Car lift for Garage - has anyone purchased?

I bought two lifts a couple years ago from Superlifts. One was made in the US and the other in China. The China built model is junk compared to the US. I actually had a cable break on it and it dropped the front right side of the car a few inches until it caught the next safety latch. From what I understand, different companies import these, but the manufacturers are the same. The retailers just put their names on them and go from there.

I would research it and find something that was made in the US. The height of your garage really depends on the types of cars you are putting on it. Mine fit fine in 120" of space, but my cars are short. My neighbor has two lifts and put his Shelby's on the lifts. But he had to raise a section of the garage to get two cars to fit. Another thing you need to measure is the garage door tract. I know that can create a problem if you don't have enough clearance for the door to open without hitting the car.

As for the price, I got mine for about 3k each. The installation was included in the price and done by a local company they sub-contracted out.
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Rotary four post XLT. You pay more but it is built like a tank. I love mine.

http://www.rotarylift.com/

The home lift (Rotary Name) is here: http://www.rotarylift.com/products/revolution/
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I had a DirectLift installed with a 220v motor (110 is also available) and I'm very happy with it.

FYI there are several threads on here about them - plenty of good reading that you'll find if you do a search.

 

$3K doesn't sound too bad. I'm actually thinking of getting one. Aside from being able to work on the cars, I'm also thinking about being able to lift the Dino off the ground in the event that I have to evacuate for a hurricane! (This is a low-lying area, where the houses are at least 3-4 feet off the ground, but of course the garages are not...)
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I am in the middle of this process, too.

Step one: the garage door. Open it. For me it quickly became the lowest obstruction. You need to be able to open the door with the car on the lift. Because of my setup inside I am going to have to switch to a jackshaft motor for the door so right away the project is at least $1K (for me new jambs will be needed, door track, door motor, etc.).

After searching here I concluded the top models are Rotary, Direct Lift, and Backyard Buddy. Most everyone seems very happy with their model with the exception of the foreign ones which are generally scorned. Price seems to range from about $2K to $7K. I have not decided yet if I can justify the price of the Rotary.

Seamus

 

I bought the Titan model outside slider design from American Custom lifts. They are also a site sponsor. www.aclifts.com I installed it myself in about 8-9 hours. It costs around $4k and is American made and very sturdy. I really like it, and think it is a great lift for the money. You may also want to check www.allamericanlifts.com and www.backyardbuddy.com . Those are also outside slider American made lifts. Good luck!

BT
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Is that a Ginetta?

 

I believe it is Joe, a 2002 G20 (ok I cheated and looked at his profile, just trying to build my post count)

 

True. Great fun. +1 on the count!

BT

 

Hey that's cheating Walt! (I never thought about it!) When are you going to be down here again. The exhaust is on and ready to be tested!

 

How is the build quality? I never been able to see one up close or drive one yet. From the pictures they look cool.

 

+1. I'd been looking into lifts for awhile, and was really impressed with these. I ordered one a couple of weeks ago, should be getting installed in about 2 weeks.

 

There have been many posts on lifts. Try doing a few searches, you will find many different options. My lift is a single post Bend Pak Parking Lift. Works for me.
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British. As long as you don't expect much you won't be disappionted!
Mechanically it is fine, but panel alignment and comfort are not high on the list of priorities.
The fiberglass is also very thin (and light), but subject to easy stress cracks.
Mine cost around $20k, and I think it is a bargain for that price.
BT

 

I purchased a Backyard Buddy. I would strongly suggest get the type where you have an outide collar that slides up and down the post. I would also suggest that the post be a square(4 sided) instead of a C(basically 3 sided).

10' foot should be plenty. The biggest concern is the clearance height of your garage door rails and location of the garage opener. This is assuming you need to be able to leave the car lifted while the garage door comes up. If you are putting the lift into a 2 car garage with a single door (18' wide as opposed 2 two single doors) the location of the garage opener should not be an issue.

My setup worked out perfect in a 2 car garage. I use my lift with a 993 and a 360. I can put either car on top without having to back the car in. It is very tight clearance (both with the ramps and garage door) with the 360 but it definetly works.

I would suggest that when you first put your cars on to manually lift the door with your hands. This will allow you to open the door very slowly to check for clearance issues. I also put a label on the lift to indicate which slot the lift needed to be in to store each vehicle on top. 1 Label for 993 & one for 360.

I did the same thing with marking where the wheel chocks should be placed for the front wheels. 1 label for each car. This was very important for me because I pull the cars to within 2" of the front wall in the garage. This allows me pull the cars in forward(vs in reverse) to store them on top of the lift.

FYI, I only have a couple of inches on either side of ramps when I store the 360. So it is important that you pull in very straight. This is not a big issue for the 993. The 360 is much wider than the 993.

 

Great post with pictures on your lift install BT!

One thing I think I noticed was the posts are not secured to the floor in any way. Am I correct? Is this the recommended way to do it? Maybe I missed that step...

Jeff

 

It's not necessary with the four post lifts. In fact, many of them come with casters so you can move the lift around.

 

True, although mine seems to walk a bit , so I'm thinking of bolting it down. I purchased a Directlift 8000lb 4post, with 120V hydraulic pump from Greg Smith Eqpt. It was only around $1650 + ship. Satisfied with it so far.
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nice lift what kind of floor tile is that those look great too;I'm trying to get different samples from suppiers

 

I've thought about the lift also and came to the idea that I have to raise the tracks higher to the ceiling which the door will open closer to the ceiling like inches away and for the opener they have garage door openers that mount to the side by the shaft good luck

 

I think I've asked once b4 but I'm going to ask again so forgive me,why did you get thoses tiles was it www.floorjunkies.com

 

+1 on the Backyard Buddy lifts.. I just had three installed about two months ago. I love them and it came in real handy changing the fuel pump in the 308 last month. They are USA Made as well... I also ordered one set of casters so I can move them out to my new garage when I get around to building it.

Scott
'85 308
'71 Pantera

 

Racedeck tiles bought from the cheapest source I could find on the net. Someone on here had a thread where they found identical tiles not branded by Racedeck for much cheaper. I'll take a look back in my saved files and see if I have the name.