How to Find an FBI Rancher in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Last Updated: July 16, 2020

There are a wide variety of vehicles in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, but some are harder to come by than others. One of the hardest vehicles to obtain is the FBI Rancher, a high-performance black SUV. The FBI Rancher isn't typically parked anywhere in Vice City - to get it, you'll need to steal one from the government agents who pursue you at high wanted levels. See Step 1 below to learn how to get one of your own!

Steps

1
Get powerful guns. To get your Rancher, you'll need to raise your wanted level quite high, which means you'll need to be able to cause widespread mayhem and death as quickly as possible. Basic hand guns and melee weapons won't cut it. Instead, you'll want rifles, machine guns, and, if possible, heavy weapons like rocket launchers and miniguns. Visit Ammu-Nation to buy most standard guns.
- Don't forget to stock up on ammo, too!
2
Get body armor. Once you start racking up wanted stars, you'll start to be pursued and attacked with increasing violence by law enforcement forces. Body armor can help you survive long enough to make it to five wanted stars.
- Full health is also a must-have.
Advertisement
3
Raise your wanted level until you reach 5 stars. Start spreading destruction. Kill people, steal cars, and blow up the cars you don't steal. Killing police officers rather than random pedestrians will help raise your wanted level faster, but the police will fight back. As you raise your wanted level, law enforcement will pursue you more and more ruthlessly. Once you bump it up to five stars, the FBI will start to pursue. This is your chance to grab an FBI Rancher!
4
Look for the FBI Rancher. The FBI Rancher is a black four-door SUV. If you're on the run, you'll encounter FBI Ranchers pursuing you as well as in road blocks as they attempt to block your path. When you encounter one, wait for the agents inside to exit the car, then quickly kill them. Be careful - the FBI Rancher comes with four agents inside, each armed with an MP5 machine gun^{[1]
X
Research source}, who can easily waste you if you're not quick. Once they're dead, take the Rancher. Try to make sure that there are no police officers around when you enter the vehicle, or they may be able to bust you as you try to leave the scene.
5
Lose your wanted level. There are several ways to do this. You can use a cheat (see Tips), drive to a Pay 'n Spray, switch cars, and drive your new car into the Pay 'n Spray, or collect police bribes.
- You can't drive the Rancher directly into the Pay 'n Spray - it's too "hot" to repaint. Just leave it right outside the Pay 'n Spray, quickly steal a nearby car, then drive that car into the Pay 'n Spray. Note that when you get back into the FBI Rancher, you'll automatically get a one-star wanted level.
6
Save the car in your garage at one of your safehouses. Make sure you save the game itself as well. When you load the game later, you'll have the car stored in your garage damage-free.

Advertisement

Community Q&A

Question

How do I get a police cheetah?

Community Answer

You can steal it from the officers when you get a three-star wanted level or higher (the difference between the regular one and the police one is that the police one will have a siren), or get one behind the police station from Little Havana.
Question

From where do I get a police helicopter?

Khang4312

Community Answer

You need to be wanted at least 3 star, then a police helicopter will appear with a rope. You can use that rope to get on that helicopter. But, when the helicopter appears, some police or SWAT or something will shimmy down the helicopter by the rope. So if you want to be safer, you'll need to kill them. You can drive it to your garage and now you have a free helicopter.
Question

I'm looking for a normal rancher?

Khang4312

Community Answer

Just go around the city and you will find it (or not). If you can, install a mod to help you to find it easier.

Warnings

Ensure that the immediate area is free of police officers. If they catch up to you, they can open your doors and arrest you. And who wants to be arrested and be forced to redo the entire process?

Thanks!
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 1
Don't raise your wanted level to six stars. This could quickly end up becoming a suicide mission.

Thanks!
Helpful 6 Not Helpful 3
Understand that FBI agents carry powerful guns that rapidly shoot bullets. They also wear body armor, so they can take a few shots before dying.

Thanks!
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 4