Ever heard of a car boot sale?
Popular in the United Kingdom, car boot sales feature vendors, families and others filling up their trunks (known as boots in the U.K.), and opening them up to sell produce, household items, personal possessions and other wares at an open-air market. It’s across-the-pond’s version of a swap meet—but with cars!
You can see a cart boot sale for yourself on Saturday, March 15, when the influencers known as the Car Boot Kings bring a car boot sale from the U.K. to the Coachella Valley. The TikTok phenoms and stars of the Car Boot Kings documentary are hosting a car boot sale at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal to benefit the high school, and to share a U.K.-based tradition with Americans.
During a recent interview with James Taroni, one of the two Car Boot Kings, he discussed how he and Andrew Walsh started a recurring car boot sale.
“I was 17, a young lad,” Taroni said. “I went to a car boot, and I was amazed by all of it. I was like, ‘Wow, this is an amazing thing.’ This was 30 or 33 years ago; me and my friend Andrew, we went to this event and decided to do the car boots ourselves. We researched the market, and there was no Saturday car boot, so we thought we’d establish a Saturday car boot, and that was the acorn that planted this massive oak tree.
“The love affair with car boots in the U.K. is just phenomenal. It’s the biggest pastime on a weekend. It surpassed golf, surpassed football, and it’s just this massive event all across the U.K. It’s a community; it’s recycling; it’s reusing; and it’s just gone bonkers, really.”
Taroni gushed about the joys of car boot sales
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” he said. “Everyone wins, whether they are saving money, earning money, (enjoying) a day out for the family, or they do the steps. A lot of people come just to walk around in the fresh air. It beats going to all these big supermarkets, all these big malls, and I love it.”
British television network Channel 4 produced the Car Boot Kings documentary in late 2023, chronicling the goings-on at car boot sales, as well as the captivating personalities of Taroni and Walsh. The network became acquainted with the duo thanks to their social media presence.
“I do a lot of TikTok; I do a lot of Instagram, a lot of Facebook, and that’s set us aside from the rest,” Taroni said. “It’s family laughs, a bit tongue in cheek. They followed us for about four months, and they were majorly interested in doing a TV series, and they still are—but Channel 4, if you Google, their budgets aren’t the greatest. The viewing audience was amazing. We had people who turned the TV on and watched the full hour. We gained momentum as the documentary aired, and we had a young audience, which is great.”
Taroni will be making the trek to Thermal solo, leaving his family and fellow Car Boot King Walsh behind.
“He’s going to stay and run the U.K. side of this, so I’m happy to come across,” Taroni said. “I spoke to my wife, and she’s happy for me to go across. I’ve got five children. I’m going to leave the whole family for the week, but it’s a massive opportunity to come to your side of the pond, and it’s just exciting.”
The event is being hosted at Coachella Valley High School due to the school’s connection with U.K. radio personality and publicist Barry Tomes. The Independent documented Tomes’ working relationship with the high school’s Digital Design and Production Academy late last year, and the car boot sale is a continuation of the collaboration between CVHS and personalities from U.K.
“Barry is a very amazing guy,” Taroni said. “He reached out to us. He has a love affair with car boots and markets and just reusing things. It’s such a throwaway society.”
The CVHS car boot sale will benefit the school and its academies and activities. The $20 charge to sell at the sale will go directly to the school. Various classes and clubs will also have their own car boots set up, allowing them to raise funds directly.
“Our car boots that we run totally benefit everyone,” he said. “We let every charity in free of charge. We let anyone in for good causes. …. I think it costs us personally about 500 pounds a week. … If we help someone else, it will come back in other ways, and that’s why it’s successful, because we make this effort. If you look at any of our posts, if people are struggling, we let them in free. If they can’t pay their bills—they can’t get the presents on the table for the kids at Christmas or food on the table—we let people in. People come, and they’re really appreciative.”
Taroni conceded that a car boot sale may not actually be all that original in America—where we have swap meets and garage sales—but he said he hopes the community aspect and the British charm will both help out CVHS, and encourage reusing and recycling.
“I know there are markets in America, but the car boot idea, it’s not really been done there,” Taroni said. “… It’s a good fundraiser for everyone involved, whether it’s for schools, or whether it’s for communities. Everything (people buy usually) gets thrown away. You get on Amazon, and you get something new, but if you can recycle and reuse it, it’s just a win, win, win, win. There’s no negative.”
Taroni promised that a car boot sale is much more fun than shopping online or at a chain store.
“It’s easy to get on Amazon and order it to have it delivered 24 hours later, but at the car boot, we have fresh fruits, market traders, fresh meats, and it’s not in a stuffy supermarket,” Taroni said. “We find so many people who come, walk around, get their bargain, get their vegetables for the week, get their meat for the week, and get things at a fraction of prices. So many units are closing down. Rates have gone ridiculously high, and taxes have gone crazy, so a lot of things just get thrown away, because there’s not an avenue to get rid of them.”
Taroni invited readers to attend the car boot, or even become a vendor, to raise funds for CVHS, get rid of some things, and earn some extra cash.
“It’s a good way of decluttering,” he said. “I know people do garage sales, which is quite easy for the larger items, or people put them on Facebook Marketplace and eBay, but with the car boot, people can physically touch things. They can see what they’re buying. There’s none of this, ‘We’ll send it back,’ waste of time stuff. They come; they see what they’re buying; and they walk away. … It’s a bit of fun, but underneath, it’s a good thing. It’s recycling. It clears people’s houses; people get a bargain; people save money; and people earn money, so they’re happy. There’s nothing better than having 300 pounds in your pockets.”
The Car Boot Sale will take place from 7 a.m. to noon, Saturday, March 15, at Coachella Valley High School, 83800 Airport Blvd., in Thermal. The event is free. If you’d like to be a seller, the cost is $20, and you can purchase a spot online, or at the school’s Associated Student Body office.