A winning bid: The Market on the future of online classic car auctions
By David Connor | 20 May 2026 | Cars & Yachts
The Market, UK’s first classic car auction platform, dives deep into the trends surrounding the future of classic cars, and why its novelty has no plans of dying down
Once upon a time, but really not that long ago, there were basically three ways to buy or sell a classic car in the UK: classifieds ads like those you would have found in the old, paper versions of Autotrader or Exchange & Mart, eBay or an auction room featuring a chap with a gavel, a bowtie and a cut-glass accent. All that changed in 2013 with the launch of The Market, with help from the entrepreneurs and car enthusiasts behind Patina Classics Ltd. and founded by serial fin-tech innovator, Tim Joslyn.
Online classic car auctions already existed in the USA, but they had a distinctly American twang to their respective tones of voice and were, well, not very British. The Market wrote long, intelligent, witty write-ups about each and every car they auctioned and employed some of the UK’s best automotive photographers to present them in the best possible light.
People liked what they saw and read. More importantly, they trusted it, and The Market ended up with the best Trustpilot rating in the business and went from strength to strength. 
So much so that it soon came to the attention of the venerable auctioneers, Bonhams, who saw the potential of adding a modern, responsive 24/7 online auction platform to their traditional model – which had been successfully moving world class artefacts and collectables from one discerning owner to another since 1793.
Having recently bought themselves back from Bonhams, with whom they retain a good working relationship, The Market is optimistic about a marketplace that’s temporarily lost some buoyancy – and not least because they know that if a car is really good, is really rare or has really exceptional provenance, they’ve got the know-how to help it sell for big numbers.
For The Market, the compelling logic of their experience is obvious: quality cars from quality sellers achieve quality prices with quality buyers.
What makes The Market stand out?
The Market’s new transactional model differs from many others because they don’t charge buyers a fee. The buyer pays the hammer price and nothing else, whether the car in question is an Aston or an Austin. That’s obviously good for buyers, but we’re told it helps sellers too because the absence of fees opens-up a bigger pool of potential buyers.
And speaking of Astons and Austins…The fabulous Vantage Volante X Pack was always going to attract strong bidding because, well, just look at it.
Other cars, like the Austin Mini ‘Riviera’, do better than you might think. And that’s where provenance comes in. This particular example was driven by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, hence the extraordinary price of £97,560.
What does the future of classic cars look like?
Ask The Market about trends in the classic car industry and they’ll tell you that trends are there to be bucked. So, while it’s obvious that the natural buying demographic for 1920’s Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts is getting thinner with every passing year, there’ll always be interest in the best examples.
They’re similarly upbeat about the relentless, but eerily quiet, arrival of electrical vehicles (EVs).
What will happen in a few years’ time when every new car will come with a three-pin plug, an extension lead and not a lot to differentiate itself from every other thing with a three-pin plug and an extension lead, including toasters, fridges and those machines that claim to fry air?
The Market thinks there’ll be an even greater premium on the sort of analogue, old-school, internal combustion masterpieces that people have always lusted after. And those cars are only going to get rarer.
At the top end of the marketplace, with cars from £100,000 to north of £1 million, The Market has learned that service, convenience, discretion, honesty and transparency are at least as important to buyers and sellers as prices achieved.
Successful people are busy people. Because of that, and in the service of time, ease and convenience, all cars auctioned at The Market are held at their secure Oxfordshire HQ.
Once there, they’re valeted and detailed, professionally photographed, driven, and given an in-depth write-up by a professional writer. Viewings are arranged by appointment and prospective buyers are shown around by the specialist through whom the car was consigned.
The seller doesn’t have to do anything, and buyers have all the reliable, high-quality information they need to make an informed decision. For sellers who want the ultimate in discretion, there’s a sealed bid option, whereby both the seller and the final auction price remain anonymous.
The people at The Market seem pretty confident that not only will things pick up, they’ll do so with more of a focus on quality than quantity, and discerning buyers and sellers will increasingly take their business to people who understand just how precious their time is.
And if you think you’re not quite ready for your first classic Lamborghini, The Market invites you to think again.
