Table of Contents:
Standard Auto Transport
Luxury and Exotic Car Transport
Inoperable Vehicle Transport

Standard Auto Transport

For many people considering shipping their car, a common fear tends to be that their car could possibly fall off the carrier during transport. In reality, this is barely even possible so long as your driver takes the routine steps needed to secure your vehicle to the auto carrier prior to transport.
First, the driver must safely drive the car onto the carrier with exact precision. Yes, it is only matter of driving or backing the car up a few feet, but the wheels of the car must be completely and perfectly lined up with the loading ramp rollers (the two treads). If this is even slightly off the driver won’t be able to properly get the vehicle onto the carrier. Don’t worry though, auto transporters have so much experience doing this that it’s second nature for them.
 
Next, the vehicles are attached to the auto carrier at four different spots. The driver will use a series of chains and straps to secure the vehicle to the carrier.
 
The vast majority of vehicles are made with precise tie-down holes in their frame. Chains with specially made hooks to fit these holes are connected tightly in order to secure the cars to the auto carrier. The drivers are even required to mount the angle of the chain a certain amount of degrees from the vehicle to the trailer.
 

Luxury and Exotic Car Transport

Most Luxury and exotic car manufacturers use less intrusive means to do this, so they don’t alter the actual car or frame at all. So instead, they use extremely high-strength straps which are secured over each tire and strapped to the trailer. Doing it this way also eliminates any potential scratches or dents to the vehicle frame during shipping as well.
 
Either method is extremely secure. Auto Carriers have (very rarely) tipped over in accidents in the past and not a single vehicle has fallen off in some cases. That’s how securely fastened these cars are to the carrier.
 

Inoperable Vehicle Transport

Inoperable vehicles are a different story. It’s much less frequent that someone will ship an inoperable vehicle but when they do there’s much more that goes into it.
 
When you ship a non-running vehicle, the auto transporter will need to have a winch on the carrier. A winch hooks to your vehicle and can slowly pull it onto the carrier. Sometimes, a fork lift will be needed to move your car close enough to the trailer, so the winch can be connected.
 
These shipments of inoperable vehicles are much more costly than regular car shipping because of all the extra work that goes into it as well as the low availability of carriers equipped with winches.