I'm not sure if you are talking about a 'relay that will switch 24v' or one that is actuated with 24v.
If you were trying to actuate a 12V Bosch standard automotive relay with 24V, I'm surprised it smoked so quickly. I believe they draw less than 200mA, and at 24V it would still be less than 400mA. It should have worked for a while at least. Did you use a relay with a built in reverse-biased suppression diode? If so, that relay (unlike the standard relay) would require that you follow the polarity of the leads (pin 85 = positive) or it will smoke!
If you were trying to 'switch 24V', the standard automotive relay should work just fine, as long as you are well within the current rating (like rosco said).