I have a bit of money right now to buy a CHEAP 2 post lift. My issue is that it has to be a floor plate lift since the warehouse only has 11ft clear height.
I have been looking for a used one, but people are wanting more for their used ones than it would cost for a brand new one.
Sadly by budget will not be changing for the positive, it will pretty likely be going negative if I don't act soon.
Raw number is $1500 TOTAL in the budget.
You might want to start reading the legal notices in the paper. Sometimes small, sometimes large, but I've found public auction ads where you never know who's gone out of business and what they're selling. A very well known marine machine/prop/propulsion shop went under two years ago, all was auctioned off. The ad was only 2"x2"...lots of bargins were found.
Also keep an eye open, aware, for shops that don't look busy anymore...a wave of cash to keep the shop open, and you may have your lift.
USED ones are more $$ than the new ones?? Apples and oranges quality?? Or preceived quality?
honestly, apples and oranges quality.
all the used ones have been ben-wil, bend-pak, rotary versus Greg Smith Equipment stuff.
Used Rotary, Challenger or Mohawk should be fine if it hasn't been abused & parts are available. Bendpak is notoriously bad about replacement parts & the best I can say about Greg Smith is that he's better than most of the Chinese junk lift importers.
Ever dropped a car or had it fall on you because of a cheap lift? I have, so had a friend of mine. I was lucky, no one was hurt. He wasn't so lucky, and now rides a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Your choice. I wouldn't go cheap on something holding a few thousand pounds over my head.
Fall on me? no. Seen it happen a couple of times at the shop. bad pulley design allowed it to shear off.
My concern is less because this won't be a heavily used lift, and I am stuck within my budget.
foxtrapper wrote: Ever dropped a car or had it fall on you because of a cheap lift? I have, so had a friend of mine. I was lucky, no one was hurt. He wasn't so lucky, and now rides a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Your choice. I wouldn't go cheap on something holding a few thousand pounds over my head.
Did the safety catches fail?
In Canada, shops are only allowed to use hoists for so many years before they have to be replaced, and hoist companies only give $500 trade-in value. Maybe the US has similar laws, if so, you could pick up a used one for cheap.
Seriously? You want a "cheap" lift? And you're looking for "used" lifts? A "Used," "Cheap" lift????? To stand under?
@loosecannon- no such laws in this area.
@plance1 - either cheap new, or similar priced used.
BTW, I can rarely stand under a lift.
plance1 wrote: Seriously? You want a "cheap" lift? And you're looking for "used" lifts? A "Used," "Cheap" lift????? To stand under?
What is the issue? It seems that as long as it is on the safety catches (ie, not relying on the cable / chain / hydraulics to support the car) that it's as safe as jackstands.
DILYSI Dave wrote: Did the safety catches fail?
No. They never even came into play. Not that I think most safety catches will actually work.
In my case, the lift stopped moving on one side, and continued on the other, cocking the car until it slipped off. My not paying attention didn't help matters.
In my friends case, he was working on the car up high, and it dropped onto him, nose first. I suspect the lift and its components flexed and swayed enough to simply drop the car, and then sprung back to their normal positions.
foxtrapper wrote:DILYSI Dave wrote: Did the safety catches fail?No. They never even came into play. Not that I think most safety catches will actually work.
Aren't you supposed to lift the car past where you want it, and then lower it onto the safety catches, so that you're relying on a positive steel-on-steel engagement, not hydraulics and cables? That's the way I was taught. You don't get under the car until they are in play.
DILYSI Dave wrote:foxtrapper wrote:Aren't you supposed to lift the car past where you want it, and then lower it onto the safety catches, so that you're relying on a positive steel-on-steel engagement, not hydraulics and cables? That's the way I was taught. You don't get under the car until they are in play.DILYSI Dave wrote: Did the safety catches fail?No. They never even came into play. Not that I think most safety catches will actually work.
that is what i was taught as well. Not that I always did it...
foxtrapper wrote: My not paying attention didn't help matters...
Hmmm... that might not have a lot to do with the price of the lift.
foxtrapper wrote: Not that I think most safety catches will actually work.
Why not?
If you set the weight down onto the safety catches (like previously described), they can't be disengaged. I ALWAYS do it.
Once sitting on the safety catches, I'd have no problem pulling the plug, or cutting a hydraulic line, or whatever with me standing under. I've tried to disengage them- ain't gonna happen with a load on.
I'd suggest a properly used lift is a LOT safer than jackstands.
However careless or reckless operation, faulty installation, or poor maintenance procedures are always capable of undermining the best of equipment.
Note, that NONE of those have ANYTHING to do with the quality or cost of the lift. They are ALL user faults.
IAM:
Look for trade schools upgrading.
They always have brandy new stuff- the old stuff goes somewhere.
I bought mine for $750. It had been removed from a trade school and sat in storage for a couple of years. All it needed was assembly and some fluid.
These are the least expensive I've seen. If you sign up for their email newsletters they will bombard you with sales that are less than the prices on the website. I think the lowest price I've seen from them is a hair under $1300:
http://www.americanautomotiveequipment.com/2-Post-Lifts-s/1.htm
In reply to Basil Exposition:
just checked with them. $1200 for the lift plus shipping. totaled out at $1494
Be sure to double-check the shipping.
When I bought my lift, it was "free truck shipping" which was fine for me: I went to the depot with my truck and had them load the pallet with their forklift and I was able to unload it in the garage with an overhead chain hoist (pick up lift, then drive truck out from beneath).
If they need to transfer the pallet to a truck with a lift gate for unloading at a residence, there may be an additional charge.
i'd be cool with free truck shipping to. I'm a business address :D
A cheap lift is not something I would desire. Better to save up until you can buy a good one. I wouldn't buy a lift unless it has ALI certification and was made in the USA, like my bend pak.
Basil Exposition wrote: These are the least expensive I've seen. If you sign up for their email newsletters they will bombard you with sales that are less than the prices on the website. I think the lowest price I've seen from them is a hair under $1300: http://www.americanautomotiveequipment.com/2-Post-Lifts-s/1.htm
There's one of those at a shop I work at. Nothing wrong with it, and like many others have said, if you set it on the safety catches, you'll be safer than most jackstands some of us use.
internetautomart wrote: i'd be cool with free truck shipping to. I'm a business address :D
That's fine. My point was to be sure you have the equipment to unload it. My dinky scissor lift is 900 lbs.
yeah, unloading is my issue as well. I don't have any means to unload it from a regular truck. most of my truck orders come in on a liftgate truck.
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