GTA 6: keeping a stolen car, or selling it on

The phone reads it before you open it

An app on the phone scans a vehicle before you even touch it. The studio lead says so while showing an expensive car: “This vehicle has an alarm on it and a standard tracker. You can scan vehicles with an app on your phone to see what sort of security they have and what they are worth for you to sell.”

The readout goes wider than security: the tool needed to get in without waking the alarm, the tier of tracker if there is one, what registering it in your name would cost if you want to keep it, and what a buyer would pay for it.

The name of that app is not repeated here. It is spoken in the report, write-ups spell it two different ways, and the publisher has published it nowhere. A spelling guessed off an audio track is not a source.

Getting in, then starting it: two different locks

In the official footage of 27 August, Jason walks up to a parked car with two options: smash the window, or slide a thin metal strip down the door. The first is loud and wakes the alarm if the vehicle has one; the second wakes nothing, provided you carry the tool that particular model asks for.

Getting in is not starting it, and that part is new. “You don't need anything to hot-wire, but not all vehicles can be hot-wired,” the lead explains. “We've added some stratification to the vehicles. Some vehicles need a key cloner to start. Smash the window and get in, but you can't start it without the key cloner.”

The same cloner also gets you in cleanly: with it, you open and start the car without setting off the alarm. An older car is happy with the metal strip; a recent sports car asks for more.

The tracker, and the speed rule

Not every vehicle carries one. A standard tier is described; the author of the report adds that at least one higher tier exists, maybe two, and states he has only one confirmed. The exact count is therefore not established.

On the higher tiers, what is reported comes down to a rule: drive fast enough and the tracker reports nothing. Slow down and it starts to beep. Stay slow for too long and it pings your position to the police.

That rule is not a quotation: the author writes that he was told it, without repeating the words. It is the most widely repeated point of the whole report and the least documented of the three. If it holds, the consequence in play is plain: an expensive car stolen early is only kept by staying in motion.

The fence decides what you get to keep

A tracker cannot be taken off by yourself. You have to reach a fence who can remove it, and not every fence removes every tier. It is a relationship that gets built, not an option in a menu.

The tools themselves are obtained the same way. “Throughout the world, as we do things for them, we unlock things,” the lead says while playing. “A lot of the things you're seeing me use here, like the slim jim, has been unlocked by the point I am here in flow.”

As you work for them, they buy more expensive cars and take off higher tiers of tracker. Progression does not unlock numbers here; it unlocks people.

He stole the car and could not keep it

The most telling moment of the session is a failure. The lead steals a vehicle carrying a tracker, stops, and says he wants to keep it for himself.

“Let me keep this for myself, but I don't know what it would cost to register. I can't get the tracker off it. So I couldn't even register this vehicle for myself because I haven't done enough work to unlock the ability to have the tracker removed.” The co-head of development runs into his own progression, in front of his guests.

One stopgap remains: the garage. “I can have as many personal vehicles as I have storage spaces in garages that I buy,” he explains. A space costs a few thousand, far less than an expensive car: you park a vehicle that is not yours yet, and it sits safe until you can register it. Houses, on the other hand, cannot be bought in this game, and he ties that to the story, since both characters are on the run.

What has not been published

The number of tracker tiers, registration prices, garage costs and resale amounts are not published figures. They appear on screen during a session shown to guests, and nothing says they will be the same at release.

None of it comes from a page by the publisher. These are sessions played in front of guests received at the studio, then recounted by them, with words that are dated and attributed. The guide on performance explains why that distinction matters more than it looks.

Stolen videos are circulating elsewhere and describe neighbouring mechanics. None was used here and none will be: this site does not relay stolen material, not even to comment on it.

Frequently asked questions

Can you keep a stolen car in GTA 6?

Yes, but you have to be able to register it in your name, and that assumes the vehicle no longer carries a tracker. Removing a tracker takes a fence advanced enough for that tier, which is earned by working for them.

How do you know whether a car carries a tracker?

By scanning it with a phone app before touching it. It shows the vehicle's security, the tool needed to get in without an alarm, the tracker tier if there is one, the registration cost and the resale value.

What happens if you drive slowly with a tracker?

On the higher tiers the tracker starts to beep as you slow down, and pings your position to the police if you stay slow for too long. This rule is reported by a guest of the studio, not quoted word for word.

Do you need a key cloner for every car?

No. An older car opens with a thin metal strip and hot-wires fine. Some recent models will not start without a cloner, even once you are inside.

Can you buy a house in GTA 6?

The report says no: you buy garages, not homes. The reason given is the story, since both characters are on the run.