just thought i'd chime in since im actually on my own hunt right now for a vehicle...
surprisingly, I'm finding a LOT more hits for vehicles I'm looking for on Facebook's marketplace than I am on craigslist. CL is really bombarded by dealerships using every trick in the book to get you to read their ads, most commonly using tactics like listing at 0 or $1, listing the price really low but whoops, turns out that's just the money down, etc. FB definitely has the same problem, but i'm still finding more independent sellers on there and better deals overall.
that said, i still have automatic searches going daily for CL and ebay, so i get emailed on any new listings that hit my search terms. searchtempest.com is an excellent search tool that will let you comb multiple CL sites and even ebay all in one interface, based on distance.
if your budget is 3k for a car, i would honestly only look at anything 2.5k and budget the rest for a mechanic to come with you and for transportation costs or registration/insurance. currently my budget is 4.5k but i'm looking at ads for as much as 6k because i know i'm having some money come in soon.
still, don't skip the mechanic part if you want something that will last a while. it should only cost 100-150 bucks or so. i've skipped it before and both times it seriously bit me in the ass.
surprisingly, I'm finding a LOT more hits for vehicles I'm looking for on Facebook's marketplace than I am on craigslist. CL is really bombarded by dealerships using every trick in the book to get you to read their ads, most commonly using tactics like listing at 0 or $1, listing the price really low but whoops, turns out that's just the money down, etc. FB definitely has the same problem, but i'm still finding more independent sellers on there and better deals overall.
that said, i still have automatic searches going daily for CL and ebay, so i get emailed on any new listings that hit my search terms. searchtempest.com is an excellent search tool that will let you comb multiple CL sites and even ebay all in one interface, based on distance.
if your budget is 3k for a car, i would honestly only look at anything 2.5k and budget the rest for a mechanic to come with you and for transportation costs or registration/insurance. currently my budget is 4.5k but i'm looking at ads for as much as 6k because i know i'm having some money come in soon.
still, don't skip the mechanic part if you want something that will last a while. it should only cost 100-150 bucks or so. i've skipped it before and both times it seriously bit me in the ass.