Vehicles are a large part of the game. The thief uses them as transportation and storage, and has the opportunity to steal several for profit.
The Thief's Vehicles[]
Two cars are available for the thief to use as transportation: A small hatchback, and a large van. Both cars have a white box in the passenger's seat that can be used to store additional loot. Their trunks can also be used to store oversized load that he cannot collect himself.
Hatchback[]
The thief's initial car, reminiscent of a Mazda model, is a black hatchback with two seats and a small amount of trunk space. It is waiting for him at the nearest curb after his first robbery. A white box sits on the floor between the glove compartment and the passenger seat, and can be used to store up to 15 lbs of additional loot. The trunk can only support two flat-laying items and one upright item.
While the hatchback has much less torque and capacity than the van, it is agile enough for select cases when the van becomes too large to fit. Once raised, the hatch can also be used as a ramp to get over some fences.
Van[]
At level 19, a black van turns up for sale at the Pawn Shop for $35,000. It offers better capacity and performance, not to mention allowing easier thefts to certain elevated locations.
The box in the van's passenger seat holds 30 lbs; twice as much as the car. Additionally, the back of the van can hold five flat items and three upright items.
Note: When visiting the Garage, thief's Hideout, Pawn Shop, or Junkyard, both vehicles will be parked nearby, regardless of which one was driven to that location. This gives the player the option to switch vehicles once they're ready to return to the neighborhoods.
Grand Theft Auto[]
There are a total of nine vehicles that can be stolen:
| Image | Model | Location | Tool Required | Junkyard Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolthorn 86 Classic | 104 - The Jones | Car Lock Pick Gun | 500 | |
| Aisan Cougar | 101 - The Smiths | Car Lock Pick Gun | 800 | |
| Bolthorn Family MkV | 201 - The Reeds | Car Lock Pick Gun | 2000 | |
| Vulcan Spectre (White) | 205 - The Torres | Car Key Signal Cloner | 2000 | |
| Kubra GTS | 207 - The Fosters | Car Key Signal Cloner | 1500 | |
| Vulcan Spectre (Orange) | 304 - The Lombardis | Car Key OR Signal Cloner |
2000 | |
| Skid Loader | 305 - Construction Site | N/A | 3000 | |
| Forklift | 305 - Construction Site | N/A | 5000 | |
| Sleigh | 307 - Factory | Car Lock Pick Gun | 500 |
The first six vehicles are sitting in the garage at their listed locations. It is highly recommended that the player make sure the garage door and car gate are both open before attempting to take a vehicle for a faster getaway.
The Skid Loader and Forklift are both out in the open in the construction site. The loader can be driven off the lot via a nearby ramp, while the forklift must be carefully navigated through security to the front gate.
The Sleigh can be found to the right of the car gate on lot 307. This vehicle is only available during the Christmas Event.
You cannot store stolen goods in these vehicles. Upon leaving the neighborhood, however, your own vehicles and their contents automatically return with you.
Car Alarm[]
The Aisan Cougar and Bolthorn Family MkV have alarms disabled before they can be taken. Trying to unlock the car before disabling the alarm will attract police attention instead of granting access to the vehicle.
Unlock the Car[]
The Sleigh, Aisan Cougar, Bolthorn Family MkV and Bolthorn 86 Classic have a traditional mechanical lock that requires a drill, while the Vulcan Spectres and Kubra GTS have digital locks whose signals must be cloned. The drill just requires some meddling near the vehicle. The cloner unlocks a vehicle immediately, but requires a duplication process which only occurs near the owner's key. The orange Vulcan Spectre can also be unlocked by stealing its remote key. The Forklift and Skid Loader are unlocked by default, and therefore can be freely entered.
| The drill takes time, but does not alert tenants with its noise. | Once calibrated, the Car Key Signal Cloner turns off the alarm and acts as a key. |
Startup[]
Any vehicle that isn't unlocked by a Key, be it cloned or real, will all need to be hotwired in order to start their engines. Hotwiring is represented by a short minigame where the player attempts to connect the correct wires to start the ignition Other vehicles are unlocked remotely, and therefore do not require hotwiring, but still must be manually started like your own vehicles. If you leave a vehicle, the startup process must be redone.
Driving Away[]
It might sound simple as getting the vehicle access open, but each vehicle has its own issues due to their locations and performance which can help or hinder your way out. On top of that, pedestrians that see the thief driving off in the stolen car will call the police if he remains in their line of sight for too long, and guards/police officers have the ability to somehow zap the player when they're inside, not to mention cameras which can catch the player upon getting a glimpse of them. Therefore, it's better to make sure the coast is clear before heading out.
Driving overall is a lot easier in third person mode. The key to change perspective while driving is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen.
Chop Shop[]
Certain vehicles can be taken onto the hydraulic lift and dismantled. Some will be automatically scrapped as junk, and all others will be transported to the storage locker on-site. The Skid Loader, Forklift, and Sleigh cannot be dismantled.
Selecting certain parts of the car will allow access to that specific area (Engine, Rear Axle, Wheels, etc.), where the thief will have to remove each part of the car in the correct order. Accessible parts will be highlighted in green. Hold down the interaction key to remove the part. Be sure to check every angle of the car as some parts are well hidden if you're not familiar with a vehicle's components.
Both vehicles and their components can be sold to the Junkyard. Since vehicles' sale values are static regardless of their remaining parts, with some being even requested on BlackBay for inflated prices, it is often worthy to dismantle all of them to maximize revenue on top of the vehicle's base price. However, it is often tedious, and the time taken could be better spent on stealing more, as selling a vehicle causes it to immediately respawn. The Skid Loader and Forklift are likewise better off sold immediately, as they have a greater value than all other vehicles, can't be dismantled, not to mention the Skid Loader being a relatively easy target.
The orange Vulcan Spectre, Skid Loader, Forklift, and Sleigh will only be avaliable in the Hideout, even in NG+, as they are located in the Industrial District, which in turn is typically accessed around when the Hideout is purchased after Vinny's betrayal in the storyline. If the hideout isn't purchased, these vehicles don't even appear at all. The remaining vehicles will appear at both locations.
Traffic[]
While it causes only minor issues, it's still good to be aware of what impact traffic can have on gameplay.
During the day, and rarely at night, cars can be seen traveling through Greenview and Richie R. Street, but not Industrial Street. The vehicles' AI, unlike pedestrians, will not notice suspicious actions.
Obstructed traffic or a vehicle collision can cause the police to show up. In the case of injuring a pedestrian, a restart occurs immediately.
The police also employ their patrol cars for transport and pursuit, the latter only when the thief is in another vehicle, with an instant arrest on collision. The model of police vehicles are not solid and will pass through the thief, which is seen if the Cloaking Device was engaged.
Repairs[]
Owned vehicles taking damage will immediately deduct repair fees, which can be extremely detrimental in the early game, especially when some bumps can result in two-digit penalties. These have no effect on the vehicle's performance in-game, while the appearance is restored immediately after transition to another area or upon loading a checkpoint.
The van is immune to physical degradation, only charging funds when hit, whereas all stolen vehicles are simply immune to damage.