I am currently looking into purchasing a 2 post lift myself as well and have been looking into several options at this time.
2 shops where I frequent with my cars and where I see BMW"s/Audi's/Mercedes all the time, use Atlas 9000OH for their daily stuff (4 years). Those mechanics have the same lifts at home as well.
I also know of an another mechanic friend (works at a ford dealership) who uses Revolutinary (rotary) at home (2 years).
Can some clarify to me when, why professionals don't buying them while GF members only recommend Mohawk/Bendpark? If professionals don't have any issues with them why would we? Why spend twice or more on an enthusiast brand when those lifts be used occassionally few times a month?
Btw, do you guys know what kinda lifts your mechanics uses?
When I was shopping for my lift I did look to see what lifts the car dealers and indies were using, since a lot of them were going out of business and the lifts were being sold when they auctioned off everthing in the garage. I saw a lot of rotary lifts, bent pack, and some Mohawk, with a mix of a few other lifts. I don't recall seeing any Greg Smith smith lifts in those shops. I Don't know why you rank rotary as a cheap lift, because I think it is up there with Bent Pack.
I worked under a weaver lift years ago and really liked a solid lift. I didn't like the chain cover on the floor on the Weaver lift, because it made using a Trans jack a pain in the ****. I also didn't like lifts with the chain on the top because I've seen that limit lift height on vans, and I've seen more than one car hit the cross bar with a crunch.
Mohawk met all of my needs. It is extremely heavy duty, has no chain bar on the floor or overhead to get in my way so I'm not limited in any way. My shop ceiling is 16' tall, and the haudraulic lines between the posts are above my rafters. My lift was bought used and came out of a saturn dealer that went out of business, when they stopped making saturns. If you look at auctions, you can find these heavy duty lifts cheap.
If I couldnt find a Mohawk for a price I wanted to pay. I planned to get a bent pack 10,000 lb. lift.
http://www.bestbuyautoequipment.com/bendpak-2-post-lifts-s/494.html. It is heavy duty, ALI certified and $2,985 delivered. It is only a few hundred dollars more than the Greg smith 10,000 lb lift if you include shipping. To me a lift, like any good tool, is a lifetime purchace, so I look at quality first and price second. The few hundred dollar price difference on a multi thousand dollar lift isn't really tha big a difference for something you will probably use for the rest of your life.
The argument that you don't need as good a lift as a pro since you are only lifting a few cars a month, never made sense to me. If you have a 10,000 lb truck sitting over your head that will kill you if it falls, what difference does it make if you only stand under it on weekends vs. standing under it on weekdays. If the truck falls on you, won't the result be the same? This always reminds me of the old motorcycle helmet saying that you only buy a $10 helmet to protect a $10 head.
Chris
