Logo in GTA III & Vice City
A Euros parked in front of Pay 'n' Spray near Wang Cars in San Fierro
Pay 'n' Spray is a spray shop/garage in which vehicles can be mended, repainted, and have the engine replaced. It serves three main functions - to repair a vehicle, to change the paint color, and subsequently allow the player to lose wanted levels. The Pay 'n' Spray has been featured in all Grand Theft Auto games except GTA 2 (However, in GTA 2 there are Max Paynt garages and the two garage types' functions are almost the same).
Vehicle Repair
Driving a damaged vehicle into a Pay 'n' Spray will repair any body damage the vehicle has incurred, and will result in a re-spray of a different color, with a few exceptions. However, emergency vehicles cannot be driven into a Pay 'n' Spray, as the player receives some variation of the message, "WHOA! I don't touch anything THAT hot!" or "No way man! I don't touch those!” The only exceptions are the VCPD Cheetah in GTA Vice City, and the FBI Car in GTA III, which is re-sprayed from black (pursuit version) to gray (road block version). In addition, bicycles weren’t allowed in Pay 'n' Spray, prompting the message, "I don't do toys!"
Wanted Level Reduction
Pay 'n' Spray allows the player to rapidly lose any wanted level, from 6 stars to no stars. Visiting a Pay 'n' Spray after incurring a wanted level results in a gradual reduction in police attention. During this probationary time period (where wanted stars flash), if any crimes are committed in view of a police officer, the full wanted level will be immediately reinstated. In GTA IV and GTA: CW, the player can only enter a Pay n' Spray when they are out of sight of the police.
Cost
In all games, respraying an undamaged or lightly damaged vehicle is often free of charge, while respraying significantly damaged vehicle costs money. Additionally, when the player is taught how to use Pay 'n' Spray in introductory missions, the visit would be free of cost. Since GTA III, respraying a repaired vehicle or a near-healthy vehicle will not cost the player any money to respray the vehicle.
- GTA 1: Cost is relative to vehicle damage and/or wanted level
- GTA III: $1,000
- GTA Vice City: $100
- GTA San Andreas: $100 (Dating Michelle Cannes grants Carl Johnson free use of her auto repair shop).
- GTA Liberty City Stories: $100
- GTA Vice City Stories: $100 (if the Civil Asset Forfeiture Impound has been completed, the Pay 'n' Spray cost is free.)
- GTA IV: $100
- GTA Chinatown Wars: $200
Colors
The paint shop has a wide range of colors available, but the player may not choose which color the vehicle is been re-sprayed. In certain cases, particularly with special vehicles, the color will not change, but the police will no longer recognize the vehicle as if it had. In GTA San Andreas, custom paint jobs received from mod garages will not be removed. In GTA IV, the color is been determined by the player's "favorite car color", as shown in the game stats.
Right after the vehicle is repaired, the player can receive a re-spray free in GTA Vice City, GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories. If the player drives the repaired car out and back into Pay n Spray, the car receives a re-spray, and the message shows up, "Respray is complimentary" or "Hope you like the new color."
Time
From the GTA III Era games, the respray and subsequent repair of a vehicle is near instant. However, from the GTA IV era games, it will advance time by three hours, except in multiplayer, where it is free and immediate. It should be noted that if the player has arranged an activity with a friend, going to a Pay 'n' Spray will result in missing the appointment.
Locations
GTA 1
- San Andreas:
- West Glen Wood
- South West Marina
- Sout East Sunview
- East Telephone Hill
- Central Woodside
- Vice City (the shops are been known as Al's Paint Shop):
- South Banana Grove
- South West Felicity
- North East Greek Heights (unmarked on maps)
- South West Little Dominica
- North Vice Shores
GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories
GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories
GTA San Andreas
- Los Santos
- San Fierro
- Las Venturas
- Redsands East
- The Camel's Toe (unmarked, not accessible in PC and Xbox versions, or 2nd versions of PS2.)
- Red County
- Tierra Robada
- Bone County
GTA IV
- West Way, Purgatory, Algonquin
- Gibson St, Outlook, Broker
- Frankfort Ave, Northwood, Algonquin
- Hardtack Ave, Port Tudor, Alderney (Axel's Pay 'N' Spray)
- Panhandle Rd, Leftwood, Alderney (Axel's Pay 'N' Spray)
GTA Chinatown Wars
- Chase Point, Bohan
- Hove Beach, Broker
- Willis, Dukes
- Northwood, Algonquin
- Westminster, Algonquin
- Fishmarket South, Algonquin
Trivia
- Pay 'n' Spray has been established in the USA in 1974.
- If a Skimmer seaplane is flown into a Pay 'n' Spray in the original PS2 version of GTA Vice City, wheels will be added to it, allowing it to take off from the land and water.
- In GTA 1, various cars, when taken to a Pay 'n' Spray in either Liberty City or Vice City, will be resprayed into unique colors that don't feature on AI driven versions of the car.
- To restore a closed Pay 'N' Spray in GTA San Andreas in Las Venturas on PC, go to data\maps\vegas folder, open vegasE.ide file with Notepad, found the 8957, vgsEspdr01, vgsegarage, 150, 128 line and replace 128 with 2176. Be aware, its use can lead to problems with sound. Make sure you have a back up for the original file.
- During the GTA IV multiplayer, the Pay 'n' Spray can be used free every single time. Using it doesn't subtract money from your online character. In addition, it will make you lose your wanted level and does change the car's colors.
- The entrance of the Pay 'n' Spray in Idlewood, Los Santos is located just in front of a ramp that leads into Los Santos's storm drain. Often if the player drives too fast and jumps on the ramp, the car will go straight into the shop.
- The ladder variant of the Fire Truck is been enabled to use the Pay 'n' Spray allowing the player to repair the vehicle.
- In GTA Chinatown Wars, if you enter the Pay 'n' Spray with a bike and hit the wall inside it, eventually falling from it, the bike will disappear, and Huang will come out on foot.
- In GTA IV, a special white-and-red version of a Coquette can be found rarely if the player resprays any Coquette (except the one for Stevie's Car Thefts).
- Buses are unable to enter Pay 'n' Sprays because of their size, however, in GTA IV, there are Two Pay 'n' Sprays that the Buses actually can use. The First being the one in Outlook, Broker. The Second in Leftwood, Alderney.