Questions for anyone who owns their own lift

Hey everyone,
I have always been interested in buying a home use lift but until recently had no place for it.
I am seeing them used with little use for like 1500 to 2000. An initial investment but something that would save me TONS of time and pay for itself very quickly. However I am more concerned with maintnence and upkeep. Instead of trusting the seller to be honest I would rather ask you guys.

I am looking into this style of life as they seem to be cost effective and have used them before.
http://s1.hubimg.com/u/1182756_f520.jpg

Any experience as to the typical upkeep and maintnence schedule on one of these things. Im sure it varies by model but just any general thoughts?

You can buy a used rotary lift, for under $1000 if you look around (craigslist is the best source for this). I'm not sure where you're located, but you can buy brand new ones for around $1500-$1800 or so (chinese ones, still good quality, especially fine for light-duty home use)

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Originally Posted by Emilie@GZP

You can buy a used rotary lift, for under $1000 if you look around (craigslist is the best source for this). I'm not sure where you're located, but you can buy brand new ones for around $1500-$1800 or so (chinese ones, still good quality, especially fine for light-duty home use)

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I was looking at this one
TP9KAF Car Lift | North American Auto Equipment
Im all about saving a buck and know sometimes the cheap chinese tools can be just as good but since I have no knowledge particular tool and a bad one can kill you I wanted to be real sure.

you're probably going to want one with a wider "drive-thu" distance. You don't want to shoe-horn the car in, then not be able to open the door enough to get out :p

We have a chinese lift in the shop, and it's worked flawlessly for the last few years.

I'm going to try and get one around tax time.

Sorry to hyjack but I have a question too... What kind of base is needed? Like, how deep does the concrete have to be and such?

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Originally Posted by FluffyCow

Sorry to hyjack but I have a question too... What kind of base is needed? Like, how deep does the concrete have to be and such?

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No need to apologize. The subject isnt super common and its a valid concern. From what I have seen by looking around they mostly talk about strength and PSI rating and not thickness though I am sure they relate.

I have read in numerous places that the concrete has to be at least 4" thick for a two post, and normal "household" concrete isn't strong enough.

it's best to read up on the subject before you randomly grab a bag of quikcrete off the shelf at your neighborhood home depot. concrete is as varied as steel alloys.

My parents have a benpac lift in their garage. I believe it was around $2000 and it works great with no issues.

As far as concrete their garage is probably 4-6 inches deep (Whatever the standard thickness is for a floor) and is the regular mix yourself type stuff. I think the majority of the weight is pushing down so it's not like you're adding stressing by pushing out on the post anchors.

Also, make sure you have the power requirements in place. Most houses do have 220, but you might need an electrician to run the outlet for you.

Yea 4" thick is pretty much the requirement, and the 220 lines are really not too hard to run. Though of course you need to take the utmost care when doing it.
check out www.panthertlifts.com
the cheap lifts do usually work fine, I have had issues in the past though with the motors burning up and have been told by the installers and the manufacturers that it is because we were not setting the lifts down on the safety latches. According to them it is best to drop the lift and let it sit on the nearest safety latch while its up so that it doesn't have a load on it when you start the motor up again.