonder what kind of person can knowingly intend to harm a toddler like that

It is scary that someone would knowingly sell a dangerous vehicle for sure.

Unfortunately, when money is involved in things, it usually brings out the worst in people.

I'm glad it's getting sorted, at least if you get your van fixed it will return you some money once finished with.

    It is scary that someone would knowingly sell a dangerous vehicle for sure.
   

    -@janemulberry

we arent sure if it was aimed to harm the previous owner or him pulling a fast one. the back lights (all of them) had been stolen when we went to look at the van.

it also looks like the MOT was legit. its something thats been done/happened to the van after. in 8 days after the mot.

its booked in for monday next week. we will know more than.

I hope it's works out okay and it's an affordable fix, Suzi

Why would you buy a van without having a test drive.

And why buy a van without any lights on the back..

Knowing your going to drive it around 1500 miles.

My advice is also buy breakdown cover for your trip ( return )

What did the RAC say about the van..to make it dangerous...it sounds as though you will have a very large bill to pay when the work has been done...hope the engine and gearbox is ok.

You will need a critaire sticker for France

You got road tolls in Germany..Austria

Hungary..Romania..Bulgaria..

A pity you can't get a refund on the van

And buy a better one.....with a current m.o.t...service history etc.

Good luck.

    Why would you buy a van without having a test drive.And why buy a van without any lights on the back..       -@wtruckyboy

She already said, the lights were stolen AFTER she looked at the van. Also that it passed its MOT very recently and things have gone wrong since (or it was a dodgy MOT).

@janemulberry..well whatever.looked at the van..then the lights were stolen..was this before or after buying it.

Sensible to get the RAC to examine it..but not after she bought it..they do check vehicles over prior to buying..but ..if it serves a purpose.. hopefully the garage will give it a clean bill of health...no guarantee it won't let her down...but without breakdown cover..can be costly.

On one of my trips to my other home in BG..the tailpipe of the exhaust fell down

No cover..cost £400..for towing and new back box and tailpipe..ouch..never go abroad now without it.at least it's in a garage..and will get it sorted..hopefully it gets a service..oil change too.

I wish her well.

    Why would you buy a van without having a test drive.
And why buy a van without any lights on the back..
Knowing your going to drive it around 1500 miles.
My advice is also buy breakdown cover for your trip ( return )
What did the RAC say about the van..to make it dangerous...it sounds as though you will have a very large bill to pay when the work has been done...hope the engine and gearbox is ok.
You will need a critaire sticker for France
You got road tolls in Germany..Austria
Hungary..Romania..Bulgaria..
A pity you can't get a refund on the van
And buy a better one.....with a current m.o.t...service history etc.
Good luck.
   

the van was test driven by my father and brother. i cant becasue my 3 year old daughter who was with me is touch reactive to a long list of things. until ive cleaned it it isnt safe for her to get in. it drove fine evidently. started with no issues etc.

i had a provisional appoint,ent (aka i was leaving the van with my garage who i trust to check the van properly). the garage had an issue so it took longer than we all planned. one of those things.

it had from the second i bought it rac cover. as it still has. even though its off the road.

the rac said that it looked like id hit the van at speed onto a crub. full stop i havent.

the tow truck came this morning and said it will be confirmed but to him it looks like someone had heated it up so to us that doesnt know it looks fine the arm was then made to look right. its weakened by what he thinks has been done. he said if it is that then theres no way i would have known without a full check being done.

i didnt buy a van without lights. what i said and happened is after we viewed the van someone stole them. the previous owner replaced them.

if its proven that he has damaged the van that way then he will be paying for the issues and stress caused. he legally has too.

ive lived all over europe. im very aware of the different road regulations.

it does look like the mot is a valid one. thats 1 thing.

everything on the van is being checked over and a better than a service is being done. this was already planned to be done prior to the move

-@wtruckyboy

    @janemulberry..well whatever.looked at the van..then the lights were stolen..was this before or after buying it.
Sensible to get the RAC to examine it..but not after she bought it..they do check vehicles over prior to buying..but ..if it serves a purpose.. hopefully the garage will give it a clean bill of health...no guarantee it won't let her down...but without breakdown cover..can be costly.
On one of my trips to my other home in BG..the tailpipe of the exhaust fell down
No cover..cost £400..for towing and new back box and tailpipe..ouch..never go abroad now without it.at least it's in a garage..and will get it sorted..hopefully it gets a service..oil change too.
I wish her well.
   

    -@wtruckyboy

ive clealry said the lights were stolen between the van being test driven and being collected. the previous owner replaced them at his expense. that was 1 of those things.

the van was 10 days after an mot. i expected some costs to sort the van. it didnt cost me the earth to buy.  there is no guarentee anything wont let you donwn. ive had cars that have done under 500 miles ive had from new let me down.

i had also siad ive booked it in to be looked at. everything not just the issues.

nothing is guarenteed. i remember an ex boyfriend many many years ago who worked for formula one as a mechanic got caught on a car. it cost a lot of time and money to sort the car. it wouldnt have been doable if he couldnt sort it himself.

you buy as well as you can. you hope. this was over 20 years ago pre children

Suzi, I hope your garage can sort it out for you in time.

Try Nationwide Van Hire, I think will hire and have to be returned to the U.K.

Suzi, thinking of you and wondering how it worked out?

Renting vans is very expensive in UK, even just for use in UK with a low mileage limit in place.

I dread to think what it would cost to rent a van for a month to travel to Bulgaria and back with.

Also the insurance excess they add on is astronomical.

I'd be inclined to buy a van in Bulgaria.

@European360

Unfortunately, buying a van in Bulgaria wouldn't help Suzi move her belongings from the UK to Bulgaria! And second hand vehicles are quite a bit more expensive in Bulgaria than the UK.

@SuziMasterson

I have a trusted contact who has his own removal van ( large )

He is Polish and I have used him twice now when I moved from UK to Germany .

100 percent trustworthy . Speaks perfect English . Very reasonable Price to Germany . ( South east Uk to Bavaria ) Did most of the loading of the van himself . I just handed him a few boxes and helped him with some furniture a bit .

PM if you want his details . 

Try rental companies like Enterprise or Hertz. They often have a variety of options and might even offer last-minute deals.

@Halisty i bought a van. neither company hire to drive to bulgaria sadly though. the one i think i found that did cost me more than the cost to buy my van!

We intend to buy one when it's time to move, as well. Hubby is already looking!

***

@BobbyBrown111

As Suzi said a couple of comments up, neither company rent for trips to Bulgaria. She bought a van several months ago to make the move.

I purchased a trailer on Ebay for our move. Ebay is a good option for vans too, I purchased a couple from the site some years ago before.

If you shop carefully, I think it will be far cheaper to buy and insure your own, rather than do a rental.

I would personally shop frugally and plan to dump the vehicle after the move. (By which I mean sell it, as a foreign-registered vehicle, for whatever I can get for it... rather than go through the aggravation of re-registering it or getting it back to its home country.)

    I purchased a trailer on Ebay for our move. Ebay is a good option for vans too, I purchased a couple from the site some years ago before.
If you shop carefully, I think it will be far cheaper to buy and insure your own, rather than do a rental.

I would personally shop frugally and plan to dump the vehicle after the move. (By which I mean sell it, as a foreign-registered vehicle, for whatever I can get for it... rather than go through the aggravation of re-registering it or getting it back to its home country.)
   

    -@gwynj

i bought a van off facebook marketplace. huge mistake. it had been in an accident and not reported. it basiclly fell apart. ive spent thousands (and still am) on it. my heart is leading my head in this damn van. ive never been like this with a vechical. always its metal get shot. this 1 i cant part with her. shes at the garage (again!) on tuesday to hopefully sort the electrics out once and for all. 1 day i will have a lovely van. until then the garage like me with how much i will be spending haha

@Suzi Masterson

Sorry that you got a lemon, it's pretty upsetting. Fingers crossed you can save it.

I'm not familiar with FB or its Marketplace, but the reason I like Ebay so much is because of its feedback system. I've always bought stuff from sellers who seem pretty active with lots of positive feedback from buyers.

    @Suzi Masterson
Sorry that you got a lemon, it's pretty upsetting. Fingers crossed you can save it.

I'm not familiar with FB or its Marketplace, but the reason I like Ebay so much is because of its feedback system. I've always bought stuff from sellers who seem pretty active with lots of positive feedback from buyers.
   

    -@gwynj

ive had the opposite from ebay for things like cars. im always very nervous buying from there. but marketplace isngt any better. the situation i was in i had no options. it was make the most out of a crappy situation. the van got us to bulgaria and managed 6 weeks only refusing to start twice in that time. then she died died. 3 weeks in the garage. now another issue. back to the garage on tuesday to try and sort the electrics out again. itll get there