Reviewing My Selection For A Low Height Garage Lift
Let me begin by saying that I purchased a EZcarlift a little over a year ago and I have been very happy with the tool.
The other day while poking around on the internet I went to the EZcarlift website. Overall, for the most part, everything seemed to be pretty much the same as I found it in early 2016, along with some additional testimonials, when I purchased my EZcarlift. The website does a good job to accurately describe the EZcarlift to determine if it’s the right tool for you.
I have to admit I also went to the QuickJack website because I also considered that lift last year as well. QuickJack does a great marketing job with an extensive web site. I wanted to see if I would have changed my mind today if I was to purchase a car lift.
Upon exploring their website I found a section titled “Why Quickjack” and an article: EZcarlift™ vs. QuickJack – A Portable Car Lift Buyer’s Guide. This is organized as a check list from selling points on the EZcarlift website.
As I read this discussion I feel as though I’m reading a CNN report from the established political far left. Not to mention the picture of a car on a EZcarlift with wood 2 x 4’s for spacers as though you can’t use hard rubber blocks or ‘hockey pucks’ to space the car between the lift. Yes, I’m sure they’ll tell you that the picture came from the EZcarlift web site.
They then ramble on their ‘slanted’ selling points:
It’s interesting how they pass judgement as to what is reliable and safe. The people at QuickJack don’t know that the EZcarlift would not pass the CE safety certification.
They state the EZcarlift requires you to crouch, bend over, stoop and squatt to raise and lower your car with an electric drill. I plan to be working under my car and will probably be doing some of those moves.
Before I forget, how many times can they beat to death a one inch difference in collapsed height……..
I don’t recall seeing a statement on the EZcarlift web site that their lift was safer or rated higher than QuickJack in terms of overall quality and safety assurance. Why would you even go there? No one ever implied any of that.
Unibody frames and crossbeams versus hydraulic hoses. The jury is out on that. Figure it out for yourself.
The Bottom Line : affordability and weight capacity doesn’t mean much if the lift isn’t long enough to reach the lift points on your car.
I’m running out of energy commenting on all this negative selling. I encourage you to read (if you haven’t already) the rest of their responses to the EZcarlift web site. It goes on and continues ‘ad nausea.’ They do not pull any punches and emphasize the selling points that they want you to know and blur or totally leave out other important decision making information (true to the political left). From my own experience with 30 years selling machine tools I know that if you have to ‘bad mouth’ your competition, you don’t have much to sell yourself.
So lets go back and review my decision from a year ago. As it turns out I was looking at the QuickJack before I even knew the EZcarlift existed, and I thought I really liked the hydraulic design and concept. When considering the QuickJack I did what I would do for any tool. Ask the question and determine if the tool had the physical and dimensional capacity to handle the required job. I own two cars that I wanted to be able to lift. QuickJack has lifts with the weight capacity to handle both of my cars. The first is a Mercedes with 66 inches between the front and rear lift points and there is no provision on the car’s undercarriage or frame to lift the car any place but the four lift points. The second is a Volvo wagon with 70 inches between the front and rear lift points. The width was not an issue because the QuickJack does not have any connection between the right and left side lifts. The point that I’m about to make is that (at the time a year ago) the longest lifting point spread (front to back) that Quickjack offered with any of their lifts was 60 inches. I called QuickJack to inquire if they had already experienced this problem and find out if there was a ‘work around’ solution. Upon asking this question there was dead silence coming from the other end of the telephone line and the sales person I was talking with had no encouragement for any solution in the future. After getting off the phone I began thinking that finding an appropriate lift to work in my garage was a dead issue. I considered for a short period of time that I could probably build some type of “frame extension” to mount on the QuickJack but then rationalized that could turn into disaster. Anyway, I was looking to purchase a complete solution.
Further research revealed the EZcarlift and I quickly reviewed its features; i.e. its front to back lift point spread was 60 inches like the QuickJack. However, EZcarlift offered the ability to add optional ramp extensions on both ends to expand its capacity to support and reach 72 inches – it wasn’t a ‘dead end’ tool like the QuickJack!
To finish this whole discussion, lets look at the things that do need to be considered between the two lifts. The obvious things like being able to be used as a better alternative than jack stands, ability to use in low ceiling garages, take to the race track, etc., are all givens for both. I don’t think we need to regurgitate points like this all over again.
So what’s left? Other than limitations of front to back lift points which was a deal breaker for me, the rest of the buying decision points are pretty subjective. Price is always a big factor. Weight capacity is always nice when you need it.
As someone who uses a creeper to move around on the garage floor, I prefer the EZcarlift because of the open sides of the lift. It enables me to freely move around under the car. Anyone who has worked under a car knows how quickly tools and things like trouble light cables get jammed up with your creeper wheels. I can imagine those hydraulic hoses adding to the interference as you’re working under the car doing a job as simple as an oil change. Remember, you can only move front to back with the QuickJack. Capable lift height is also important to me along with infinite height adjustability. This is especially helpful when working through to top of the engine bay. I’m not limited to two height adjustments. There are also some subtle reasons that would have moved me in the direction I followed. I think the EZcarlift has a cleaner, and more efficient design. The design and construction is just as robust with fewer weldments and connecting-moving parts to cause future problems. I would rather replace a drill than a hydraulic system.
The last question I have to ask is, “where is the QuickJack made”?
In conclusion, as I stated at the introduction of this discussion, I have been very happy with the EZcarlift. I’ve used it with jobs on both cars and it has worked as advertised. For reasons stated above, I would still buy the EZcarlift.
