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If you have ever visited a used car market, you probably know that cars registered in Karachi are always cheaper than those registered in northern cities like Islamabad and Lahore. But why is that? And should you avoid buying a Karachi-registered car?

Note: I’ve personally verified the data in this blog from Suneel Munj through WhatsApp. 

First, look at some examples.

To make it easy to read, our designers have made the red box text bold so that you can read the text easily.
To make it easy to read, our designers have made the red box text bold so that you can read the text easily.

The above are just two examples of Mehran VXR and Corolla GLi. You can notice that Karachi-registered models offer better value for money than Lahore-registered models. 

The whole used car market works like that. Karachi cars are always cheaper than cars registered in Northern cities for a variety of reasons. Here’s a breakdown:

Rusting Issues in Karachi Cars

Karachi’s environment has high humidity, generally 60-70% throughout the year. This level of moisture is sufficient for metals to react with oxygen and water molecules in the air, causing them to oxidize and rust. 

The high humidity is not the sole reason for high rust; the city’s water also has high pH levels, commonly known as acidic or hard water. When cars are washed with this water, the high amount of minerals in hard water accelerates the oxidation of metal, leading to faster rust and corrosion.

Generally, cars in Karachi start showing signs of rust within 2 to 4 years of purchase, whereas vehicles in Northern cities like Lahore and Islamabad can remain relatively unrusted even after 9 to 12 years of their purchase.

We all know that a car’s resale value depends a lot on its body’s rust condition; the more rust in the body, the less resale value.

Bad Road Conditions in Karachi

You know how bad the roads of Karachi are. Only a few patches of Shahrah-e-Faisal are in good condition. Otherwise, the majority of roads in Karachi are broken, uneven, and overall in the worst conditions.

These roads damage the suspension, wear out the tires faster, misalign the steel rims, or crack the alloy rims. In severe cases, Karachi’s roads can even damage the car’s suspension mounts, also known as “cuppa” in the local language; if that happens, it’ll misalign the whole alignment of your car, which can never be repaired.

This factor also negatively affects a car’s resale value, which is another reason why Karachi cars have low resale value.

High Crime Ratio of Karachi 

Karachi and street crime have a very long and good relationship with each other; we can also say it is a GTA city in Pakistan.

It’s common for thieves to steal car tires, side mirrors, and an infotainment system in night, and if they’re feeling extra ambitious, why not just drive off with the whole car?

For these reasons, cars with Karachi number plates in other cities are known as VIP Passes for thorough inspection by Excise, Traffic Wardens, Police, and Rangers. They see those Karachi plates and think, “Another potential thief on the loose,” and this factor further reduces the resale of Karachi-registered cars.

Registration Issues

Another struggle is transferring a Sindh-registered car. To transfer the car in your own name, you’ve to physically visit the corresponding  Excise office from where the vehicle was registered.

Furthermore, if you intend to transfer your car to Punjab, you must submit an application to the Sindh Excise that you are a resident of Punjab and wish to transfer the vehicle there. Once the Sindh Excise approves your request, they will release your file, and you can transfer it anywhere in Punjab. All this process is manual and requires you to visit the Excise office both times. 

Note that even after transferring, your number plate will remain the same, i.e., Sindh’s number plate, even though it’s now a Punjab-registered car.

This section is sourced from Suneel Munj; listen to it yourself!

That’s another factor why Sindh-registered cars have lower value in Punjab, as the new owner will be required to travel 500-1100 Km to Karachi to transfer the vehicle.

Myths About Karachi Registered Cars

Here are some myths that we’ll burst and confirm regarding Karachi-registered cars:

Karachi Registered cars don’t sell easily

This is not true. They might sell at 10-30% lower rates than Punjab-registered cars, but they do have a market, the same as Punjab-registered vehicles. It’s just that some people would prefer Punjab registrations, and some would save money by going with Sindh-registered cars.

Myth Busted!

Police Always Stop Sindh Registered Cars

If you happen to be cruising by a police checkpoint with a Sindh number plate, the police will likely roll out the red carpet for you, but not always, “most likely.” However, It’s not like the police or Excise are always going to throw a roadblock every time on you.

Myth 50/50 busted and confirmed.

If a Karachi Registered Car is Transferred to Punjab, its Resale Value Would be the Same as a Natively Punjab Registered Car

Even after you move your car to Punjab, the number plate stays the same, i.e., the Sindh number plate. So, to most people, it’ll keep looking like a Sindh car unless they dig deeper or you spill the beans that it’s a Punjab-registered car. Sure, it might fetch a slightly better price when you sell, but it doesn’t quite have that native Punjab registered resale with a Punjab number plate.

Myth busted!