Van rental

    Hi, Another question from me, are there van hire companies available. to move your stuff yourself, rather than use a moving company?
The plan would be to drive over with our dogs and things we need immediately then hire a van, drive back to the current country, pack up all our furniture etc, drive it to BG then hand the van back.

Would that be possible?

Thanks
   

i tried to do this. i found it challenging to find a hire company that didnt charge a small fortune.

i ended up buying a van and moving my 6 dogs and then 3 cats over last month

    -@JosieCrew

@Suzi Masterson

I agree with you, it sounds expensive! :-)

Maybe it's possible to find a cheap but decent Transit/Luton from Ebay, load it up (including dogs) and make one trip. Sell the van cheap in Bulgaria on its UK plate.

How much was the small fortune for a hire van compared to the small fortune of buying from ebay?

If we buy a van, we have to tax and insure it as well as make sure it has a long enough MOT to make it feasible to be sold in BG, as that can take time. Anything going cheap will probably be out of MOT or not have very long left.

Plus we have a van, but its not big enough to move us from Spain to BG, unless we leave most of our furniture behind, which will then incur costs to buy again at the other end, and I keep hearing that facebook marketplace isn't much cop in BG as people dont sell things/replace often.

@JosieCrew

There are several companies here selling good quality second hand furniture, usually imported from Germany or Holland,  Alternatively, there are plenty of furniture stores with reasonable prices.  When I moved from the UK, I actually gave all my furniture away to charity, as it was an opportunity to do some good while making a new start. I certainly don't regret it....

    How much was the small fortune for a hire van compared to the small fortune of buying from ebay?
If we buy a van, we have to tax and insure it as well as make sure it has a long enough MOT to make it feasible to be sold in BG, as that can take time. Anything going cheap will probably be out of MOT or not have very long left.

Plus we have a van, but its not big enough to move us from Spain to BG, unless we leave most of our furniture behind, which will then incur costs to buy again at the other end, and I keep hearing that facebook marketplace isn't much cop in BG as people dont sell things/replace often.
   

    -@JosieCrew

i recall

about 3k! then there was a hefty deposit.

i bought a cheap and cheerful

older van. spent £1600 on her. spent another £1500 sorting iasues. her insurance is under £100 a month.

mot until december

i think.

so a bit more

but shes mine. i can do anither trip later  on 😊

   @Suzi MastersonI agree with you, it sounds expensive! :-)Maybe it's possible to find a cheap but decent Transit/Luton from Ebay, load it up (including dogs) and make one trip. Sell the van cheap in Bulgaria on its UK plate.        -@gwynj

I did haha. lovely little van. brought us all over very well

@JimJ

Maybe a topic for a separate thread, but would you share good sources for second hand furniture?

Oof 3k is expensive.

I had a look at box vans on fb, there was one for €3k, there were long wheel base transits for around 1500-1700e but obviously spanish registered, and you need to pay the name transfer fee, so no real resale value in BG or UK.

My husband found a shipping container for 1200e but obviously there will be a a van needed either end, and a long wait.

Maybe we will just have to bring what we can fit in a large van, that seems the way to go.