College campuses
Ohio Dominican towing on Sunbury Road, for Panthers and their families
A residential campus on the northeast side, with students who drive in from all over. Jumps, lockouts, tows to the shop and long hauls home.
- Open 24/7, 365 days
- Flatbed-only fleet
- Price quoted before dispatch
- Licensed & insured
Ohio Dominican University is a Catholic school in the Dominican tradition, set back from Sunbury Road on Columbus's northeast side. It's a residential campus with athletes, commuters and graduate students in the mix, and a good number of those students keep a car on campus. Auto Lyft USA provides Ohio Dominican towing and roadside service for all of them, whether the problem is a battery, a lockout, a flat or a car that simply won't run.
Two things set ODU apart from the downtown schools. Students live on campus, so cars can sit for long stretches, and the campus is a drive from most of the shops and dealerships people use. When a car needs a mechanic, it usually needs a tow to get there, not just a jump to limp along.
Starting from Harrisburg Pike, the trip across town to Sunbury Road is a regular run for our drivers, usually by way of the interstates that ring and cross the city. Every tow is on a flatbed, and every price is quoted before we leave. Students, staff, visiting families and parents calling from home all get the same published rates.
What residential students run into
Living on campus changes how a car gets used. It's parked for days at a time, then driven hard to an away game, a weekend at home or a job on the other side of town. Here's what that tends to produce:
- A battery that dies quietly while the car waits in a residence hall lot. A jump start is the first try; a battery replacement on the spot is the second.
- Tires that lose pressure over weeks of sitting, then go flat on the first drive. A tire change gets you onto the spare.
- A breakdown on the drive back to campus, on I-670 or I-270. Tell us the highway, direction and nearest exit.
- A car that has to go home in May because it isn't worth fixing in Columbus, or because the family's mechanic is three hours away.
When the family is far away
ODU enrolls students from across Ohio and beyond, so a lot of our calls here start with a parent on the phone. That's a normal way to book. Give the dispatcher the student's name and number, where the car is parked on campus, and what's wrong. We'll quote the job to you and work out the details of meeting the driver with your student.
If the decision is to bring the car home, we do long-distance towing across Ohio and into neighboring states on the same flatbeds. If the car should stay and be repaired in Columbus, it can go to your chosen shop, or to an independent garage we partner with, which checks it over and calls with a quote. We don't do the repairs ourselves.
Pinpointing the car on campus
ODU's campus is easy to describe if you use building names. Tell us which residence hall, academic building or athletic facility the car is closest to and which lot it's in. If you entered from Sunbury Road, say so, and say which side of the lot. A dropped pin from your phone helps too.
If the car is off campus, at an apartment or a job nearby, give us the street address or the business name and the cross street. Our drivers know the northeast side well, but a precise spot still makes everything faster.
What you'll pay
Prices come straight from our rate card. Each roadside visit, whether a jump, a lockout, a spare or a battery, is $75 flat with $4 per mile added for the drive from our yard to ODU. For a tow, hooking up is $125 and each mile with your car aboard is $7, plus the same en-route mileage. There's a $50 weekend charge, a $150 overnight charge for 10 PM to 6 AM, and a $75 charge for highway pickups. Franklin County sales tax applies to pickups on campus.
Ohio Dominican University: what drivers ask
What does Ohio Dominican towing cost from campus to a shop?
The tow is $125 to hook up plus $7 for each loaded mile to the shop, and $4 a mile for us to drive from our yard to Sunbury Road. Weekends add $50 and the 10 PM to 6 AM window adds $150. Sales tax is added for Franklin County. Give the dispatcher the shop's address and you'll hear the exact total before we send a truck.
My car hasn't moved in weeks and the battery is dead. Can you jump it in the lot?
Yes, and it's a routine job. The driver brings a booster to the car, jumps it and checks whether the battery is still healthy once the engine is turning. If the battery is too far gone to hold a charge, we can bring a replacement and install it right there, so you don't need a tow to a shop for something that simple.
Can my parents book and pay for a tow from out of state?
Yes. A parent can handle the whole booking from home. They give us the student's contact information and the car's location on campus, and we quote them the job. The driver then meets the student at the car. Card payments made online carry a 3% fee, which the dispatcher will mention when you go over the price.
My car broke down on I-670 coming back to ODU. What should I do?
Steer right, onto the shoulder or up an exit ramp if one is close, and switch on the flashers. Unless smoke or traffic makes the car unsafe, buckle back in and wait inside. A car that died in a lane is a 911 call before it's a towing call. When you reach us, the useful details are the highway, eastbound or westbound, and the most recent exit sign. Highway pickups add $75 because of the extra safety work involved.
Can you take a student's car home at the end of the school year?
Yes. We carry single cars on flatbeds from campus to homes and shops across Ohio and in the neighboring states. You pay the hook-up once, then $7 per loaded mile and the en-route miles to reach ODU. Pick a day after move-out traffic dies down if you can, and make sure someone will be at the destination to accept the car.
Can you open my car if I locked my keys in at a residence hall?
Yes. A lockout is a flat-rate roadside call. Opening the door takes an inflatable wedge and a thin reach rod, and nothing gets scratched or broken. Keep a photo ID handy so the driver can check it against the registration. If the keys are in the trunk of a car with no trunk release inside, tell the dispatcher, because that changes the approach.
Is Sunbury Road a long trip from your yard?
It's across town from our yard on Harrisburg Pike, so the en-route charge is a bit higher than for a downtown call. At $4 per mile, the dispatcher can tell you exactly what that part of the bill will be. Arrival depends on traffic and what else is on the board, so the dispatcher gives you a current estimate rather than a promise.
Do you tow cars for visiting teams' fans or event guests?
Yes. Anyone whose car fails at or near ODU can call us, not only students and staff. Whether you're in town for a Panthers game or a graduation, if the car won't start tell us which lot you're in and what's wrong. We'll quote a jump, lockout, tire change or tow on the spot.
Need a truck?
Someone picks up 24/7, quotes the Ohio Dominican University job and texts you the driver's name.
Nearby towns
We are an independent company; Auto Lyft USA has no affiliation with Ohio Dominican University and is not endorsed by it.
Where the trucks start
All four carriers that work Ohio Dominican University start and finish the day on Harrisburg Pike (US-62) on Columbus's southwest side. Call around the clock, 365 days a year.
1620 Harrisburg Pike
Columbus, OH 43223
Phone: (614) 633-8163
Email: lisa@autolyftusa.online
Directions to the yard