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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition

Best Special Vehicles

By
Jarrod Garripoli

There are some vehicles in San Andreas that are special, meaning they have some kind of special property. This can include from something like a unique paint job, to something a little more special, just as being bulletproof. The biggest problem with these special vehicles is that most of them are part of the various missions you do in the game, and you don’t have easy access to them. Some of these special vehicles are easy to get, since you will be able to drive them, but some of them, however, will require you to push them back to a safehouse/garage via other means.

Before diving into the locations of the special vehicles and how to obtain them, let’s go over some of the terminology regarding them. An All-Proof vehicle means that it is impervious to all damage, including bullets, explosions, hitting anything with it, and fire. These are the best types of special vehicles, obviously, as it makes difficult for enemies to do anything to the vehicle you’re in. Note that this doesn’t make your character immune to damage, though, like if you were on an All-Proof motorbike and someone was shooting at you. Of course, the vehicle isn’t completely indestructible, either, as there are ways to destroy them.

  • Flipping the car upside down
  • Putting the car in water enough that the game counts it as destroyed (can push back out)
  • Using a car bomb to destroy it

Two things you don’t want to ever do with a special vehicle is starting the Lowrider Challenge with it, and bringing it to a girlfriend’s house to have “coffee” with her. Both of these things will strip the special properties from the vehicle, leaving you with a normal one. Lastly, all of the special vehicles can be stored in a garage and retain their properties.

Forklift

This might be one of the earliest special vehicles in the game, as it is during the Robbing Uncle Sam mission from Ryder. Once you get to the compound, go inside and kill all of the guards, then open the gate for Ryder to get inside. As soon as you open the gate, go ahead and kill Ryder to fail the mission, then take the Forklift that’s inside the warehouse back to a garage of yours. This is the Forklift that is bulletproof.

Tampa

The following vehicle is obtainable in the Nines and AKs mission, and is bulletproof, fireproof and damageproof. This one will be a little trickier to do, since you will have to push the vehicle back to your garage. Once you reach Emmett and Big Smoke shoots at the first bottle, immediately head over to the nearby vehicle and start pushing it towards the street. Note that if you wait too long, to the point Emmett explains how to shoot at the gas tank, then the vehicle will lose its special properties.

It is a bit tricky, though, since you do need to fail the mission, which can only happen if either Smoke or Emmet dies. If you go to Montgomery in Red County (north of Los Santos), you can find some Satchel Charges near the betting place. When you’re ready for the vehicle, place a charge on Smoke or Emmet, then begin pushing the vehicle. Once the vehicle is on the street, you can use another vehicle to push it back to your garage. When it is in your garage, blow it up while standing inside the garage with it (have armor). While the garage is open and the car is destroyed, detonate the charge to fail the mission. Once this is over, leave the garage and let it close to repair the vehicle.

Tahoma

You will be able to secure this bulletproof vehicle during the House Party mission, which is actually pretty easy. Play the mission as you normally would and kill all of the Ballas who try to invade Grove Street. After completing the mission, you will see that there will be two Tahomas left on the street, but both of them are locked. That means you will need to push one, or both of them, back to your garage, but it’s easier here because it’s a lot closer than the Tampa above.

Savanna

This bulletproof vehicle can be acquired during the High Stakes, Low Rider mission. The mission involves you racing some other lowriders, along with Cesar, who has the car you want. To get the vehicle, you will need to stick close to Cesar during the race itself, which will likely cause you to fail the mission in the end, as you need to finish in first to complete it. Once you’re done with the race, hit Cesar’s car with a melee weapon to lure him out of it, then shoot at him to make him run away. From there, it’s a simple matter of pushing the vehicle back to a garage, with the Santa Maria Beach safehouse being the closest (it costs $30,000).

Tanker

This Tanker is bulletproof and will be found during the Tanker Commander mission in the Badlands area. Start the mission like normally and go to the gas station. Once you have access to the Tanker, get in it and immediately get out. This should cause Catalina to get out, too, so kill her to fail the mission. You can then drive the Tanker to your nearest garage.

Patriot

You will find that this Patriot is bulletproof, fireproof and explosion-proof, making it a great one to get. This one isn’t tied to an exact mission, as it involves the couriers you can steal from upon reaching San Fierro. You will have access to these every Monday and Friday, with Cesar calling you about them. Note that it’s a good idea to be using a Towtruck to go after the courier, as it makes things easier whenever you have to take it back to a garage. Hunt down the courier like normal and get the money from it, then follow behind it until you can get in front. The idea is to make it stop, causing the people in it to get out. Once this happens, quickly attach the towing mechanism and bring it back to one of your safehouses.

Maverick

The Maverick is a helicopter and you won’t be able to drive it, so a Towtruck or Tractor is required for this one. This Maverick is bulletproof, fireproof, explosion-proof, and damageproof. You will find this vehicle in the mission, Misappropriation. Drive to the destination and when you get there, keep to the left side, as you want to avoid alerting the FBI and target. If the target gets alerted, then he will take off in the Maverick and you’ll have to start over again. Note that the Maverick you want is the one on the rock. Find the courier and quickly kill him before he gets in the Maverick, then you can take your time with the rest of the enemies. When all the enemies are dead, hook up the Maverick with your towing mechanism, then slowly drive it back to Verdant Meadows.

Walton

This is yet another vehicle that is bulletproof, fireproof, explosion-proof, and damageproof. You will find this one during the mission, Madd Dogg, and it’s probably one of the easier ones on this page. After rescuing Madd Dogg, simply drive it back to the nearest garage. Once you get there, keep crashing into something until you end up kill Madd Dogg, then park it in the garage for safekeeping.

PCJ-600

This motorbike is immune to all damage sources, and is found during the mission, OG Loc from Big Smoke. You will want to head towards Freddy’s location, but you don’t want to get too close, as the chase will begin. While keeping the camera in Freddy’s direction, kill OG Loc. Once you do that, quickly head to Freddy and get rid of him, then steal his bike and drive it to one of your garages.

Camper

One of the few vehicles with a unique paintjob on this list, the follow Camper is also explosion-proof. There are two opportunities to obtain this, actually, once during Are You Going To San Fierro? and another during Black Project. Unfortunately, getting it during the latter is an annoying process, so only the first mission will be described here. Proceed through the mission as normal, burning the weed and getting the rocket launcher from The Truth. Destroy the police helicopter, then find Truth and kill them, driving the Mothership (its name) back to one of your garages.

SWAT Tank

This is a very rare vehicle, as it only appears during one mission, End of the Line, which is the final one in the game. You will need to commandeer the SWAT during the mission, then drive it back to one of your garages. Park it inside and blow it up, which will cause the mission to fail. If you let the door close and reopen, then the SWAT will be restored and granted its special properties, which is bulletproof and fireproof.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Rockstar Games
  • Platforms,
    Android, iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, XB One, XB X|S
  • Genre
    Action Adventure
  • Guide Release
    22 October 2021
  • Last Updated
    25 November 2021
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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