Personal Vehicles

Personal Vehicles are a feature in The Lost and Damned, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. A personal vehicle is chosen by the game in TLAD and GTA V, and by the player in GTA Online.

The Lost and Damned
The first game that implemented a personal vehicle was The Lost and Damned, which granted the protagonist Johnny Klebitz a unique LCC Hexer motorcycle. Johnny's Hexer is a one-of-a-kind bike with a 2032cc twin cam engine coupled to a 6 speed transmission with a chain final drive.

Grand Theft Auto V
There is a main personal vehicle for each protagonist in GTA V, a black Obey Tailgater for Michael De Santa, a unique white Bravado Buffalo S for Franklin Clinton and a unique red Canis Bodhi for Trevor Philips.

There is also an extra vehicle for each player except Michael, who has three through the storyline. Michael has an Übermacht Sentinel and a Weeny Issi which are owned by his wife Amanda and daughter Tracey, respectively. These are available after the mission "Complications" and become temporarily unavailable following "Did Somebody Say Yoga?". They return after completion of "Reuniting the Family". During the period in which the Tailgater is absent, Michael owns a red Premier that can be customized as well, but he'll lose it when Jimmy brings his Tailgater back, unless the player stores it in the De Santa mansion's garage before "Caida Libre".

After "The Time's Come" or "The Third Way", a black Nagasaki Hot Rod Blazer with flame decals will spawn outside Trevor's Trailer in Sandy Shores, but not outside the Vanilla Unicorn.

After "Repossession", a green Western Bagger will spawn outside the Clinton residence in Strawberry and his mansion in Vinewood Hills after "The Hotel Assassination".

After "Three's Company", a black Maibatsu Frogger with a TP Enterprises livery will spawn on the helipad at Sandy Shores Airfield.

In the enhanced edition of GTA V, the protagonist's parked personal vehicle is marked on the map with a color-coded icon (green for Franklin, blue for Michael and orange for Trevor).

Grand Theft Auto Online
After the first mission in GTA Online, the player is able to make a personal vehicle. This is done by driving a vehicle into Los Santos Customs and purchasing a tracker for it, which will be free along with insurance and customization options for one time only. When the tracker is added, the vehicle will receive a map marker and will spawn nearby any time the player joins GTA Online or begins a mission. After purchasing a safehouse or standalone garage, players will be able to own more than one personal vehicle. The amount of personal vehicles the player can own depends on the size of the garage (ranging from 2-10), and the amount of garages owned (up to three in total, and five in the enhanced version, as of the Executives and Other Criminals Update). It is possible to call a mechanic from anywhere to have a vehicle delivered, unless the player is too close to your current one or too far from a suitable road. All premium vehicles (vehicles that are worth $85,000 or more) are restricted from storage and entrance to Los Santos Customs unless they are purchased from the in-game internet. When a premium vehicle is purchased, it will be stored in the selected safehouse/garage and will come with a tracker and insurance free of charge. Emergency vehicles and vehicles that are too big to be stored (such as the bus) cannot be made personal.

The online player has options in the Interaction Menu which allow them to restrict other players access to their personal vehicle. It can be locked so no other player can enter, or can be limited to crewmates, friends or anyone in the free mode lobby.

General

 * All personal vehicles can be customized in GTA V and GTA Online. All cars in GTA V will sit outside the player's safehouse.

Grand Theft Auto V

 * Stealing another protagonist's car in GTA V will result in the said protagonist angrily phoning up and telling you to return the car (i.e. stealing Trevor's Bodhi while playing as Michael or Franklin). Despite this, switching to the character who has had his car stolen will sometimes make it respawn.
 * Michael is the only protagonist to not have his personal vehicle throughout the storyline, as Jimmy steals it in "Did Somebody Say Yoga?". It is later returned after "Derailed", but only available when Michael is no longer exiled after "Monkey Business". The Tailgater will have some extra modifications bought by Jimmy (possibly purchased with the money he stole from Michael).
 * It is highly advisable to not customize Michael's Tailgater before Did Somebody Say Yoga? as the returned Tailgater after Monkey Business is not the same vehicle, which means all the custom items purchased before will be reset.
 * Each protagonist's personal vehicle has a Customized license plate. They are as follows:
 * Michael's Tailgater: 5MDS003
 * Amanda's Sentinel: KRYST4L
 * Tracey's Issi: P3RSEUS
 * Franklin's Buffalo S: FC1988
 * Franklin's Bagger: FC88 (can be removed)
 * Trevor's Bodhi: BETTY 32

Grand Theft Auto Online

 * Players cannot store another player's car in their garages or take it to Los Santos Customs to modify or sell unless said player's car doesn't have insurance in it.
 * Before patch 1.10, the mechanic would drive the player's personal vehicle to them. Often, the mechanic would crash the vehicle, drive off with it, or claim he could not make it to the player's location. In response to these issues, the feature was changed so that the vehicle simply spawns nearby after several seconds.
 * After the 1.14 update, Trevor's Hot Rod Blazer, Michael's Tailgater and Franklin's Buffalo S became available for purchase in GTA Online on the in-game website Southernsanandreassuperautos.com.
 * If the player spawns after a session without his/her Personal Vehicle, a random vehicle will be spawned nearby for the player to drive it, very often an Asterope.