You wearing body armor? Man, I'm disappointed in you - I thought you was gangsta!
As always, I double-checked to make sure no background music featured in this game triggers Content ID for the sake of music owners. Here's an update on the latest on how you can obtain a Banshee (or even two) at the earliest point of the game.
Preparing yourself with full armor and as much weapons and ammo as you can find, before starting a new storyline mission is usually the best practice. I know I modded an SCM to include body armor, two bribes, a 35-round RPG, and even a 1000-round minigun behind CJ's home in Ganton, but a 75-round sniper rifle is more than enough.
When you are fully prepared and that you saved your overall progress after Tenpenny's first mission "Burning Desire", then head back to the doughnut shop and start the "Gray Imports" mission. You can complete this mission however you want, but for better results, do what I did!
Once the mission starts, the Banshee car will be thrown into the list of random vehicles that roam along neighborhood streets including the doughnut shop. So this means if you found a Banshee on your way to the Ocean Docks, you're one lucky son-of-a-gun! Steal it, store it in your garage, find another vehicle or bike to drive, and then continue on with the mission. If you wasn't able to get one along the way, however, then don't give up this early because there is still one you can steal from a Russian arms dealer - so keep reading.
Follow along until you get to the Ocean Docks. Upon entry into one of their warehouses, you will have to shake the Russians and the Ballaz off your back as you make your way to the upstairs office. Walk/Jog like normal along the way, don't sprint or you will wear yourself out. You will need as much stamina as you can get. Each gunman leaves weapons and occasionally small cash. I leave the weapons alone so I won't have to switch through so many just to finally get around to my sniper.
The moment that you enter the office, the Russian arms dealer will then challenge you to a footrace while his getaway car, the Banshee, is placed outside the exits. His exit path will include a large wave of gunmen from the back upstairs door all the way to the front gate. BUT, there is no one around between the front gate and the stairway to the office! Therefore if you do not want to get shot at, I would consider using the warehouse path to your advantage if I were you.
When you're ready, step right in and then IMMEDIATELY step back out. Go back through the warehouse back to the front gate where you came in, and his getaway car will be right there in front of you! Only one gunman standing closest to the getaway car does have the potential to flatten the Banshee's tires, so only eliminate that gunman if you feel such a concern.
If you was able to slip into the arms dealer's getaway car in time, congratulations, it's all yours to drive! Now at this rate, you can complete the rest of the mission like normal. If you have to, put some distance between you the arms dealer as he will completely ignore the NRG-500 bike. He'll still be running for his getaway car that YOU are now driving! Put some speed into this ride and bulldoze him! Tenpenny won't give you a cash reward upfront for completing the mission, but the Russian arms dealer you just killed will leave behind several stacks of cash totaling about $3000! Collect those stacks before they disappear.
Feels good to drive around Los Santos earlier on in a Banshee with a few thousand in your pocket, doesn't it?! Now if you decide NOT to get the Banshee this early but want to get one later on in the game, there are TH-cam videos showing how to get one in San Fierro and other random locations.
As always, we love you all, we mean it! Ehh-heh!
~ $teve
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