Auction Search

Use the Auction Search API to find cars for sale at US auctions right now and to research wholesale prices: it searches active listings from auction houses and online auction platforms. One call returns the total match count and a page of auction listings in the same format as Inventory Search, filterable by auction house and buy-now price, with optional facets and stats. Results are auction listings only (seller_type is always auction) from the US market; Private Party Search covers for sale by owner listings in the US and Canada, and Inventory Search covers dealer listings.

The Auction Search API provides access to automotive auction listings across the United States market. MarketCheck aggregates current auction inventory data from major auction houses and online platforms, delivering access to over 1.2 million auction listings with approximately 498,000 unique vehicles.

Overview

Auction Search takes the same requests and returns the same listing format as the Inventory Search API, so a query written for dealer inventory runs against auction listings at this endpoint's path.

• Auction data refreshes daily, by 11:00 AM UTC, on the same schedule as dealer inventory
• Units and field conventions match Inventory Search

Key Differences from Inventory Search API:

• Auction Listings Only: This API exclusively returns listings from auction sources, not dealer or private party listings. So seller_type is always auction
• US Market Only: Currently only supports US auction data, with no Canadian listings available
• Higher Pricing Tier: Auction API is billed at a premium due to unique sourcing and processing overhead

Base Path

GET https://api.marketcheck.com/v2/search/car/auction/active

The following example demonstrates a basic search request with common parameters:

import axios from 'axios';

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.marketcheck.com/v2/search/car/auction/active',
  params: {
    api_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    year: '2023',
    make: 'toyota',
    model: 'camry',
    rows: '2'
  },
  headers: {Accept: 'application/json'}
};

try {
  const { data } = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}

Explore the full range of parameters available for filtering, sorting, and configuring search results in the Request section below.

Request

The Auction Search API provides extensive filtering and search capabilities for automotive auction listings. You can search by vehicle specifications, geographic location, pricing ranges, auction houses, and numerous other criteria to find the exact auction vehicles you need.

All filtering, sorting, analytics, and pagination capabilities match those in the Inventory Search API, providing a consistent interface across dealer, auction, and private party listings.

Parameters

Available parameters for filtering, sorting, and configuring search results:

Pagination

num_found in each response is the total number of auction listings that match. Use start (the offset, from 0) and rows (up to 50 per page, default 10) to page through them, or set rows=0 when you only need stats or facets, as the market trend example below does. The Inventory Search pagination section covers the full rules.

Sorting

Sort on one numeric or date field with sort_by, and set sort_order to asc or desc. The examples below sort auction lots by price (highest value first) and by first_seen (newest first). Every sortable field is listed under Inventory Search sorting.

Core Features & Functionality

Facets, range facets, stats and spatial search work exactly as on Inventory Search. On auction data, stats give you wholesale price and mileage figures for a model, and facets show which models, body types and years are on offer at auction.

Response Schema

Responses use the Inventory Search listing format, with seller_type always set to auction. See the Inventory Search response schema for every field.

Use Cases & Examples

Wholesale Price Discovery

Search for auction vehicles to analyze wholesale pricing trends, identify undervalued vehicles, and discover potential resale opportunities.

Example:

Here we're searching for auction vehicles with stats around wholesale pricing, filtering by make and model

import axios from 'axios';

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.marketcheck.com/v2/search/car/auction/active',
  params: {
    api_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    make: 'bmw',
    model: 'x5',
    stats: 'price,miles',
    rows: '2'
  },
  headers: {Accept: 'application/json'}
};

try {
  const { data } = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}

Time-Sensitive Auction Alerts

Find auction vehicles that are newly listed or have recently changed price, allowing you to act quickly on time-sensitive opportunities.

Example:

Here we're filtering for auction vehicles that have been listed in the last 7 days and sorting by the most recent listings:

import axios from 'axios';

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.marketcheck.com/v2/search/car/auction/active',
  params: {
    api_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    dos_active_range: '*-7',
    sort_by: 'first_seen',
    sort_order: 'desc',
    rows: '2'
  },
  headers: {Accept: 'application/json'}
};

try {
  const { data } = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}

High-Value Vehicle Tracking

Track high-value or specialty vehicles entering auction markets, useful for collectors, dealers specializing in luxury vehicles, or investment tracking.

Example:

Here we're searching for luxury vehicles above $100,000 with comprehensive vehicle photos:

import axios from 'axios';

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.marketcheck.com/v2/search/car/auction/active',
  params: {
    api_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    price_range: '100000-*',
    min_photo_links: '8',
    make: 'porsche,ferrari,lamborghini,mclaren',
    sort_by: 'price',
    sort_order: 'desc',
    rows: '2'
  },
  headers: {Accept: 'application/json'}
};

try {
  const { data } = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}

Market Trend Analysis

Analyze auction market trends using stats and facets to understand pricing patterns, popular vehicle types, and regional auction activity.

Example:

Here we're analyzing auction market trends for a specific make using statistical aggregations:

import axios from 'axios';

const options = {
  method: 'GET',
  url: 'https://api.marketcheck.com/v2/search/car/auction/active',
  params: {
    api_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    make: 'ford',
    stats: 'price,miles,dom_active',
    facets: 'model,body_type,year',
    rows: '0'
  },
  headers: {Accept: 'application/json'}
};

try {
  const { data } = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error);
}

See Also

• Inventory Search
• Private Party Search
• VIN History
• VIN Decode
• Data Definitions