All-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, lowered cars, seized wheels and anything that came out of a collision.
A wheel lift tows with two wheels still on the road. On an all-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive vehicle, those rolling wheels drive the rest of the coupled drivetrain while the vehicle sits still, with no oil circulating and no way to absorb the mismatch between axles. The damage is not always immediate and it is not always obvious, which is exactly why it is worth avoiding rather than gambling on.
The same applies to lowered cars and low front air dams, which can be damaged simply being pulled onto an incorrect hook, and to any vehicle with a wheel that will not turn, a parking brake that will not release, or a shifter locked in park. Anything that has been in a collision belongs on a deck as well, because a bent suspension component may not carry a lift the way an intact one would.
When you call, say the drivetrain and the ride height before anything else. If the answer you get back is a wheel lift for an all-wheel-drive car, that is a reason to ask again rather than a detail to let slide.
Get behind a barrier and away from traffic. Then send the vehicle, the drivetrain and the location, and we will match you with an operator.
Get Matched With a Tow OperatorLocation, drivetrain and whether it rolls. That is most of what a dispatcher needs.