You might start Sand Land with a car, but you’re going to need to put in some extra work to get it back.
The original Sand Land manga may have only been a short one-shot manga, but that certainly isn't the case for the game, which features a wide open world for the player to explore. Walking across all that sand would be nearly impossible, so it's a good thing you've got lots of vehicles at your disposal.
One of the earliest vehicles you'll get your hands on in Sand Land is the Car, which belongs to Sherrif Rao and is what you'll drive for the first hour of the game. It's a very short-lived experience, though, as an encounter with a Geji Dragon forces the party to leave the car behind and get a new set of wheels. Progress far enough in the game, though, and you'll get a chance to rebuild the car and add it to your roster.
How To Unlock The Car
The first thing you're going to need to do to unlock the Car is to reach Spino and complete the "A Jump-Bot?! Gimme!" quest. Once you've done this and successfully built the Jump-Bot, go to Ann's Garage in Spino. To the right of the garage is an NPC named Knoll, who is a car enthusiast who has been watching Ann work on her vehicles. After talking to him, you'll be tasked with finding a Core Frame for the Car, which leads you to an area called the "Junk Pit".
Leave Spino and head towards the marker on the map, which is near the Junker's Market and will eventually require you to use the Jump-Bot to scale a small cliff. Once you reach the Junk Pit, jump on down to the bottom and you'll have to fight some scorpions, which will go down easily with your new mech. After that, search all of the containers around the area, and you'll eventually find one containing the Core Frame for the Car.
Head back to Spino and speak to Knoll, who will tell you that he's not all that sure about where to find more parts for the Car. From there, you'll be able to build the necessary parts for the car in Ann's Garage, although you'll need some specific materials that you don't have easy access to yet, including Raptor Steel and Scorpion Oil. To build the basic parts for the Car, you're going to need the following materials.
- B-Grade Gunpowder — 7
- B-Grade Metal -3
- B-Grade Gear — 8
- B-Grade Spring — 8
- B-Grade Sensor — 2
- Pterano Rubber — 4
- Scorpion Oil — 4
- Raptor Steel — 15
Then, once you've gotten all of the parts for the Car made, you're going to need 800 Zeni in order to put it all together. Most of those ingredients are ones that you'll naturally find throughout the game from defeating enemies, but Raptor Steel and Scorpion Oil are a little more complicated and need some work.
How To Find Raptor Steel And Scorpion Oil
Both Raptor Steel and Scorpion Oil can sometimes be found in chests or offered as a reward for completing side quests, but the most reliable way to get access to them is to either visit the Workshop in the Junker's Market in Lisab, or to complete the Tinkerer Siblings side quest from Mayor Tor to get one built in Spino. Whichever method you end up using, we've got guides to help you get there.
I'd recommend taking the time to build a Workshop in Spino so that you have permanent access to one without having to constantly go back and forth to the Junker's Market.
Once you've reached a Workshop, you'll need certain materials to craft the Raptor Steel and Scorpion Oil. The easiest recipe for the Raptor Steel is 1-B Grade Steel and 2 Raptor Scales, which both drop from defeating enemies in vehicles and killing Raptors respectively. To craft Scorpion Oil, you'll need 1 Vegetable Oil and 1 Killer Scorpion Venom. Vegetable Oil is another common find, while Killer Scorpion Venom is gained from killing Scorpions. You can also craft Vegetable Oil from 2 Plant Matter and 2 Cactus if you're struggling to find any.
Building The Car
Once you've got all the materials and parts for the Car, you simply need to assemble it at Ann's Garage. Once you've done so, you'll be able to access it at any point by throwing a Capsule using the right D-pad. The Car might seem like a weird vehicle to use seeing as how you're likely to craft it at the same time as the Bike, but with the right parts it can actually go a whole lot faster than the Bike does, at least in the early hours of the game.