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Was watching the Collection Isb video where Hamza was talking about cars being depreciating assets. Someone brought up how Corollas, Civics and even Hiluxes seem to appreciate in Pakistan.

There was an example of a Hilux bought for 26 lac years ago with someone later offering over 40 for it. His argument was that the rupee was worth a lot more back when the car was purchased, so getting a higher amount in PKR doesn’t necessarily mean the car actually gained value.

That got me curious. Instead of relying on old purchase stories I decided to check some historical prices against what people are demanding today.

Picked three cars from 2018.

Toyota Corolla GLi 1.3 Automatic
Honda Civic Oriel 1.8 CVT
Toyota Hilux Revo V 2.8 Automatic

I found their published showroom prices from mid 2018 and compared them with 5 Karachi ads for each model from Sep/Oct 2026.

Used the median asking price for each. Small sample obviously and not actual sold prices. The cars also have different mileage and condition so I’m not saying these are market averages.

Here’s what I got.

Corolla GLi AT
2018 new price: 22.24 lac
2026 median asking: 41 lac

Civic Oriel
2018 new price: 27.49 lac
2026 median asking: 49 lac

Hilux Revo V
2018 new price: 51.49 lac
2026 median asking: 87.5 lac

Looking at those numbers alone you’d think all three held their value exceptionally well.

Corolla is up around 84%, Civic around 78% and even the Hilux around 70%.

But here’s the thing.

The dollar was averaging roughly Rs 124 in July 2018. It’s around Rs 277 now.

Convert the original showroom prices and current asking prices into dollars at those respective exchange rates and the picture changes.

Corolla: down about 17%
Civic: down about 20%
Hilux: down about 24%

So they’ve gained a lot in rupees while losing dollar value.

The exchange rates are approximate benchmarks for the comparison, not the exact rates at which individual buyers purchased or sold dollars.

I also checked against Pakistan’s consumer price inflation because measuring everything in dollars isn’t necessarily the right way to judge someone’s purchasing power here either.

According to PBS, the national CPI was 113.90 in September 2018 and 304.33 in September 2026. Both are on the same 2015-16 base, meaning the general price level increased around 2.67 times over that period.

After adjusting the car prices for that inflation, the result is even more interesting.

Corolla: down around 31%
Civic: down around 33%
Hilux: down around 36%

I’ve attached the graph because the difference between these three measurements is pretty noticeable.

One thing to keep in mind is that the showroom prices are from June/July 2018 while the CPI comparison uses September of both years. So these are approximate eight-year comparisons rather than exact purchase-to-sale returns.

Also these aren’t actual sale prices. They’re advertisements. I used 5 per model to avoid relying on a single seller’s demand but that still isn’t enough to establish the average market value.

Condition, mileage, registration, accident history and location all matter. I haven’t independently inspected any of these cars either.

The 2018 prices are ex-factory too. Registration, taxes, insurance and whatever the original buyers spent maintaining these cars aren’t included.

What surprised me is that even at these asking prices, all three are below their original value after adjusting for inflation. Actual selling prices would probably tell an even more interesting story.

Someone might argue that judging a Corolla in dollars doesn’t matter if you’re earning and spending in rupees.

Fair enough. That’s exactly why I checked inflation separately.

The dollar comparison tells you how the car’s value changed relative to USD. CPI tells you something different, how much purchasing power those rupees retained against a general basket of goods and services.

Neither is a perfect measurement of what a particular car should be worth. But they’re both more informative than simply subtracting the original invoice from today’s asking price.

There’s also the replacement argument people make.

Someone bought a Hilux for 26 lac and is now being offered 40 or 50. But if a new equivalent Hilux costs substantially more than it did back then, that apparent profit isn’t going to replace what they originally purchased.

Although even replacement cost needs to be handled carefully. A new 2026 Hilux isn’t identical to one from twenty years ago. You’re buying a newer vehicle with different equipment, specifications and possibly a different market position.

I think part of the confusion comes from how rapidly new car prices increased in Pakistan.

Currency depreciation, import duties, taxes and supply restrictions all influence those prices. Used cars then get priced relative to increasingly expensive replacements.

That can keep nominal resale values high without turning ordinary cars into appreciating investments.

There are exceptions of course.

Rare enthusiast and collector cars are a different market. Some genuinely appreciate internationally. RM Sotheby’s sold a Ferrari F40 for $3.855 million in 2025, although that was an unusual low-mileage example.

Even locally you hear stories about clean Evos and other rare imports multiplying in value. I haven’t found enough verified old transactions to calculate those properly, so I wouldn’t put them in the same category just from current asking prices.

The scarcity, originality and actual demand for a collector car are different from the resale market for a daily-driven Corolla or Hilux.

Another thing worth separating is whether buying the car was financially worthwhile in the first place.

Someone who bought a Civic eight years ago has also used it for eight years. That transport has value. A car doesn’t need to be a profitable investment for it to have been a worthwhile purchase.

But that’s very different from saying you made money because the car’s resale price increased in rupees.

And if we’re calling it an investment, then we’d also have to compare it with what that money could have earned elsewhere over the same period. Including ownership expenses would make that comparison even more demanding.

I’m not claiming every Corolla, Civic or Hilux in Pakistan has depreciated by exactly these percentages. This is just a small comparison using published showroom prices and a sample of current listings.

What surprised me is how a car can almost double in its rupee price and still lose a sizeable part of its original purchasing power.

The old invoice and today’s asking price alone don’t really tell you whether the car appreciated.

Sources I used:

Toyota’s June 2018 price revision:
https://propakistani.pk/2018/06/26/toyota-raises-prices-for-cars-by-up-to-rs-1-9-million/

Honda’s July 2018 price revision:
https://propakistani.pk/2018/07/03/honda-pakistan-increases-car-prices-by-up-to-rs-100000/

PakWheels 2018 Corolla GLi AT listing example:
https://www.pakwheels.com/used-cars/toyota-corolla-2018-for-sale-in-karachi-12066732

PakWheels 2018 Civic Oriel listing example:
https://www.pakwheels.com/used-cars/honda-civic-2018-for-sale-in-karachi-12071926

PBS September 2026 CPI report:
https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Monthly-Review-September2026.pdf