The Mighty Car Lift: An Introduction

By Author: Brian Davis
Total Articles: 20
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Car lifts have long been one of the most important investments a professional automotive shop or garage can make. With the recent unexpected boost in automotive business sector, consumers are even more likely to repair and service their vehicles rather than purchase a new one. It's never been more important for auto body shops, quick lube stations, car dealerships and car rental businesses to have the most reliable car lifting equipment to suit the needs of their customers.

Increasingly, car lifts are also becoming a more popular choice among dedicated hobbyists who prefer to maintain their own vehicles, as well as families looking to make the most out of their limited parking space. The efficiency, speed, safety and convenience a high-quality car lift provides is now an affordable option for the home user.

But finding the right car lift for home or professional use is still a challenging task for many consumers, mostly because it seems like the options, features and different applications multiply in number by the day. That's why we're here to offer comprehensive help with The Best Car Lift: A Guide from BendPak. ...
... This guide will not only give you valuable information about the different car lift styles, but also about the important role ALI / ETL certification plays in safe car lift operation, safety features, how to choose a dealer and pricing. Using this car lift buyer's guide will prepare you so that you can find the best auto lift for your home or business.

The most important thing you can do when shopping around for a new auto lift of any kind is to conduct your own car lift consumer research. Since you're reading this in-depth car lift guide, you are already on the right track.

You should get started by gaining more than a basic understanding of where the automotive lift is going to be installed. To start, this will require accurate measurements of your bay or garage, including ceiling height. Also, decide what type of car or truck the auto lift will be lifting. Use that information to choose the prospective car lift's dimensions and weight capacity.

Additional things to look out for include concrete strength and the pounds per square inch (PSI) rating, as well as the location / rating of your power and air supply. These factors will certainly affect which car lift you should invest in.

There are also other online resources you can use to fully prepare yourself for your car lift purchase and installation. Two of them are the Top 10 Guide to Car Lifts and the Study in Lift Design website.

Priced To Move
Realistically, the price you pay for your car lift will very rarely be the highest or lowest on your list. You want to find that perfect zone where cost and value are roughly equal. You do get what you pay for. Business owners know that they need to consider the overall cost of the automotive lift throughout its entire life of service. The criteria is slightly different for home users that don't plan on earning revenue off of the purchase, but trying to save a couple hundred bucks can still mean the difference between enjoying your time in the garage and a total service nightmare.

While an expensive car lift will not always mean high-quality materials, an exceptionally low-priced automotive lift will almost certainly be cheaply made. That means undersized automobile lifting cylinders, no engineering to speak of, compromised safety systems and thinner steel. These are the kinds of things that can cost a business owner untold thousands of dollars in damage or downtime.

On the other side, home users are willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on their beautiful automobiles, but then senselessly cut corners on the very thing that holds them up. There's nothing wrong with shopping around for a good price, but make sure you are willing to at least pay for the value that you hope to get out of your new auto lift.

Car Lift Pricing
A standard two-post car lift with a capacity of around 10,000 pounds will usually run anywhere between $2,000 and $3,500, which is about the same price as a lower capacity four-post auto lift. Opting for a four-post auto lifting solution in the 10,000-pound weight range will generally cost a couple hundred dollars more, but it might be worth it if you want to also stack to vehicles.

Always check to make sure that shipping and installation are included in the final quoted price for your new car lift. Standard installation should be around or under $500 for a two-post car lifting solution and under $1,000 for a four-post auto lift. As previously noted, in-ground car lifts and installations are by far the most expensive auto lifting option available, sometimes costing as much as $10,000.

Once you venture into higher capacity automotive lifts--the kind that can lift a fire truck, for instance--the pricing scales considerably. Ultra-high capacity car lifts like mobile column auto lifts and huge parallelogram-style truck lifts can easily cost over $10,000. These can both be excellent options depending on your specific needs, as long as their giant capabilities are properly utilized by equally impressive vehicle weights.

Check The Warranty
A car lift is nothing like a flat screen television or a stereo system. If there was ever a purchase that required a comprehensive warranty, an automotive lift is it.

The differences in warranty can vary considerably from one manufacturer to the other, so do not just assume everything is covered. The better warranties out there offer years of protection, but as little as three months can be sufficient to discover manufacturing flaws. Frame and construction are the strongest components of a car lift's construction, so those are usually covered under warranty for much, much longer.

Even if the repair itself is considered under warranty, extras like labor, shipping and travel can sometimes result in unforeseen fees for the customer. Carefully read the details of each warranty when making your decision.

Brian Davis is an expert on Auto Repair Equipment and has written numerous articles on the Auto Repair Equipment industry.

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