If you’re anything like me, you’ll know the struggle of searching used car classifieds for that rare great deal on a cool used car. With Craigslist now charging users to list cars for sale, deals on the site are fewer and farther in-between than ever. Facebook Marketplace has become the new go-to for cheap finds, but up until recently, you could only search within 100 miles of any location.
You’ll be pleased to know Facebook updated its Marketplace settings a couple of weeks ago allowing users to extend the site’s search radius to 500 miles, up from the previous maximum of 100 miles. That means you can search a much wider area all at once—especially helpful if you’re looking for something rare or specific.
The update also means you can cover massive amounts of search area with just a few keyboard swipes. There’s still no official way to do a proper nationwide search, but with this new search area option, combing through the entire United States on Facebook Marketplace has never been easier. Here’s how to do it.
First, you’ll need to figure out what you’re looking for. Head on over to the Marketplace (I’m using a desktop with dark mode turned on for this walkthrough, but this method works similarly on mobile), and input what you’d like to find.
For this example, I’ll search for a Honda S2000. For the sake of this walkthrough, let’s say I’m willing to spend up to $15,000, and want a car with under 150,000 miles on the clock.
Before you proceed with your search, go to the location section and click on it. A pop-up window should appear asking for a location and a search radius. Make sure to choose “500 miles” from the dropdown menu.
After you hit “Apply,” the site should show you all the cars for sale within 500 miles of the location you used.
Not satisfied with the results? Well, here’s how to find some more. After you’ve searched through the results on your first area, simply go back to the location section and input another place in the U.S.
Your search parameters—in this case the term “Honda S2000,” a price maximum of $15,000, and a mileage limit of 150,000 miles—will remain saved in the search, and simply apply them to the new location’s 500-mile radius.
Facebook
Quickly searching the entire country requires a bit more strategy. If you pick the right locations, you’ll only have to switch locations seven or eight times to cover the continental United States.
Personally, I like to search within 500 miles of Madison, NJ, Savannah, GA, Dallas, TX, Las Vegas, NV, Nampa, ID, and Cedar Rapids, IA. That covers most of America’s metropolitan areas, but, admittedly, does miss some of the northwest. So if you want a more thorough search, we’d recommend throwing in another city or two to cover more ground.
The method is a bit tedious, but from what I’ve found, it’s the quickest, most accurate way to search all of Facebook Marketplace right now. Until the site releases a nationwide filter of its own, it’s the best we’ve got.
Do you have a different strategy for finding rare cars or great deals on Facebook? Let us know in the comments below.
