Inexpensive garage lift review

I purchased THIS LIFT locally for $1500.  It’s a mid-rise scissor lift that lifts 6,000 lbs 48” high.  I knew it was an inexpensive lift and wouldn’t be perfect, but it had 3 serious failures by the time I used it once.  I called the company and they came and got it.  I ponied up the extra $500 for THIS LIFT from the same dealer.    
I’ve used the BendPak for a few months now, so here’s my impressions of the two different lifts.  
The BendPak is a much, much sturdier lift in every way.  The knock-off lift didn’t have secure attachments for the bottom of the lift cylinders.  Basically, they counted on the pressure of the cylinder expanding to hold a piece of re-bar that was welded to the bottom of the cylinder in a little pocket at the base of the lift.  Sorry, I don’t have any pictures of it.  It worked, but came off hokey.  The BendPak has actual attachment points at both ends of the cylinders, and these cylinders are much larger, heavier duty than the knock-off lift [img][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][/img] The Knock-off comes with more attachments, but I don’t know if they are really needed because the BendPak has enough to do what I need. Here’s what the BendPak comes with  [img][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][/img] four of each of these.  
Then there are little things that make the BendPak better.  The knock-off had the crossover hydraulic house just kinda sticking out into the air, right where most exhaust pipes are.  The BendPak has a metal loop to keep the hose away from the hot exhaust [img][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][/img]
The biggest differences that make the BendPak better?        
The knock-off lift would lower a bit faster than the BendPak (unloaded) but the trade-off is that the knock-off would literally drop the last 6 inches of down travel.  Let me tell you, the first time this 900+ pound lift drops 6” it’ll make you crap your pants.  The BendPak is controlled all the way down, very nice.      
Every part of the BendPak lift is beefier, from the pins at the pivot points to the way the hydraylic reservoir is secured to the power unit.      
The knock-off had the arms bolted to the lift plate and they pivoted at that point, that’s it.  The lift pads could be placed anywhere on the arm but you were still quite limited as far as lift possibilities.  The BendPak has much more flexibility as far as where you can place the lift pads.  The pads can be placed anywhere on the arm like the knock-off, but the arms can slide in channels on the lift.  The illustration below shows the difference.  The light yellow are is where the BendPak pads can be placed, the solid yellow area shows the knock-off. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
One more difference.  The knock-off had studs that stuck up through the lift arms that prevented my Golf from being driven over the lift.  Heck, even our Chrysler minivan couldn’t clear these studs.  The BendPack can clear either car.  This is a huge difference to me.      
So, I’ve been to the cheap end of the garage lift pool, and there is poo in the water.  The BendPack is a much better lift in every respect.  So, if you can come up with the $1500 for the knock-off lift, raid the couch cushions or fine a way not to pay your kids allowance for a while to come up with the other $500.

Dunno...I can't get too excited about a 4 foot lift for 2 grand...6 foot would be very interesting. But whatever floats your boat. Thanks for the info.

I have the same lift and love it. My garage is height challenged and a full size lift won't work. I purchased my lift before Max Jack (low two post lift) was around and would prefer it, but not enough to take the hit on selling my life and buying new.

944convert wrote:Dunno...I can't get too excited about a 4 foot lift for 2 grand...6 foot would be very interesting.  But whatever floats your boat. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, it's only 48" lift, but I can't go any higher at all in my standard garage. If I lift the 944 all the way up the garage door has to be closed and the roof of the car is less than 1" from the rafters. This is much, much better than using a jack and jack stands.
Lemming: I almost got the MaxJax, but it would have effectively made my 2.5 car garage a 1 stall shop because of the width of the posts.

I wanted to post this because I can't be the only guy looking for a cheap lift, and I wanted to make sure folks knew to be wary of the $1500 Chinese knock-off lifts out there.

I've got the space for a full size lift, but unfortunately the house needs other work first. My wife will kill me if I put money into the garage before the kitchen...

this post is awesome and i still haven't pulled the trigger on jack stands. wish i could buy what you did a write up on here but after blowing 8k already on just the big ticket first round of parts for this project, i can't justify that money on the lift.  

oh well, better off knowing what's best to get after i get the car to start on ls1 power!

docwyte wrote:I've got the space for a full size lift, but unfortunately the house needs other work first.  My wife will kill me if I put money into the garage before the kitchen...

I just built a new kitchen for the wifey, I'd buy something for myself, but I'm broke  

944convert wrote:Dunno...I can't get too excited about a 4 foot lift for 2 grand...6 foot would be very interesting.  But whatever floats your boat. Thanks for the info.

I had the same attitude before I bought one.  When I started my business I was working out of the house as a side job, and the jackstands were really beating up my body.  Finally I gave in and bought a midrise (ceiling height issue, and a maxjax would have killed too much bay room.  If you work on cars a lot, the $2k is a lot cheaper than the pain and cost of a bad back later in life.  Nothing will drop the toughest man to his knees like back pain.  Once I started using it, I was like....crap why did I wait so long. For those limited by ceiling height, a midrise is an absolute blessing.    Doesn't get much use anymore now that I have acquired a 7k sqft shop, but for the occasional home projects I still love it.  While 48" doesn't sound like a lot, being able to sit and crawl around under a car is a heck of a lot easier on a guy than sliding around on his back.  48" puts wheel and brake work at chest level, which isn't bad at all.  

Coming from a professional mechanic and chiropractor who fully understands both ends of the spectrum of the lifespan of a mechanic's body.

My two write ups when I got my bendpak.
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My modification here as been featured on bendpaks blog even.
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Porschedoc wrote: Nothing will drop the toughest man to his knees like back pain. ... While 48" doesn't sound like a lot, being able to sit and crawl around under a car is a heck of a lot easier on a guy than sliding around on his back.  48" puts wheel and brake work at chest level, which isn't bad at all.  

I completely agree. I'm working with a standard two car residential garage. To get 6 feet of clearance under the raised car, I added two additional 2x4's to each roof rafter (making each a 6x4 on 16" centers) in addition to raising and doubling up on all the cross beams...then added plywood as flooring on top of most of the beams (or floor joists at this point) for plenty of loft storage space. I also doubled up on the 2x4 wall studs making each a 4x4. All the extra 2x4's were sandwiched with construction glue and screwed together. I'm too old to work with only 48"

944convert wrote:

Porschedoc wrote: Nothing will drop the toughest man to his knees like back pain. ... While 48" doesn't sound like a lot, being able to sit and crawl around under a car is a heck of a lot easier on a guy than sliding around on his back.  48" puts wheel and brake work at chest level, which isn't bad at all.  

I completely agree. I'm working with a standard two car residential garage. To get 6 feet of clearance under the raised car, I added two additional 2x4's to each roof rafter (making each a 6x4 on 16" centers) in addition to raising and doubling up on all the cross beams...then added plywood as flooring on top of most of the beams (or floor joists at this point) for plenty of loft storage space. I also doubled up on the 2x4 wall studs making each a 4x4. All the extra 2x4's were sandwiched with construction glue and screwed together. I'm too old to work with only 48"

Hmmmm this sounds like some sort of witchcraft!  

Well, rather than a floor based hydraulic lift, I added some serious steel supports in the overhead attached to the rafters including a centered 10' long 4" steel I-Beam with a electric hoist on a trolley...and I'm using a separate electric hoist system to lift the car...none of which takes up any floor space.

Some pixie dust was mixed in with the construction glue however.

I have a mid-rise scissor lift from Rotary. Love it! I too am challenged for space in a single car residential garage. I don't have room on the sides for posts nor ceiling height for more height. This is all the lift that'll fit, I got it cheap from a tuner shop that went out of business and the quality is good. My dream is to hammer out the floor in the middle so I can recess the lift and get rid of the ramps it takes to get the car over the lift.

Rich

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