Spray Shop
- For the named vehicle repair shops appeared in Grand Theft Auto III and the following games, see Pay 'n' Spray.
A spray shop is a business which its main job is to repair and spray a vehicle into a different color. In the Grand Theft Auto series, spray shops can be used to evade the police, in addition to repairing and changing the vehicle's color and, in later GTA games, the license plate of the vehicle. There are several spray shops throughout the series but their main purpose remains the same.
GTA 1
Spray shops debuted in Grand Theft Auto 1 in the form of simple two-way drive-thru sheds with corrugated roofs marked with the "Auto" label (as opposed to garages and bomb shops, which can only be accessed from one side), and can be found scattered across all cities in the game.
To use a spray shop, players must drive their vehicle into the shed (from either side) until a message appears notifying that the vehicle has been repaired or modified and that the player has paid for the services in exchange. Also notable is the ability for spray shops in GTA 1 to recolor the player's vehicle with one of a few unique color or paintwork otherwise unavailable in normal traffic. While the spray shop covers many civilian vehicles, including motorcycles, the spray shop does not accept emergency vehicles or vehicles that are considered too large or heavy (i.e. Buses, Coaches or Tankers).
Each use of the spray shop costs $5,000. While it can be used even when the player's vehicle is undamaged or has no wanted level, players will still be charged. Players who do not carry sufficient money will naturally be turned away.
Spray shops in the GTA London expansion packs remain virtually unchanged, except the cost per use is one tenth the amount, at only £500.
GTA 2
Spray shops in Grand Theft Auto 2 take the form of "Max Paynt" garages integrated into garage complexes that also offer other vehicle-related upgrades. Much like in GTA 1 and GTA London, the spray shops are drive-thru facilities that can be entered from either side, and impose the same restrictions on vehicles. However, the close of using its service is significantly higher, at $50,000.
GTA III — GTA Vice City Stories
The vast majority of spray shops between Grand Theft Auto III and GTA Vice City Stories take the form of Pay 'N' Spray garages with several noticeable changes in its fundamental mechanics. Other garages capable of repairing vehicles include Spray'n'go in GTA Vice City, and Transfender, Loco Low Co., Wheel Arch Angels and Michelle's Auto Repair in GTA San Andreas. Both Spray'n'go and Michele's function just like Pay 'N' Sprays, although the latter will only be available for use for free.
Respray shops are no longer designed as drive-thru facilities, appearing more like actual respray body shops or garages accessible from only one side. To use a spray shop, players must enter it and stop their vehicle inside, triggering the garage door of the spray shop to close, repair any damage the player's vehicle has sustained, recolor the vehicle, and clear any wanted level, before the garage door reopens, allowing the player to drive out. Vehicles at a Transfender, Loco Low Co. or Wheel Arch Angels are resprayed in a different manner, but the effects of resprays are still the same as the other spray shops. Spray shops further extending support to large commercial vehicles, but do not accept a vast majority of emergency vehicles still, saved a few special cases (i.e. the FBI Car in GTA III, and the police variant Cheetah and FBI Washington in GTA Vice City).
The cost of each respray is initially set at $1,000 per use in GTA III; from GTA Vice City onwards, however, the price is lowered to only $100 per use. Unlike its predecessors, the player can in fact use a spray shop free of charge provided the vehicle they are in undamaged and the player has no wanted level. Vehicles with only blown tires (In GTA Vice City or later) can also use spray shops for free; players with vehicles that have damage solely by gunfire or only a broken front windscreen however will still be charged.
GTA IV — GTA Chinatown Wars
To be added when information is available
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