Should I buy a car with an LPG system?

There is nothing against it as long as three things hold. First the paperwork: the conversion has to be entered in the registration document, and whether your own country accepts the installation without a fresh approval is your country's decision, not the seller's. Second the tank: it is a pressure vessel with a time-limited approval, and the life left in it belongs in your price calculation, because replacing it is a workshop invoice rather than a service item. Third the engine: running on gas burns drier and hotter, so valves and valve seats work harder — ask whether a valve seat lubrication system is fitted and when the valve clearances were last checked. And expect an LPG system to return less on resale outside Bulgaria than its installation cost.

How do I get a Bulgarian car home?

Through two decisions, and both are made before you buy. The first: drive it yourself or have it transported. The distance is long and crosses several borders, and beyond a certain range a transporter costs no more than fuel, road tolls, a night on the way and the kilometres you would be adding to a car you have just bought. The second: on which plates. For the journey there are time-limited transit plates applied for through the traffic police, plus insurance covering every country you cross — and if the route goes through Serbia, you leave the EU on the way. Write into the contract who arranges the deregistration, the plates and the insurance and by when, and do not pay the full amount before the papers exist.

Used cars from Bulgaria

Bulgaria is the European market where a retrofitted gas system is not an oddity but a normal part of a petrol car — the conversion trade and the filling network have been settled here for decades. The annual vehicle tax explains why: it is formed from engine power and multiplied by an environmental coefficient tied to the emissions class, with each municipality setting the rates, so an older powerful car is cheap to buy and expensive to keep, and the saving gets made at the pump. Nothing is added at first registration, which over the years filled the market with western European used cars. Geographically the country runs from the Black Sea coast across the hot Thracian plain up to passes that are gritted all winter. Payment is in euro; before that the lev was pinned to the euro for decades, so Bulgarian prices never travelled with an exchange rate anyway.

See matching cars

What matters

If a listing says gas or LPG, the system belongs in the inspection: is the conversion entered in the registration document, when was the tank last certified, and how much of its approval is left? An LPG tank is a pressure vessel with a time-limited approval — when it expires that is not a fault you repair later, it is a replacement.
The annual tax comes out of engine power multiplied by an environmental coefficient tied to the emissions class, with rates set by the municipality where the car is registered — two cars of identical power carry different amounts depending on Euro class. That explains the Bulgarian price picture: older, powerful cars are plentiful and cheap because they are expensive to keep here, and that expense stays behind when the car is exported.
The annual technical inspection (годишен технически преглед) is carried out by licensed stations; the interval shortens as the car ages, and a pass is held electronically rather than only stuck to the glass. What it does not cover is the climate: summer heat and dust clog the cooling pack, the condenser and the cabin filter, and in the mountains road salt is added to that.
Here the journey home is a cost line of its own: through Romania and Hungary you stay inside the EU, while the short cut through Serbia leaves the Union and re-enters it — settle beforehand whether your insurance covers that (a green card) and allow for the crossings. Bulgaria is in the EU and the euro area, so there is nothing to clear and nothing to convert; what your country of registration wants is in the import guide below.

Nothing in stock for this selection right now

Carvexia is new and stock grows daily. Save the search — you will hear from us as soon as a matching car is listed.

List a car yourself

How people search in Bulgaria

A used car is called:: коли втора употреба
The technical inspection is called:: ГТП
The registration document is called:: свидетелство за регистрация

These words appear in the papers and in every listing from Bulgaria — worth knowing before you assess a car from there. Ask where the ГТП stands before you travel.

Makes that shape the stock in Bulgaria

By body and drivetrain in Bulgaria

By price band

Places in Bulgaria

Sofia

Read on

Importing a car into Bulgaria

Common questions

Should I buy a car with an LPG system?: There is nothing against it as long as three things hold. First the paperwork: the conversion has to be entered in the registration document, and whether your own country accepts the installation without a fresh approval is your country's decision, not the seller's. Second the tank: it is a pressure vessel with a time-limited approval, and the life left in it belongs in your price calculation, because replacing it is a workshop invoice rather than a service item. Third the engine: running on gas burns drier and hotter, so valves and valve seats work harder — ask whether a valve seat lubrication system is fitted and when the valve clearances were last checked. And expect an LPG system to return less on resale outside Bulgaria than its installation cost.
How do I get a Bulgarian car home?: Through two decisions, and both are made before you buy. The first: drive it yourself or have it transported. The distance is long and crosses several borders, and beyond a certain range a transporter costs no more than fuel, road tolls, a night on the way and the kilometres you would be adding to a car you have just bought. The second: on which plates. For the journey there are time-limited transit plates applied for through the traffic police, plus insurance covering every country you cross — and if the route goes through Serbia, you leave the EU on the way. Write into the contract who arranges the deregistration, the plates and the insurance and by when, and do not pay the full amount before the papers exist.