How did you get your van?

[John61CT]

Yes RSS is no longer fashionable but very useful.

Any country-wide CL search engines allow for the same sort of setup?

 

[frater secessus]

Searchtempest is the only one I know of. Don't remember if they do RSS or not.

I set to the "max miles" setting in CL to sometjhing large like 1000mi to represent my willingness to drive.

 

[dragonstar85]

I am a big fan of letting computers do the work they are good at.   The thing that paid off for me the most: 

1. several carefully constructed craigslist searches (inclusions, exclusions). 
2. I collected the RSS feeds for the searches (lower right corner of any CL search page).
3. and used an RSS reader to read them as they came in.  The RSS reader keeps you from looking at the same listing over and over.

As Chef Tell used to say, "Very simble, very easy" once you set it up.  It's on autopilot.

I’ll get that set up. Nothing more annoying than realizing that you’re starting to read the same ad..... for the third time. Lol

 

[John61CT]

Searchtempest is the only one I know of. Don't remember if they do RSS or not.

I set to the "max miles" setting in CL to sometjhing large like 1000mi to represent my willingness to drive.

I thought each location was a separate CL website?

Or are you talking about an app?

 

[ratfink56]

If you aren't already, be sure to check the rv section of Craigslist as well as cars and trucks.

 

[dragonstar85]

I thought each location was a separate CL website?

Or are you talking about an app?

I thought it was by area too. If they have it you don’t have to ha e it by set area but by how far you’re willing to travel I’ll love to know where on the site to do that with! That’ll make lookin easier.

 

[ratfink56]

http://www.searchcraigslist.org/

 

[dragonstar85]

If you aren't already, be sure to check the rv section of Craigslist as well as cars and trucks.

I peek into that section too. I’ve seen few vans in there as well.

 

[accrete]

maybe not the norm around here but since i'm not mechanically minded and like the pro-shops to do all the work (and put food on their tables by having them do so) my wife and i buy new. I researched vans and since we were a Volvo AWD family wanted to find a full size AWD van...did some searching in the GM/Chevy database and found two available on the west coast. Sat down with the local chevy dealership's fleet manager, gave him the vin #'s and he worked his magic swaping a vechicle he had on his lot with the out-of-state dealer that had one of the vans, got us zero percent GMAC financing, and the rest is a fun van-build history.

Thom

 

[dragonstar85]

http://www.searchcraigslist.org/

AWESOME! Thank you!

 

[frater secessus]

The distance constraint is a normal craigslist feature. 



looks smashed here because I do some element blocking and also processing in a compression proxy. Sometimes things look a bit weird.

 

[paulj1966]

I spent alot of time on this almost 8 months I looked a craigslist, car gurus, auto trader local car dealer ships that I knew of and I just did a search for cargo vans passenger vans and other dealerships in and around my local area i ended up at a private dealership that also picked up used Government and school district vehicles these vehicle I know had regular maintenance and were kept up and that where I found my 2007 Ford F-150 Chateau I got it for 6500.00 it has 92.000 miles on it and they just put new tires on it and a new starter new battery filters and oil it was really clean van, I have already started removing the seats and seat belts in the back and next week I am starting the build it inst going to be nothing much just what I can afford I am putting 200 Watts of solar on top and hopefully going up to 400 my fridge is on the way along with everything else I need to get me out there my plan is to start out sometime in April or May I still have to sell all my stuff which will take time but any way best I can tell you is take your time and research everything you see you will find the right van for you best of luck in your search maybe I will see you out there someday....

 

[paulj1966]

2007 Ford F-150 4.7 V8 Chateau 92,000 miles

 

[Jaketheone46]

I concentrated mainly on a 100 mile local radius on Facebook and craigslist, then also kept my eyes on the longer distances being rust free is a must for me. Almost hopped on a plane to go view a few then found my 94 Ford econoline about 20minutes away right on Facebook. I still look for the deals at all times. Ebay is a good one to watch the auctions can be good. There is a Chevy express on eBay right now it was a special order conversion with a bathroom. Never seen one come from the factory with a toilet.

 

[Tam O'Bedlam]

People around here are convinced their old junk is SUPER valuable, so while I combed the usual suspects, Craigslist, Facebook, Autotrader, Ebay etc... I also checked at commercial truck/van type places like this: http://www.highcountrytruckandvan.com. I would suggest finding places close to wherever you are of course. 

But what ended up getting me my van was telling my friends and family I was looking for one. My parents found my van in their tiny little ID town half the country away from where I live. They took pictures, took it to their mechanic and had it checked out etc. I ended up buying it without ever meeting it in person. They kept it in their driveway for a few months until I flew out to visit them and then drove it back. The van was so much cheaper (and in better condition) there than here, that I still came out ahead financially.

 

[sub2rainEN]

Your opener really made me laugh. You would not believe the crap I see listed for $15k in CA. Then I’ll see a Class C from the late ‘90s remodeled, with solar, with a long list of replacements and upgrades for $4-5k. I don’t know what the deal is anymore.

[quote="Tam O']
People around here are convinced their old junk is SUPER valuable, so while I combed the usual suspects, Craigslist, Facebook, Autotrader, Ebay etc... I also checked at commercial truck/van type places like this: http://www.highcountrytruckandvan.com. I would suggest finding places close to wherever
[/quote]





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[veedub3]

I purchased my van locally from Public Auction. Actually I purchased two. A 1995 Ford Econoline E350 Extended Van with 130K miles on it for a whopping $689.00 and a 1994 Ford Econoline E350 Extended Van with 91K miles on it for the huge sum of $680.00. The site is called public surplus and they sell off used government fleet vehicles. Both of my vans were previously Prisoner Transport vans. You have to bid on the vehicles, They require a $50 deposit to weed out those that are not serious, but the money is refunded in a day or two, and when the bidding has ended you pay the bill and go pick up your item. No last minute sniping like you do on eBay. If you bid at the last minute they extend the bidding to give the other bidders a chance to counter.

Now these are government vehicles that may or may not have some issues so if you are not mechanically inclined or know a good mechanic I would not go this route. I repeat "if you are not mechanically inclined or know a good mechanic I would not go this route."!

The 95 van needed a starter solenoid, I jumped it with a screw driver when I picked it up, put gas in it, and drove home. I popped in a new starter solenoid a few days later and drove it around as it was for the next 6 months until the fuel pump went out on it. A shade tree came to the house and popped in a new one for $120. The 94' needed a gas filler neck as it leaked gas when filling. I had it replaced at a shop not too far from my house for $60, but has since parked it because I am not sure at the moment if I am going to keep both vans, because I also have a 2002 Land Rover Discovery II I am turning into an overlander, as well as tear drop trailer project I am working on so space is limited.

The 95 has a very strong motor, with a 130amp alternator, it just growls at you when you crank it up. Hit the gas and that beast fly down the road. The van was sitting in the county surplus lot for some time, so when the fuel pump went out, I felt is was a good time to completely go through it. I replaced just about every single part. Belts, hoses, calipers, brakes, fuel pump, fuel filter, plugs, wires, rotor cap & button, map sensor, TB sensor, IAC, ignition coil, control module, starter solenoid, oil change and filter, transmission fluid change, radiator flush, and some I am sure I am forgetting, and I did it all myself. (Can you say Girl Power!)  When I hit the road, I want to know that I won't have any issues, and if I do, I know how to fix them, and if it is something I can't fix, I know enough to recognize when a mechanic is trying to pull a fast one. They see a female and the price triples, or they make up something because they think we don't know any better.  Not this chick! It took some time for me to get all of this done, but my big fella is finally ready for the open road, and because I took the time to learn how to work on my vehicle, the cost was minimal. Just the parts - except for the Fuel pump, I was soooo not dropping the gas tank so I paid to have that done.

Now the auction I mentioned has listings from all over the US. I am in Atlanta, GA so I only looked at those near me, although had I been further north, I definitely would have snagged me a school bus, but it was just too far for me to travel to pick it up, and then hope I make it back home without any issues. Not to mention I have ever driven a bus before and where in the world was I going to park it.

If you haven't heard of this site, check them out. I even got a 24ft trailer from them for $300 that one day I will put a tiny house on. Just need to find some land then I will be all set.

Kat

 

[QinReno]

I had better luck with cargurus.com than the other places people have mentioned.

 

[theNomadicHacker]

I traded my beloved Wenohnah Spirit II canoe for this hunk of rust :-D

My van's a '97 town and country that I've gutted, put a ton of mechanical work into, and affectionately dubbed "The Zombie Slayer" because it had a "Zombie Outbreak Response Team" sticker on the side that I left on as I thought it was quite fitting. 

I don't actually have any pics of my van...but here's the canoe at the start of a week long adventure down the the Black river in north eastern wisconsin  

 

[bpdchief]

At the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat - my employer had a camper/conversion van in the early 70's.... after a brief discussion he gave me my 1992 GMC Rally STX G30