If you’re like me, you have a small obsession over Google Reader RSS Feeds. Whether it’s personal finance blog sites, following the websites of my favorite sports team, or keeping up with career related blogs, I spend way too much time in Reader. But that’s a different story for a different day.

If you have searched Craigslist for a used vehicle, you know that it’s tough to stay on top of all of the listings that come out for exactly what you are looking for. By the time you’ve seen the listing for the car that you’ve been waiting for, it’s already sold to someone else.

Well, there is a good way to tilt that early bird analogy in your favor. Combine the functionality with Craigslist with the immediacy of RSS. Here’s an example of how I’ve been doing it to find a used Ford Escape. 

How to Find a Used Vehicle Via Craigslist – Before the Vultures Get to it!

Step 1: Go to your local Craiglist section

Step 2: Do a search for the vehicle that you are looking for

Step 3: Click the little RSS feed in the bottom right corner and subscribe to that feed

Step 4: To improve your reach, repeat for every local region on Craigslist that you wouldn’t mind driving to. For me, this is a 60 mile radius.

Step 5: Watch as the new Craigslist listings get delivered into your RSS Feed. As you can see, I have multiple feeds for the same area because I’ve also created a feed for the Ford Escape’s identical twins – the Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute.

Step 6: View the Listings in your Feed. Note that you may have to click the listing in the feed to see pictures of the vehicle posted on Craigslist. If I see a vehicle that I want to follow up on, I ‘keep as unread’, so that the listing doesn’t disappear from my unread feeds. It’s a way to weed out the bad listings from the good.

Not Just for Vehicles!

Not only can you use this technique to find vehicles, but it’s a great frugal technique to keep in mind when you’re looking for something specifically to buy used and locally. Hmm… I think I’m in need of a used kegerator.

Frugalheads:

• Have you bought a vehicle that you found on Craigslist?
• What Craigslist ninja tips do you have?

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