I'm trying to sell my building. I've had quite a few tire kickers but only a couple of serious lookers. One was a fast talker that I got a bad gut feeling about, always listen to your gut. The second is a guy who owns a business down the street from the shop. We're trying to work out a deal and he seems willing to meet my price but one of his stipulations is that I leave my two post lift in the building. If it was a lift I could easily replace it wouldn't be a problem but it's an old Manitowoc lift that is built like a tank and aren't made anymore. It's a really good unit and parts and service are still readily available.

My question is for you guys who either own or use lifts for work. What brand do you suggest? I don't want the cheap Chinese units advertised on the back pages of car magazines. I have a friend who bought a low price unit and had one of the cylinder caps pop off while he had a car on it, not a fun thing to happen. I also won't have the funds for a $5K+ unit either. Please chime in with your good and bad experiences.

To keep this FTE relevant, I use the lift to work on the F-2, the panel truck and my son's F-1.

Thanks

 

If he insists on a lift, tell him you'll replace the old lift with a brand new lift. The old one has sentimental value. Feel him out. I don't believe I would let a lift get in the way of a sale, all else acceptable, but that is just me. No, I don't own a lift, just my quick take. Good luck with the sale, Bob.

 

Ray, no I can't either. I need this building gone but I waited a long time to get a lift and this is a really nice one. I just want to find a comparable one.

 

I also do not feel a lift should get in the way. You can always find another down the road, found this one near you on a quick search of Craigslist. Don't know if it's the model you have but same brand.

manitowoc 7000 Lb. car hoist REDUCED

 

I did a quick search of CL today and didn't see anything, most not have used the right search words. I got mine off of CL a few years back. The in the ad you posted is a smaller model, I have the 9000 pound version.

I'm not letting the lift get in the way of selling the building if that is what it is going to,take but I would like to get an equivalent version of another brand. I just would like to know if anyone has recommendations.

 

I have a four post that I have had for 9 years it is a 7000 lbs , I use it every day , The only problem I have had where bushings in the pulleys I have replaced 3 of them . I believe it came out of Texas $1600 plus shipping , I like a 4 post , it can be used for so many things , I would buy another one in a minute .

 

I bought a building and it came with a nice older bendpac 9000 lb lift. It was a steel building that I moved to my house. I love it but I know a decent new lift can be had for 3ishk brand new and nice used quality ones come up on craigslist all the time for under $1500

 

I've read,some about Benpak lifts among others like Challenger. I just don't have experience with them. When I found the Manitowoc I read everything I could find about them. With other brands I have many pros and cons about all of them. I do want to take ride over to my friend's place and see the brand he bought and make sure I stay away from that one.

Dave I have also looked into a four post but I've gotten used to the two post and like it. I know most everyone prefers the four posts over the two posts, I guess I'm a bit odd.

 

I bought a 4 post lift because I just couldn't figure out how the 2 post could be as stable. I would do so again if I had to replace it and would only have you consider one thing about the 4 post lift - no real value when it comes to removing tires!
I also have added 4x4s across the lips of the lift so I can drive things like my Kubota and lawn mower up on the lift (otherwise the wheel width is too narrow to use the lift).
Last thing I really like about the 4 post is it came with casters so I could move it around the shop if I wanted to. The literature says you can move it on the wheels with a vehicle on it but I would never try that.


Really last thing - a lot of the 4 post lifts now have the equivalent of a trolley rail on them so you can use a chain hoist for things like lifting the engine out of your truck.

 

If the Manitowoc is going to sit in the barn for years before you can re-do the slab at home to install it, what's the point? There are still many very good US-made lifts made, don't sweat it. Get rid of the building.

Check on the Garage Journal for many threads about lifts. Best post I saw on the subject was:
"I sell, service, and install lifts as part of my living. I always get asked can you get me such and such a part for my Never-Heard-of-Em lift...Moral of the story is buy what you've heard of. I sell Challenger and Rotary, and my customers know 50 years from now I can easily get them parts. Seriously, every swinging d sells a lift and quickly goes out of business...Moral of this story, you get what you pay for."

 

Ross the lift would go directly from my business shop to my new shop at my house. The floor is adequate for a lift as it is.



All it would take is to have my forklift transported to my new shop so we can use it to lift the uprights. Andy and I had the lift put up within a day in the old shop.

 

Mohawk is one of the best, but spendy...Bendpak or Challenger would be my next choice. I shopped for a lift quite a while before buying a Bendpak(4 post). No regrets. It cost almost twice as much as a "cheap" lift, but I feel safe under it, which means a lot.
A local dealer sells new "cheap" lifts, so I went to take a look. Scary. You really do get what you pay for...

Edit....Most lift manufacturers sell several models of the same type, price usually dictates the quality. Shop carefully....

 

Hey Bob,
Well that's a nice garage! You just wanted to post a pic of your cool over the top garage with a crown on the front of it.

My sister was selling her house last year & they stipulated that they'd like to keep the front door -
been in the family a zillion years, they moved it from house to house, etc... Someone gave them
a full price offer but they really wanted the front door to stay. My sister sold that house & left her prized door.

If you really liked the lift .... Why on earth did you leave it on the property & show it to someone. Move the lift to
your house Asap - no one will ever know it was there. What lift? That's the same advice I gave my sister - If you
really like the front door .. take it down & replace it before showing the house.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

I have a 2 post Rotary lift, and it has worked well over the last 8 years. 9000# capacity and have only had had to adjust one of the cables on one occasion.


I did have to raise my roof joists to 13' to accommodate the safety shut-off bar.

 

Scott, thanks for the comments, just what I was looking for. When I started looking for a lift, before I bought the one I have, i did a lot of reading but there is a lot of opinions out there about different lifts. I'm just looking to see what other on the board have. I trust the guys here to offer honest opinions. I know about the national certifications and would only entertain approved lifts.

Ben, the lift is probably going to stay. The prospective buyer seems to like it as much as I do but it's more important to me right now to sell the building than to keep the lift. I just want buy a lift that is as good as the one I have. I have the lift in my current building because we still use it. It will take some time to move it from one building to the other. I need my forklift to take it out and then I have figure out how to get the forklift to the new place to put the lift back up. I didn't really think it would become such a valuable negotiation issue when selling the building. The prospective buyer actually just walked into my shop one night and noticed it. I had "For Sale" sign in front of the shop. I didn't know in advance that he was coming. Now I wish I had pulled it out.

The old shop has 16' ceilings and so does the new one. The previous owner stored a RV in the shed, that's reason for the large door. I do plan to run my business out of the shed. The lift will be used to work on family and friends cars, not for the business.