FBI Rancher

[Erick10444]

I have tried almost everything to get the FBI Rancher. First I tried to get 5 stars which I could never get to so I just gave up. Than I tried going to Area 51 because when you enter it you get 5 stars and they will be after me and I will steal one, but when I went near Area 51 the game crashed. So it's like San Andreas doesn't want me to get the FBI Rancher. Does anyone know where it spawns?

[GTA Phreak]

There's no spawns, - getting one during 5*'s is the only option.

[Isonis]

I would go to Area 51, get 5 stars. Then, drive to your hangar (If you've unlocked the airfield, etc) and park it in there. Get out and then save, so you have it in your garage. Then you can get rid of your stars etc and enjoy driving it!

 

I am not aware of anywhere where the car will spawn though.

[!!GC!!]

 

I would go to Area 51, get 5 stars. Then, drive to your hangar (If you've unlocked the airfield, etc) and park it in there. Get out and then save, so you have it in your garage. Then you can get rid of your stars etc and enjoy driving it!

Im not sure he can get into it, at all.

@Erick: What i suggest, is to get 5 stars, go to the abandoned airstrip and wait for a few to arrive there. Then, wait near the entrance to the safehouse and then when the FBI occupants exit go into the safehouse.

I think this is the only indoor safehouse where you can still hear thngs going on outside.

Like, you can hear cops saying stuff as they normally would while they are chasing you.

 

Anyway, you'll still have 5 stars, so save. This will remove the 5 star wanted level.

Then, exit the safehouse and there will still be FBI agents walking around outside. They'll take no notice of you, and, since they have already exited their Ranchers, they'll never get back in. They just continue walking.

 

So, wait until they leave before you hop in. (This is just to be safe, because sometimes i have tried this and you'll get a 1 star wanted level for hijack and the FBI'ers are the closest cops so they'll come after you.)

 

Now, when they have walked away, simply hop into the Rancher and park it in your garage.

[GTA_Loco]

I have tried almost everything to get the FBI Rancher. First I tried to get 5 stars which I could never get to so I just gave up. Than I tried going to Area 51 because when you enter it you get 5 stars and they will be after me and I will steal one, but when I went near Area 51 the game crashed. So it's like San Andreas doesn't want me to get the FBI Rancher. Does anyone know where it spawns?

Maybe you haven't made progress through the game that would allow you to achieve 5 stars. Wait until you finish "Are you Going to San Fierro?".

 

There's at least one LV mission that would give you an opportunity to steal one parked near your mission location, that is, if you really find it almost next to impossible getting one from the Feds.

 

Some tricks can be utilized too to steal this car from the Feds, like, using PnS to remove the wanted level when they appear and then snatching the vehicle from them; stepping on the bike school mission marker then canceling the mission, stepping on the mission marker of some known No Wanted Level missions, etc.

[Mainland Marauder]

I don't think I've actually tried this, but you could maybe steal a Rhino, lead the feds to the airstrip, blow up one of their Ranchers and then use the Rhino to push the remains of the blown-up Rancher into the garage or hangar. When you push a wrecked or damaged vehicle into a garage (think of the hangar as a really big garage that can hold four vehicles, whether they're cars, bikes, planes or whatever) it will automatically repair itself. You can also use this little trick if you lose a special proofed vehicle, say from a rollover or something.

 

It's sort of a roundabout way of doing it, but it kind of sounds like fun. Rather than saving, you can simply continue your little Rhino rampage and your FBI Rancher will be right where you left it.

Edited December 23, 2008 by Mainland Marauder

[nerner]

But don't blown up cars dissapear when you leave them in garages?

[!!GC!!]

But don't blown up cars dissapear when you leave them in garages?

Nope, they reform and are drivable. As soon as the garage door shuts, you can open it again it is will be there.

 

I did this with the Windsor from Home in the Hills. When getting back to Johnson safehouse i was at blck smoke. I tried to be too spontaneous and did a handbrake turn to line up the car in reverse to the garage.

It worked splendidly, but i held brake too long and the back just touched. I went on fire and the damn door didn't open, so i hopped out and watched the beautiful pink Jaguar explode.

Then, i simply pushed it into the garage, let the door close then immediately opened it and it had appeared, safe and sound.

 

Im not sure if 'proofed' cars retain their qualities/traits, though.

[Forcefield]

But don't blown up cars dissapear when you leave them in garages?

Only in the PSP GTAs, on the PS2 it will repair your car good as new.

[MC.]

But don't blown up cars dissapear when you leave them in garages?

Only in the PSP GTAs, on the PS2 it will repair your car good as new.

Whoa really? Even the PS2 version of GTA: Liberty City Stories and GTA: Vice City Stories?

[Mainland Marauder]

Im not sure if 'proofed' cars retain their qualities/traits, though.

I'm of the understanding that they do, although it's been awhile since I've tried to test it myself. I haven't played much SA as of late. Maybe I should put it in to try it.

 

I think I recall pushing the blown-up remnants of a bulletproof Tahoma (from "House Party") back into the garage to repair it, and it worked.

 

The PS2 versions of the PSP are directly ported, so I'd think that anything that holds true on the PSP version would be the same on PS2. Once again, probably something I should go test on my own, since I only have the PS2 versions of LCS and VCS. By the "PS2 games" it's to mean GTA3, Vice City and San Andreas.

[Forcefield]

 

But don't blown up cars dissapear when you leave them in garages?

Only in the PSP GTAs, on the PS2 it will repair your car good as new.

Whoa really? Even the PS2 version of GTA: Liberty City Stories and GTA: Vice City Stories?

Um...good question

 

I think so but I'm not sure.

 

edit: Tested it, the PS2 versions (VCS anyway) do in fact heal exploded cars.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Forcefield

[!!GC!!]

I'm of the understanding that they do, although it's been awhile since I've tried to test it myself. I haven't played much SA as of late. Maybe I should put it in to try it.

Well, thats cool. Quite useful too.

Now that i think of it, why wouldn't they retain them?

Nothing has happened to cause them to disappear, it is still the same car.

Great

[Chargr]

Maybe you haven't made progress through the game that would allow you to achieve 5 stars. Wait until you finish "Are you Going to San Fierro?".

You can get all 6 stars when you first start the game, there's no limit.

[!!GC!!]

 

Maybe you haven't made progress through the game that would allow you to achieve 5 stars. Wait until you finish "Are you Going to San Fierro?".

You can get all 6 stars when you first start the game, there's no limit.

No you cant.

The game doesn't allow you to.

The highest is 4, when you travel to other cities or get into a huge firefight.

 

Dont say; "but i put in the '6-star wanted level' cheat, and it worked". No sh*t, it is a cheat.

[GTA_Loco]

 

Only in the PSP GTAs, on the PS2 it will repair your car good as new.

 

GTA3, SA and VC, yes the wreck can be restored on the PS2 and other platforms. LCS, no on the PS2, but yes on the PSP. VCS, no on both platforms. GTA 4, no on the PS3.

 

That's how the garages/parking spots function in the GTAs as far as restoring destroyed vehicles.

Edited December 24, 2008 by GTA_Loco

[Mainland Marauder]

Dont say; "but i put in the '6-star wanted level' cheat, and it worked". No sh*t, it is a cheat.

Right. Cheats have a way of "breaking the rules" of normal gameplay, so to speak.

 

At the start of the game, even if you go into Area 69 or the naval base in San Fierro you will still only have a four-star wanted level like you would have if you were anywhere you're not "supposed" to be at that point in the game. Normally you get five stars upon entering either place.

 

Now, I don't have a save game at this point of the game to try this, but I don't think I've ever tried entering the naval base before "Are You Going To San Fierro" but after I've unlocked San Fierro/Flint County/Whetstone (after "The Black Sabre"). During this part of the game you can freely explore the city of San Fierro, although there is nothing of the storyline at that point yet. My hunch is that you'll only get four stars, since that's normally the limit until you finish the Badlands missions, but if someone wants to test, go ahead. Makes me think about playing through again to try this.

[radicell]

Now, I don't have a save game at this point of the game to try this, but I don't think I've ever tried entering the naval base before "Are You Going To San Fierro" but after I've unlocked San Fierro/Flint County/Whetstone (after "The Black Sabre"). During this part of the game you can freely explore the city of San Fierro, although there is nothing of the storyline at that point yet. My hunch is that you'll only get four stars, since that's normally the limit until you finish the Badlands missions, but if someone wants to test, go ahead. Makes me think about playing through again to try this.

Yeah, that's what happens. That's why it's a good idea to go get those 2 oysters and 1 snapshot in the Naval Base before that mission, since you only get 4 stars instead of 5. Oh, and by the way it is 'The Green Sabre' not 'The Black Sabre'.

[Mainland Marauder]

Now, I don't have a save game at this point of the game to try this, but I don't think I've ever tried entering the naval base before "Are You Going To San Fierro" but after I've unlocked San Fierro/Flint County/Whetstone (after "The Black Sabre"). During this part of the game you can freely explore the city of San Fierro, although there is nothing of the storyline at that point yet. My hunch is that you'll only get four stars, since that's normally the limit until you finish the Badlands missions, but if someone wants to test, go ahead. Makes me think about playing through again to try this. 

Yeah, that's what happens. That's why it's a good idea to go get those 2 oysters and 1 snapshot in the Naval Base before that mission, since you only get 4 stars instead of 5. Oh, and by the way it is 'The Green Sabre' not 'The Black Sabre'.

Whoops, shows how long it's been since I played, or at least any of the missions anyway

 

You can, however, get those snapshots/oysters without stars during "Vertical Bird" later in the game, or exploiting missions that freeze your wanted level.

 

Thanks for clearing that up, both my little mission name gaffe and the question about the stars. Basically, without cheating, you cannot get an FBI Rancher until after you finish "Are You Going To San Francisco" -whoops, I mean "Fierro"

 

Other than the relative rarity of the vehicle and difficulty of obtaining one of your own (those MP5s the feds carry hurt like hell) there is not a whole lot utility-wise to say about the FBI Rancher as opposed to any other police vehicle. I'm pretty sure the regular cruisers go just as fast and handle better, and if you want something big to push cars around and stuff, the Enforcer is rather powerful and appears with a four-star level that can be obtained from the beginning - the free armor is a bonus too. Stealing the FBI Rancher is more for the sake of the challenge, or for posterity.