Category Archives: News & Events

The art of Leasing a Car

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Car leasing today seems to have become a hard science with all the islamic/unislamic/fixed-rate/KIBOR-linked rate/flexible-tenure/flexible-downpayment/insurance options ‘mumbo-jumbo’ and what not but infact it is as much an art as painting or photography. Before I confuse you further with my ‘Science of Art’ lecture here is me breaking my “banker’s code” to let you in on all the unpleasant secret “they won’t tell you” while selling you a car lease.

According to howstuffworks.com website, Leasing has two principal benefits:

(1) You drive a newer vehicle that is always under warranty and seldom needs more than routine maintenance.

and

(2) you often get a larger, more luxurious, better-equipped car.

I believe another very improtant ‘benefit’ missing from the list is the commission offered to the dealer/lease-salesperson & strictly-religious vs moderate orientation. Meaning that even in today’s day & age the car dealer or lease/loan salesperson can force you to get a lease or loan depending on which makes them more richer.

For people working strictly on commission basis the single most important motivation is how much they get out of each deal so beware of them. The people employed by the bank/FI on salary basis are genrally more reliable in their committed offerings. I am just saying that be careful and make sure that the person selling you the car lease is not just making forced sales & expecting no repeat sales from satisfactory regular clients. Let this be your first lesson while leasing a car – NO BROKERS – neither car dealing ones nore lease pushing ones.

Having already discussed the major differences between conventional Leasing & Ijarah Financing (Islamic mode) the next post will deal with KIBOR & how rates get pegged to it including a detail about its merits and demerits.

Buying Used Cars

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Pak Suzuki has come out with this very ‘sensible’ offer.

Now you can buy a Suzuki Certified USED car from Pak Suzuki Motors Co Ltd.

The car that you end up buying from them comes with a ONE YEAR WARRANTY and is evaluated on 130 check points (I wonder what those check points are!!?). For more details check out this ad that appeared yesterday.

(Click on the image to view in full size)

Used Suzuki Cars - now official

Used Suzuki Cars - now official

Buying a used car is usually considered something that is not for the masses. People here talk about ‘resale’ value of a car and endlessly tell you that the car that you really, really want to buy will be hard to sell. They are right in saying that, but that is not why you want to buy a car that you really like; you are not buying the damn thing to sell it! You are buying it because you like it, period. That is what most people don’t look at, and for good reason of course – it is a ‘safer’ bet buy something that can be sold immediately when cash is required (liquid assets and all that!). The Toyota Corolla for example, is considered a great car to buy, not because you want to impress your neighbor, but because it has great re-sale value (a lot of people in the market looking for second-hand Toyotas, no doubt!)

Suzuki is the KING in used cars market

But I think you all will agree that the KING of re-sellable cars is Suzuki. I mean, you just have to give one ad in the newspaper classifieds section and you can kiss your car goodbye the very next day. For example, I sold my Suzuki Baleno at EXACTLY the price I had asked for the day after I gave the price. The gentleman who came over to look at the car, paid the amount at the bank (the car was leased from Faysal Bank) and the deal was done in a matter of hours, not days. Before Baleno, I owned a Mehran, which was also sold with the same ease (and again, with a price a couple of thousand rupees more than what the ‘dealers’ wanted me to believe – LESSON # 1: ALWAYS sell your car through the classified sections without involving your typical dealer). So I have had the experience of three Suzukis in the last mmm, 7 to 8 years. The first one was a 1990 Suzuki Swift that I sold to get the Mehran. So yeah, I can say that Suzuki sells easily and quickly.

So it is no surprise that the good folks at Suzuki Pakistan have realized this great opportunity and made the whole ‘second hand’ Suzuki market official.

Karting Championship

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If you look up “Motorsports in Lahore” on google this is what you get…

motorsports-in-lahore

...

But this joke is losing it’s humor. And that’s because there have been at least four proper motorsports events in Lahore within the last year including a 4×4 mud rally, a couple of go-kart races and a so called drag race. Finally there’s some excitement in the Lahoree petrol-heads’ life.

race venue

Last weekend Lake City was home to a go-kart race organized by Racing Pakistan and sponsored by Bank Alfalah. A race track was improvised on the excellent streets of Lake City (a rare sight in Lahore). The race was held at night under flood lights to avoid the scorching heat of the day. It was a five hour endurance race so each team had 3 to 4 drivers who replaced one another at the end of a stint.

Karting is considered as the most basic form of motorsports. And although a go-kart might look like something you’d buy for your five year old boy but don’t be fooled by its benign looks. Go-kart racing is all about agility and acceleration. That’s why go-karts weigh next to nothing and have very high power to weight ratio. As a result a go-kart changes direction like a gazelle and goes like stink. And that’s why go-kart tracks are very tight and twisty.

F1 replica

F1 replica

This is the second time that Racing Pakistan has organized a kart race in Lahore. The first event was held back in August 2008. Adnan Sarwar is the front man of this organization who is working with Bank Alfalah to promote motorsports in Pakistan.

When I went to see this race last year I saw a Ferrari followed soon after by an Aston Martin and several Porsches. So I wondered how long would it be before I wake up. But then i was forced to realise that it wasn’t a dream. So the next explanation I came up with was that I had somehow reached a European town located on Raiwind Road. Because to me, that was a less ridiculous idea than actually seeing a Ferrari and an Aston Martin in Lahore.

Altough I didn’t see the Ferrari and the Aston this year (maybe I missed them) but the car park was still quite dream-like.

There are many things I can think of that could have been better on this event but I think it’s more important to appreciate the effort for bringing motorsports to Pakistan which is something we really need.

In case you’re wondering why you never found out about some or all of these events, well you’re not alone, because many people missed these events because they didn’t know about them. Anyway cheer up! I’ll do my best to keep you informed about any future happenings. And if you know about any upcoming events please do share this information with us.

Here are some pictures from the event…

red-bull-mini

racetrack

racetrack

p1090554mustang-lahorep1090560

And here are some pictures from the last year’s event…

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Here’s a video report of the event which isn’t very good but it’s all I could find.

Lahore Karting Championship

Originally posted at: Horse Power

Made in China

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chery-m14

These days you can buy a Chinese fake version of almost anything for a fraction of the price of the original.

You can buy a carbon copy of the Honda 70 for half the price, or an iPhone look-a-like with a logo that shows an apple eaten from all sides…

Even cars from Chinese brands are not that uncommon these days.

Chery is one of the leading car makers from China. Their 800cc car “QQ” is

Chery QQ

Chery QQ

becoming quite popular in Pakistan. And you have to give them the credit for making a car that offers a much better build quality, performance and more features than its rivals. And the best part is that even the top-spec model of this car costs nearly the same as the cheapest Suzuki Mehran, which, as we all know, is made from used tin foil.

The only thing that lets this car down is its looks. But don’t forget that Mehran doesn’t exactly look like the Mona Lisa either.

But I’m not very interested in talking about 800cc family cars right now. I want to talk about a car, made in China, which has just two seats, an electric folding roof and a 2.0 liter, 195 bhp, turbo-charged, petrol engine. Yes, Chinese sports cars are coming our way…

For those of you with large bank accounts and a fleet of cars parked outside, this might not be something to look forward to. But it is a very exciting piece of news for petrol-heads like me who love cheap thrills.

Chery M14

Chery M14

It’s called the Chery M14. It was introduced back in 2006 as a concept car. Designed by a car designer from Pininfarina, it was displayed in several car shows around the world and received a lot of appreciation from the public. It was promised that its mass production will start by the end of 2007. But it didn’t. And strangely after spending so much time and money designing and advertising this much awaited car, it seems that Chery have suddenly backed out of the cheap sports car business. There are no mentions about this car on their global website and the Chery Pakistan website lists it as an “upcoming model” whose mass production will start in 2007.

If this car ever goes into production, it will cost around $19,000 which roughly equates to 1.5 million (15 lac) rupees. For a car like this, trust me, it’s the biggest bargain in the world.

M14 interior

M14 interior

I know what you are thinking…you’re thinking that it will have a crap build quality like everything else made in China. Well, think again…because it can’t possibly get worse than the cars we are already used to, like the Suzuki Cultus or Toyota Corolla XLi which happen to be two of the highest selling cars in Pakistan. If we can live with these cars, we can live with anything. Bring it on Chery!

Let’s hope that the M14 goes into production soon and then other car companies from China also join the competition.

Chery M14 promo

On Your Cars…Get Set GO!!!

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Readers… loosen your seat belts, hold on and don’t turn off your browser because we’re not going to anywhere else for any updates about cars, car technologies, car reviews, auto industry, racing events and lots of stuff especially related to Pakistan. This is Usman… Usman Butt and it’s my first post at CarAdvice.pk. I was wandering for some pictures and information on Honda City 2009 model and found in here. CarAdvice.pk sounds interesting to me and obviously for those who are interested in cars and want to remain updated about any activity in the auto industry of Pakistan whether there is a launch of any new model or there is any auto racing event across the country or the comparison of two cars and even reviews.

You can say all that stuff was enough to inspire me and to avail the offer by the admin, and I’m gonna make my contribution for this particular blog from now onward… Hopefully, you’ll enjoy your stay here and find good information, all you need to do is, type any query that you want to know about cars in the top right corner search space and make a horn(hit enter) paa…paa :D – there you GO!!!!!!!!!!!

Banks adopt stringent policy on auto loans

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We had it coming, didn’t we?

Didn’t we all complain that there are too many cars on the road? Didn’t some of us actually said that wait till people start defaulting? But no one could have expected the inflation to hit those debtors and give us some ridiculous statistics to look at. For example: Two years ago, around February, the number of cars being leased out by banks was sixty percent higher than what it is now. Yes, your read that right, SIXTY percent. Six. Zero. No doubt, the increase in the prices of cars have played a role, but so has a few other factors. which has lead to the banks playing tough.

Not so long ago, banks that lease cars would do it quite liberally. Auto financing was their flagship product and it was pushed without end. If you did not have the bank statement filed with your car loan application, no problems, they’d get it later (if that). No CNIC photocopy in hand at the moment? Sure, drop it later. And on and on. The banks looked the other way to get the loan out of their door and beefing up their ‘sales’. But now, the banks are stringent as they know now what pundits warned them about then.

Now all the paperwork has to be in order.

  • pay slip (or proof of business income)
  • CNIC copy
  • bank statement
  • references
  • credit information bureau report (generated against your CNIC from the State Bank of Pakistan, that details all of your loans taken and your performance in paying them back – no doubt, a powerful indicator of your ability to repay loans)

But that is not all. When the times were good (read: slack), you could get away with paying only 15 percent as down-payment. Now the down-payment has to be at least 30 percent.

The car leasing rates are such that depending on the tenure of your loan and the bank you end up choosing, your car lease can be anywhere between 18% and 21%. This has an obvious affect on your monthly payment. For example, a Mehran, with 30% down, has a monthly payment that comes to about PKR 12.500/- That is a lot to pay per month for such a car.

The car industry is definitely up against some serious challenges, given that now the banks are actually playing their part by being by-the-book.

I remember the first car I leased out, I only signed on a few papers and went ahead and got the car (I believe I gave the bank statement and proof of business after one year – the bank was being audited I believe :) ) …

The Mall’s first metered parking zone – solar powered?

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Metered parking machineAfter it’s success in Liberty Market, the metered parking system is now being deployed at The Mall from March, God be willing!

Metered parking zone with two entry and exit points starts from Shah din Manzil to Masjid-e-Shuhada.

“The first entry point will be at the start of the side road in front of the Shah din Manzil and people coming from Queens Road will use this entrance. The second entrance is the road cut after the traffic signal at Punjab Assembly and this entrance will be used by the people traveling on The Mall towards the GPO.
The two exit points of this parking lot will be the roads leading to Lawrence Road and Regal Chowk from Masjid-e-Shuhada while the road cut, which at present is connecting The Mall in front of Masjid-e-Shuhada with the side road, will be blocked and can only be used in emergency situation. As many as 320 cars can be parked at a time in this parking zone.”

Good news for motorcyclists, they are allowed to park free of cost at The Mall parking zone.  No parking fee at all.

However, in order to get the parking slip/token insert 10 rupee coins  or more if one wishes to park his/her car for longer,  into the machine and a slip pops out specifically instructing the drivers to display ticket on dashboard.

This effective system not only helps make most out of the space available but, also utilizes time in best possible way while maintain discipline. Finding a parking space is a bit of a challenge sometimes ad often one wrong parked car takes the space of two. But this won’t happens again as a heavy fine which will start from Rs 50 and can exceed to Rs 500 will be imposed on wrong parking, expired tokens, not displaying the parking ticket as directed or worst no token at all. And until the fine is paid the company’s security staff will clamp the tyre of such a vehicle and it won’t be allowed to move.

Most of the work regarding The Mall’s first metered parking zone has been completed, however the machines are yet to be installed.

In case you thought you could miss the token because of load shedding ;) these machines are battery operated not supported by WAPDA but, i recently heard that they are solar-powered. Solar powered? do you know anything about it?

Smoky vehicles- Beware

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The Environmental Protection Department of Punjab, Pakistan has imposed a fine of PKR 13,850 on vehicles emitting hazardous smoke into the air.

Last year in July, The Environmental Protection Department, Punjab launched a much needed campaign against increasing air and noise pollution.

On Saturday, Jan 24th, 2009 A SQUAD of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) fined 61 vehicles, while 12 others were impounded during the ongoing campaign against smoke-emitting vehicles. The CDGL squad, led by Tariq Zaman , DO (Environment) Lahore, fined Rs 13,700 to 61 motorcycle-rickshaws and two pick-up trucks.

Another commendable step taken by the EPD is their new project aimed at motivating youth to protect environment and to educate them about an environment friendly future. It’s high-time sSmoking vehicleomeone paid attention to the well known health hazards of engine emissions.

Now we need to focus on getting the high polluting vehicles – regardless petrol or diesel – off the road and out of our neighborhood.

It is about time we knew what’s coming out of the exhausts of our vehicles, understand critical air pollutants around us and at least acknowledge the steps that are taken to minimize this.

Get to know your car, what’s going on in the engine, whether it’s releasing blue, white, gray or black smoke from the exhaust pipe.

We need to join hands and work together  for cleaner air and our cars ought to reflect that, what do you think?

Chocolate car, anyone?

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With Valentine’s day quickly approaching, have you prepared a gift or some sort of surprise or something, anything at all? If no, well you’ve still got 6 days to plan. But please there is no sense in running around at the last minute, please. So, this year be prepared for it! Think of something new and exciting. Lets see what we can have:

  1. Chocolate cake
  2. Chocolate box
  3. Chocolate bars
  4. Chocolate candies
  5. Chocolate Car, hold it there! a chocolate car? Ahaan. A Chinese car dealer covered a car in chocolate for Valentine’s Day.

car coated in chocolate

“About 200kgs of melted chocolate was spread over the VW Beetle after it was first wrapped in cling film.

Seven people worked overnight to make sure the chocolate car was ready to go on display on the morning of Valentine’s Day.

According to China News Network, the car attracted many viewers and lovers to the dealer in Qingdao city.”

If you’re not up for the chocolate car, Craftbits is a cool fun site with many DIY gift ideas, a little something to spark your creativity and hopefully help the light bulb to come on. :)
Remember it’s the thought that counts :)

Third generation Honda City launched – finally

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Good news for anyone thinking of buying a new car. The much awaited, 3rd generation model of  it’s popular Sedan, all new city with its 1.3 liter i-VTEC engine finally launched in Pakistan on Saturday Jan 31st, 2009 was definitely worth the wait.

It’s brand new look, high-tech knobs and meters, smaller steering-wheel, well-researched seats, improved air-conditioning ventilators, aerodynamic exterior, is far more spacious than its predecessor. But the best feature of this City is ABS (Automatic Anti-lock Braking system). The DBW (drive by wire) technology and ABS form a lethal combo when it comes to controlling the vehicle.

Add in the newspaper

Honda City’s standard version starts from Rs. 13,09,000, whiles it automatic (five speed automatic transmission) model will cost Rs. 14,29,000 seems to be a bit costly of the kind of consumers its predecessors had.

Atsushi Yamazaki, President & CEO Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited said, the launch of the new City marks a very important day in the Honda’s history in Pakistan. Honda City made its debut in 1996 to meet the requirements of Honda customers in Asia and as a result was introduced in Pakistan in 1997. Over the last ten years The City has grown to be an important model sold in 39 countries reaching beyond the Asian Region.

With the new City in town you can go ahead and treat yourself to a new Car in the new Year.
Mai tai Honda he lai saan!