Renting a car in Lahore: documents, deposits and what to check

Renting a car is a five-minute transaction when the paperwork is ready and a two-hour argument when it is not. This is what actually happens in Lahore, and what to settle before money changes hands.

What to bring

A valid Pakistani driving licence, for a self-drive rental. Not an expired one, not a learner's permit. Most companies, ourselves included, want it to have been held for a while rather than issued last week.

CNIC, original. A photograph on a phone is not it.

A second contact. A number the company can call that is not yours. This is normal and it is not suspicion; it is what every rental company in the country does.

For a chauffeur-driven rental, none of the licence conditions apply to you. CNIC still does.

The security deposit

A deposit is held against damage and returned when the vehicle comes back as it left. It is not a charge.

Settle three things before you take the keys:

1. How much, and whether it is cash or a hold.
2. When it comes back — the same day, or after an inspection, and how long that inspection takes.
3. What comes out of it, specifically. "Damage" is not specific. Fuel returned below the agreed level, a lost key and a traffic fine are all separate questions and all of them come up.

The ten minutes that save you the deposit

Before you drive away, photograph the vehicle yourself. All four corners, both bumpers, the wheels, the windscreen, and the dashboard showing the odometer and the fuel gauge. Send them to the company on WhatsApp so there is a timestamp neither side controls.

This is the single most useful thing in this article. Almost every deposit dispute is about a mark that one side says was there and the other says was not, and it ends in thirty seconds when there is a photograph.

While you are there:

• Check the spare, the jack and the wheel brace are present. Find out at the yard, not on the Ring Road at night.
• Check the air conditioning on full for a minute. In summer this is not a comfort question.
• Note the fuel level and agree in writing what level it comes back at.

With fuel or without

Without fuel means you take it full and bring it back full. You pay for exactly what you burn. On a long trip where you control the driving, this is usually cheaper.

With fuel means the fuel is in the quote, worked out from the distance and the vehicle's consumption. You are paying a little for the certainty. On a trip where you cannot predict the distance, that certainty is worth something.

Neither is a trick. Ask which one you have been quoted, because the two numbers look very different and people compare them without noticing.

Delivery

Most companies in Lahore will bring the vehicle to you. We cover DHA, Gulberg, Johar Town, Model Town, Bahria Town, the Garrison, Thokar Niaz Baig, Saddar, Mall Road and the airport. Ask whether delivery is included or charged — it varies, and it is worth knowing before it appears on the bill.

Before the motorway

If you are leaving the city, three things are worth a minute each: tyre pressures, the toll balance if the vehicle carries a tag, and whether there is a jack that actually fits this vehicle. The third one surprises people.

Getting a price first

The fare calculator on this site will give you an itemised estimate for your route before you call — the daily rate, the fuel at today's pump price, the driver allowance if there is one, and the tolls. It is the same arithmetic we quote from.