GTA 5: How to Rob an Armored Truck Without a Wanted Level (Complete Method)

Grand Theft Auto V's armored trucks, officially the Securicar and run by the security firm Gruppe Sechs, are the single best cash source in the single-player game: up to $8,000 for a few seconds of work. There's a catch nobody tells you up front, though. The moment you point a gun at a guard or shoot the truck, the game flags a wanted level - there is no way around that once a weapon is drawn. What you can control is everything else: whether a single shot is fired, how many witnesses see it happen, and how fast you shake the cops once the case is in your hands. Below is the closest the game allows to a star-free robbery, step by step.

Essentials:

• Armored trucks spawn randomly on public roads and carry their own small blip on the map once you know what to look for.
• Two Gruppe Sechs guards walk a metal case from a building to the truck before it's loaded - that's the quiet window to hit.
• A motorcycle bump can knock the case loose without a single bullet fired, which keeps the wanted level low or absent.
• Any gunfire against the guards or the truck itself triggers an immediate wanted level, almost always two stars.
• Payout is officially $3,500 to $8,000 per truck, in a locked case rather than loose cash bags.
• Losing the stars fast after the grab matters more than trying to avoid them entirely.

Where to Find an Armored Truck in GTA 5

Armored trucks are a random street event, not a mission marker, so there's no fixed spawn point to camp. They roam the same road network as normal traffic, most commonly around Los Santos' commercial districts (Downtown, Rockford Hills, rings of retail near Del Perro and Vinewood) and occasionally out on the Great Ocean Highway in Blaine County. The truck itself is easy to spot even at a distance: a boxy, windowless white-and-blue van with "Gruppe Sechs" livery.

The fastest way to actually catch one is to drive a loop through a dense commercial area rather than sit still. If you want a guaranteed shot at one, fast travel or pass by a bank or jewelry store around the time a delivery would be made - the game occasionally spawns a truck's guards on foot outside those buildings, walking a case toward the vehicle.

Why You (Almost) Always Get a Star

Grand Theft Auto V treats an attack on Gruppe Sechs guards the same way it treats an attack on a security officer: as soon as you damage a guard, fire near one, or open fire on the truck itself, the game applies a wanted level - typically two stars - regardless of whether a civilian actually witnessed it. This is a hard rule in the game's code, not a matter of stealth or distance. So a literal zero-star robbery, achieved by shooting your way in, does not exist as a game state.

What does exist is a robbery with no gunfire at all, which either keeps the wanted level at zero or limits it to a single, easily lost star, and a robbery where the wanted level appears for only a few seconds because you're already gone before a police unit can respond. That's the realistic goal, and it's what the method below is built around.

The Complete No-Shots Method, Step by Step

This is the version regularly cited by the GTA community as the cleanest way to come away with the case without firing a shot:

1. Spot the truck on the move. Look for the small distinct blip and the white-and-blue Gruppe Sechs paint job. Don't approach yet if the case is already loaded inside the truck - that requires a different approach (see below).
2. Wait for the guards to be on foot. The truck periodically stops so two armed guards can carry a metal case between a building and the vehicle. This is the moment to strike, before the case is locked inside the armored body.
3. Approach on a motorcycle, at a steady, unhurried speed. A bike lets you close the distance fast without alarming the guards early, and it's the tool that makes the no-shots version work.
4. Bump the guard carrying the case. Ride into him rather than braking. The impact knocks him down and the case drops to the ground - no weapon needed, no shots registered against Gruppe Sechs.
5. Grab the case and get back on the bike immediately. The other guard will react and can still engage you in a firefight if you linger, so treat the pickup as a two-second action, not a moment to loot further.
6. Leave the area on side streets, not the main road. Even without a wanted level, guards can still chase on foot briefly; putting distance and turns between you and the scene closes that window for good.

The Loud Alternative: Sticky Bombs and Automatic Weapons

If the case is already loaded and the truck is moving, the no-shots method isn't available, and you're choosing between noise levels rather than avoiding a wanted level entirely:

• Sticky bombs on the rear doors. Plant one on the back of the truck and detonate once you're at a safe distance. This blows the doors open and the case (or cash bags, depending on the encounter) will be reachable on foot. This still counts as an attack and triggers the usual wanted level.
• Automatic weapon on the door handles. Roughly 15-20 rounds from a high-caliber automatic weapon aimed at the back door handles will force it open without explosives, at the cost of a longer, louder engagement and a higher chance the second guard gets a clean shot at you.

Both are strictly worse for stealth than the motorcycle bump, but they're the only option once the case is already secured inside the truck.

How Much a Truck Actually Pays

Method	Wanted level	Noise	Typical payout
Motorcycle bump (case on foot)	None to 1 star, rarely triggered	Silent	$3,500-$8,000
Sticky bomb on rear doors	2 stars	Loud (explosion)	$3,500-$8,000
Automatic weapon on doors	2 stars	Very loud (sustained gunfire)	$3,500-$8,000

The payout itself doesn't change with the method - it's a fixed range set by the encounter, so there's no financial reason to go loud. The only trade-off is speed and, crucially, stars.

Losing Your Wanted Level in Seconds

Even a clean bump can sometimes still tip guards into calling it in if a police unit happens to be nearby. If a star does appear:

• Break line of sight immediately - duck into an alley, a parking structure, or a tunnel. Police search based on your last known position, and losing sight resets their search pattern.
• Swap vehicles if you can. A getaway on the same bike you robbed the truck with is easier to flag than a fresh, unrelated car.
• Head for a Pay 'n Spray if the star count climbed past one - respraying changes your car's police-visible plate association and ends most short chases outright.

This is also where a fast getaway vehicle and an open street with several directions to choose from (rather than a single road out of a cul-de-sac) pays off - see our guide on losing a wanted level fast without cheats for the full breakdown of how the police search radius actually works.

Why Not Just Use Money Cheats?

Because there aren't any: GTA 5 has never shipped a cheat code that gives you cash, on any platform or console rerelease, which is exactly why armored trucks remain one of the best legitimate income methods in the base game - see why the GTA 5 money cheat doesn't exist for the full explanation. If you'd rather manipulate your stars directly instead of avoiding them tactically, the game does support that through the GTA 5 wanted level cheat code, though that's a different tool for a different job than the method above.

Other Ways to Make Quick, Legitimate Cash

Armored trucks aren't the only street-level robbery worth knowing. Convenience stores and small shops can be robbed on foot for a smaller but far more predictable payout - our guide to the best stores to rob in GTA 5 ranks them by risk and reward. And if a chase does end with your car impounded, the GTA 5 impound lot guide covers exactly how to get it back without losing everything you were carrying in the trunk.

FAQ

Can you really get zero stars robbing an armored truck in GTA 5? Only if you never fire a weapon or damage a guard - the motorcycle bump method above is the one reliable way to do that. Shooting the truck or its guards always applies a wanted level.

Do armored trucks respawn? Yes. They're a random street encounter, not a one-time event, so you can repeat the method as often as you can find a new truck.

Is this the same in GTA Online? GTA Online has its own armored truck robbery as a random street event with similar mechanics, but payouts and guard behavior differ slightly from the single-player version described here.