Cars & Bids Auction Search API Documentation Search Cars & Bids enthusiast car auctions: live, closed (past results) and new (upcoming). Filter by free text, make, model, model year, transmission and body style, and sort by ending soon, newest, lowest mileage, lowest price or highest price. Each auction carries the id, title, subtitle, url, main photo, location, transmission, mileage in miles, reserve flag, seller, status (live, sold, reserve_not_met and others), current bid or sale amount in USD and the end time as ISO 8601 UTC. Page with limit (1 to 100) and offset. Read has_more and next_offset for the next page. A valid search without results is a successful empty response.
Run this endpoint
Endpoint
Parameters
Start with the required fields, then add optional filters only when your use case needs them.
Runnable path
This endpoint has no required query parameters.
11 optional filters available.
string
Optional
Which auctions to list: live (default), closed or new. New lists upcoming auctions that have no bids yet.
example
integer
Optional
Auctions per page, 1 to 100. Defaults to 20.
10
integer
Optional
Number of auctions to skip. Use next_offset from the previous response. Defaults to 0.
10
string
Optional
Free text, up to 100 characters, e.g. e39 m5.
example
string
Optional
Make slug, lowercase, e.g. lotus. Required when model_slug is set.
example
string
Optional
Model slug of the make, lowercase, e.g. emira. An unknown model returns a 422.
example
integer
Optional
Earliest model year, 1900 up to next year.
10
integer
Optional
Latest model year. Must not be before start_year.
10
string
Optional
ending_soon (default), newest, lowest_mileage, lowest_price or highest_price. The price sorts need status=closed.
relevance
string
Optional
automatic or manual.
example
string
Optional
coupe, convertible, hatchback, sedan, suv, truck, van or wagon.
example
Response Schema
Example response fields are illustrative; inspect the JSON before integrating.
Example response fields
Scan these fields before integrating.
data
meta
success
{
"data": {
"count": 2,
"total": 267,
"auctions": [
{
"id": "36Y8275B",
"url": "https://carsandbids.com/auctions/36Y8275B",
"title": "2002 BMW Z8",
"seller": "switchcars",
"status": "live",
"mileage": 41700,
"location": "Twinsburg, OH 44087",
"subtitle": "6-Speed Manual, S62 V8 Power, Sport Red Interior",
"image_url": "https://media.carsandbids.com/8e6341e27a680ffab7d98e42bef83b0dd1b0fb94/photos/exterior/364n7vwZ-Trc6pLr/edit/LOoti.jpg?t=179039576808",
"no_reserve": false,
"auction_end": "2026-10-15T17:30:00Z",
"current_bid": 122500,
"transmission": "Manual",
"has_inspection": false
},
{
"id": "K1lbE5pz",
"url": "https://carsandbids.com/auctions/K1lbE5pz",
"title": "2001 Audi RS4 Avant",
"seller": "MMST",
"status": "live",
"mileage": 30800,
"location": "Winter Garden, FL 34787",
"subtitle": "31k Miles, 6-Speed Manual, Twin-Turbo V6, Unmodified, U.S. Title",
"image_url": "https://media.carsandbids.com/9004500a220bf3a3d455d15ee052cf8c332606f8/photos/rj0DPDLx-5pipKNGP1t/edit/-eJ9N.jpg?t=179130589228",
"no_reserve": false,
"auction_end": "2026-10-15T17:33:00Z",
"current_bid": 74500,
"transmission": "Manual",
"has_inspection": false
}
],
"has_more": true,
"next_offset": 2
},
"meta": {
"billable": true,
"endpoint_family": "auction_search"
},
"success": true
}Errors
Handle these documented responses before retrying or showing customer-facing failures.
Validation Error
A parameter is missing or invalid. No upstream request is made and the response is not billable.
{
"errors": {
"limit": [
"The limit must be 100 or fewer auctions per page."
]
},
"message": "The request validation failed"
}Service Unavailable
The upstream service is temporarily unavailable. Please retry shortly.
{
"meta": {
"billable": false,
"retryable": true,
"endpoint_family": "auction_search"
},
"error": {
"code": "UPSTREAM_UNAVAILABLE",
"message": "Cars & Bids is temporarily unavailable. Please retry."
},
"success": false
}Generate Code with AI
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