Polanco Motors in Lagos Life: Hours, Prices & Guide
Last checked 9 Oct 2026Numbers change with game updates. Spot something out of date? Tell us via the About page.
Polanco Motors is the car showroom on Victoria Island, and the only place in Lagos where you can buy a car. Everything from a secondhand motorbike to a one-of-one hypercar is on the floor, and you have to be standing in the showroom to buy. Once a car is yours it joins your garage, you drive it out, and you can switch between cars from your phone at any time.
The showroom's own activities are all free: browsing, a test drive, a chat with a sales rep and a selfie with a supercar. They make Polanco a surprisingly good stop on a broke day, because the test drive gives one of the better free fun boosts on the Island and a short mood bonus on top. But the real reason to come is the purchase, and a car is one of the biggest decisions in Lagos Life. This guide covers what a car actually does for you in the game, which one to buy first, and the resale trap at the expensive end of the floor.
Opening hours
The showroom opens at 8 AM and closes at 10 PM, every day. That's long enough to drop in on the evening after almost any shift. The game sends you home when work ends, so it's a trip back out even for office workers at Marina Towers in the same part of the Island, but the showroom stays open until 10 PM. If you're coming to buy, check your balance before you leave home: the car is paid for on the spot, and Saturday's 9 AM rent still has to come out of whatever's left. The free activities are good filler when you have an hour to kill on Victoria Island in daytime, before the rooftop opens at noon or the clubs at 10 PM.
Doors open at 8 AM and close at 10 PM in game time, every day of the week. Rent comes out every Saturday at 9 AM, wherever you are.
Everything to do at Polanco Motors
| Activity | Cost | Time | Effect per go | Trains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browse the Showroom | Free | 30 min | Fun +9 | — |
| Take a Test Drive | Free | 30 min | Fun +17, Energy −1 | — |
| Talk to a Sales Rep | Free | 20 min | Social +10, Fun +2 | Charisma |
| Selfie with a Supercar | Free | 15 min | Fun +5 | Photography |
Time is in-game time. “Effect per go” is how far one go moves each need bar (out of 100): the game adds any one-off boost, such as a meal's hunger, to the activity's hourly rate times its length. 4 activities are free.
All four activities are free. Take a Test Drive is the best: a solid fun boost and a short mood bonus, for half an hour and no money. Browse the Showroom is a smaller fun top-up. Talk to a Sales Rep fills a little social and trains Charisma, though at well under half the speed of Spoken Word at Freedom Park or a mirror at home. Selfie with a Supercar trains Photography slowly. None of these will change your week, but a test drive plus a browse is a decent free hour, and the mood bonus lands nicely before a shift or an evening of training.
Biggest mood boost for your money
- Take a Test DriveFree · 30 min+17
- Talk to a Sales RepFree · 20 min+12
- Browse the ShowroomFree · 30 min+9
- Selfie with a SupercarFree · 15 min+5
The biggest single boost is Take a Test Drive (+17, free).
Skills you can train at Polanco Motors
| Skill | Best activity here | Cost | Rate | 0 → 3 | 0 → 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charisma | Talk to a Sales Rep | Free | 0.5 | 9.6 h | 22 h |
| Photography | Selfie with a Supercar | Free | 0.7 | 6.9 h | 16 h |
Rate is skill gained per in-game hour at level 0; the game divides it by 1 + 0.6 × your current level, so each level takes longer than the last. Hours assume you start from zero, before the ×1.25 LAPO Baby bonus and the ×1.15 for a mood above 40.
- Charisma: the best everyday spot in the city is Spoken Word Open Mic at Freedom Park (rate 1.3), so train here when you're already nearby. Careers that use it: Banking, Content Creator, Teaching, Football, Retail, Law, Real Estate, Product Management.
- Photography: the best everyday spot in the city is Practise Photography at home (DSLR Camera & Tripod, ₦24,000) (rate 1.4), so train here when you're already nearby.
Polanco Motors tips: what actually works
Know what a car actually does
A car changes how you get around the city in three ways. You stop paying fares and pay only for fuel, a few naira per kilometre for a cheap saloon. Every trip becomes an AC ride with a small mood bonus, instead of the go-slow mood penalty that long danfo, keke, okada or walking trips can bring. And you skip danfo hazards like the agbero levy and the conductor who never gives your change. One thing it doesn't change is the ride to work: on a shift day the game charges a flat ₦150 whatever you travel in, and a cab gets you the same AC Ride bonus at the gate. So a car is about your evenings, weekends and errands, and for a player who crosses Lagos a lot, those add up to better moods and real savings.
Your first car should be cheap
A secondhand Corolla or Accord does everything an everyday driver needs: the fuel saving, the AC ride and the comfort. The Bajaj Boxer motorbike is cheaper still and gives its own mood bonus for weaving through traffic, but you get soaked when it rains, which costs mood. If you can stretch to a saloon, it's the better first buy.
Big Boy Rides start at the Lexus
From the Lexus RX 350 upwards, the game treats a car as a flex: every time you pull up, you get an extra mood bonus on top of the AC ride. That's the cheapest way to have a mood boost on every trip. Below the Lexus, cars are about comfort and savings; above it, they're about status, and the mood bonus doesn't grow with the price.
Watch the resale trap on expensive cars
When you sell a car, or trade it in for another, you get 60% of its book value. For everyday cars the showroom price is the book value, so you lose 40%. But from the Toyota Hilux upwards, the showroom charges several times book value, and from the hundred-million-naira class up it charges ten times. Sell one of those and you get back only a small slice of what you paid. Buy a supercar to keep, never to flip.
Hire a driver once you're comfortable
With a car in the garage you can hire a driver. He pays the fuel, gets you there faster and gives a slightly better mood bonus than driving yourself, in exchange for a wage. It's a good mid-game upgrade for anyone who spends a lot of time crossing the city.
Rich players pay more
Once your net worth passes ₦1 billion, prices across the game rise tenfold for you, and the showroom is no exception. If you're close to that line and planning a big purchase, buy before you cross it.
What a visit costs
A free visit is a test drive, a browse and a supercar selfie: an hour of fun and a mood bonus for nothing. A first car costs somewhere under a million naira for a secondhand saloon, which is several weeks of saving on a mid-level salary and longer on starter pay. Don't buy it with the rent money, and don't buy it before you have a steady income, because you'll be walking past the showroom again in a week if you do. A comfortable upgrade is a Camry or a Sienna people-carrier in the low millions. The flex tier starts with the Lexus RX, which costs more than three months of a top-level salary. Above the Hilux, the prices climb steeply and resale collapses, so treat those cars like a VIP table at Quilox: money spent for the feeling, not an investment. A car also counts toward your net worth, but only at 60% of book value, so a marked-up supercar makes you poorer on paper the moment you drive it out.
Mistakes to avoid
- Buying an expensive car as an investment. From the Hilux up, resale is a small fraction of the showroom price.
- Paying for a car with rent money. Rent comes out on Saturday at 9 AM, and selling the car back loses at least 40%.
- Buying the motorbike for long trips in the rainy season. Riding in the rain gets you soaked, which costs mood.
- Skipping the test drive. It's free, quick and one of the better free mood boosts on the Island.
- Treating the sales rep as Charisma training. It's slow; a mirror at home or Freedom Park are far faster.
Is Polanco Motors worth it?
Everyone who travels around Lagos a lot should visit Polanco Motors at least once, with money in hand, because a cheap car makes every trip cheaper and every mood a little better. Broke players can still come for a free test drive. Big earners can enjoy the flex cars, but should know that the most expensive ones lose most of their value the day they're bought. If you're still on starter pay, save first: our make money guide shows how to build the income, and once you're driving, the Island's lounges at Ivory Rooftop and Eko Hotels are a short, air-conditioned drive away.
Nearby in Victoria Island
- Eko Casino — 24 hours, 6 activities
- Eko Hotels & Suites — 24 hours, 10 activities
- Ivory Rooftop — 12 PM – 1 AM, 7 activities
- Marina Towers — 6 AM – 9 PM, 2 activities
- Quilox — 10 PM – 5 AM, 19 activities
- The Library — 10 PM – 4 AM, 13 activities
FAQ
What time does Polanco Motors open in Lagos Life?
Polanco Motors is open 8 AM – 10 PM, every day of the week (in-game time).
What can you do at Polanco Motors?
There are 4 activities, including Browse the Showroom, Take a Test Drive, Talk to a Sales Rep, Selfie with a Supercar. Prices: All free.
Which skills can you train at Polanco Motors?
Charisma, Photography.
Where do you buy a car in Lagos Life?
At Polanco Motors on Victoria Island, the only car showroom in Lagos. You have to be in the showroom to buy. Your car then joins your garage, and you can switch cars from your phone.
Is a car worth it in Lagos Life?
For anyone who travels around the city a lot, yes. You only pay for fuel, every trip gives a small AC-ride mood bonus instead of the go-slow penalty, and danfo hassles disappear. It won't cut the flat ₦150 ride to work, though. A cheap secondhand saloon is enough.
How much do you get back when you sell a car in Lagos Life?
60% of the car's book value. For everyday cars that's 60% of what you paid. For the expensive end of the showroom, which charges several times book value, it's much less.
Which car gives a mood boost in Lagos Life?
Every car gives an AC-ride mood bonus on each trip. From the Lexus RX 350 upwards you also get a Big Boy Ride bonus every time you pull up.