High Stakes, Low Rider is a mission in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, given to protagonist Carl Johnson by Varrios Los Aztecas gang leader Cesar Vialpando from his home in the El Corona district in Los Santos, San Andreas.
Mission
Carl gets a lowrider car and drops by Cesar's house in El Corona. The two drive to the street race's starting point near the Commerce district and race against four other cars. Carl then traverses through the districts of the western part of Los Santos, before reaching the last checkpoint in Santa Maria Beach first. He then wins the race and earns a monetary reward.
Mission objectives
In order to complete the mission the player must:
- Follow Cesar to the race start
- Win the race
Reward
The reward for this mission is $1,000 and unlocks Reuniting the Families with the completion of certain missions, In the Beta this mission was supposed to unlock Impounded. The race may be later replayed as part of the Los Santos Race Tournaments, which can be accessed in Little Mexico after the completion of Learning to Fly later in the game. Although completion of these races is mandatory for 100% completion (and for the $1 million award), since Carl has already completed the race here, he does not need to do it again, except to improve his time (which has no bearing on completion of the tournament).
Tips and Tricks
- It is recommended to use a Tahoma for the mission, because it is very fast and easily driven.
- Outfitting your vehicle with nitro at any mod garage will give you an advantage in the race.
- If the player does not have a lowrider, there are two in the street near Cesar's house. A Voodoo and a Blade can be found.
- Since this mission is unlocked right after the mission Cesar Vialpando, it can be tempting to use the Savanna from that mission for the race. Unfortunately, the Savanna handles poorly and has a tendency to spin out; thus, it is not recommended to use it for the race. Some players have had success with the Savanna, though.
- Watch out for lamp post or traffic lamp, they can make player's car spin out while bumped.
- Also watch out for the traffic cars, as it can slow your vehicle down. If necessary, you can open fire while in the car to force the nearest traffic cars to drive faster. Although if you shoot near a cop or Ballas will force them to shoot you.
Video walkthroughs
GTA San Andreas - Walkthrough - Mission 25 - High Stakes, Low-rider (HD)
Trivia
- During the opening cutscene, Kendl is in the car with Cesar, but during the drive to the race, a generic female pedestrian is in the car. This is because Kendl only appears in cutscenes, and thus does not have an NPC model.
- If the player fails the mission, Kendl will call and mock you for losing the race.
- The player is required to have a lowrider to enter the race. However, two Majestics participate in the race, even though they are not lowriders.
- While following Cesar to the race, at the starting line the driver of each car participating in the race is member of Varrios Los Aztecas gang. However, when the race begins the driver of each car will be replaced with a random civilian.
- Sometimes Cesar's car in the cutscene shows a black color instead of the red one. (Tested on PS2)
- It is impossible to steal the cars of the other racers as the doors are locked and they cannot be shot, even in convertibles.
- If you hit Cesar's car with melee attacks after you reach the finish, he will come out the car and attack you. Killing him does not affect the storyline. You can obtain his car because that car is bulletproof.
- The steering wheel on Cesar's car was being turned by Cesar in the cutscene. However, steering wheels in vehicles do not turn, so this animation was only used in the cutscene.