lift dealer recommendations?

[ghnl]

(let me preface this by saying I did try a few serches...)

I am ready to buy a lift. I've decided on a four post lift. I am seeking any advice on dealers that are well recommended (or dealers to avoid).

 

[keukawake]

I used www.rb-wholesale.com for my two post BendPak. They were great to work with. Bob answered all of my questions.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Altlhough not a car lift, I bought my Direct Lift XLT DT lift from Greg Smith. Excellent customer service. They have a large line of car and MC lifts:

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com

http://www.gregsmithequipment.com/Pro-Cycle-XLT-DT-Lift-p/tpprocycle-dt-fslash-tpxlt-kit.htm

 

[kool55]

ghnl, give James a try at RoakIndustrialSolutions. He is a GJ member. Bought my Bendpak from him.

 

[Matt M PA]

I got my BendPak HD9 from www.asedeals.com. Very helpful, good prices.

 

[bill9860]

I have a friend who bought a Bendpak 4 post HD9 ST through ASE. HE was very happy with them and the installers, who interestingly drove up from North Carolina to do the install. Very long day for them.

Since you are in NC, There is a mfg rep called Fulton Associates based in High Point NC (866-675-4387). I was contacted by their Virginia location with respect to a Mohawk 2 post, but I understand they sell Bendpak & Challenger as well. I have not purchased anything yet - that is at least two months out so can't speak to service but their Virginia rep was very helpful - offered advise on installation - returned several calls promptly etc. Might be worth a call.

 

[Ign]

Got my Bendpak from Metro Lifts on ebay. It was a smooth transaction. I should say I found them on ebay, but I called them to place the order. They were helpful and knowledgeable over the phone.

 

[Harix]

I recently bought a rotary and a wheeltronics (by Mac Tools), and bow down to Rotary lifts. They are so much better.

 

[ghnl]

Anyone have any experience with Eagle Equipment? They are in Greensboro, NC (local for me). On the phone 'Rick' said they have a showroom (with a lift set up), units in stock & I could pick one up and avoid shipping fees.

 

[Gary S]

Check around your town for local dealers. I found that Benco right here near my house will deliver a lift for me much cheaper than any internet dealer. They bring it across town in their truck and unload it right in my garage for free, so there is no shipping cost or unloading cost for a fork lift.

 

[ket-tek]

I dealt with Brian at asedeals.com when ordering a couple bendpaks and accessories and he was very knowledgeable, he returned all my calls quickly, and gave the best price I could find.

 

[rwhite692]

Anyone have any experience with Eagle Equipment? They are in Greensboro, NC (local for me). On the phone 'Rick' said they have a showroom (with a lift set up), units in stock & I could pick one up and avoid shipping fees.

A good friend of mine has an Eagle, and it is a decent lift.

Being able to go and pick it up yourself should save you quite a bit of money.

 

[brownbagg]

bendpaks are ship from the factory and all questions are answered by the factory. All bendpak I have seen has been the same price through different dealers. so dealer is not crotical. they will take your money, call in the order and thats it. I got mine from E-lift. I think, it been a while. E-lift.com

 

[ghnl]

Thanks for all the recommendations.

One more question. The vehicles I will want to lift range from quite small (MG, Alfa Romeo) to fairly large (F250 Super Duty extended cab). 90% of the time it will be the smaller cars on & under. But I will occasionally want to lift the truck. The issue I have is finding a lift wide enough for the truck that is not too wide for the MG's. BendPak seems to be the only one with a lift that allows the lift runway width to vary. Otherwise I'd be either putting the truck on a lift with the tires at the very outer edges of the runways or the MG on the lift with the tires at the very inner edges of the runways. (A longer lift also fits the truck's wheelbase better.)

Anyone see something I'm missing? If you often lift a full size pick up what (four post) lift do you use?

 

[dmeadow]

Thanks for all the recommendations.

One more question. The vehicles I will want to lift range from quite small (MG, Alfa Romeo) to fairly large (F250 Super Duty extended cab). 90% of the time it will be the smaller cars on & under. But I will occasionally want to lift the truck. The issue I have is finding a lift wide enough for the truck that is not too wide for the MG's. BendPak seems to be the only one with a lift that allows the lift runway width to vary. Otherwise I'd be either putting the truck on a lift with the tires at the very outer edges of the runways or the MG on the lift with the tires at the very inner edges of the runways. (A longer lift also fits the truck's wheelbase better.)

Anyone see something I'm missing? If you often lift a full size pick up what (four post) lift do you use?

This is a question that you should ask the dealer for the specific lift you are considering, but most of the lifts I have seen accommodate movement on the ramps. I've got one from http://www.americanautomotiveequipment.com in Cleburne, TX that seems pretty typical for the low-end "storage" lifts. They sell them for as little as $1600 plus shipping (sign up for their email sales, they will bombard you, but you can unsubscribe after you buy). It has extra holes in the cross-beam so you can slide one ramp closer over for narrower cars. I leave my lift on the narrower setting all the time since most of the cars I work on are small. The narrow setting is just right for the MG Midget, MGA and Jag XKE. I park the MINI on it most of the time and it will be on the outer edges of the two ramps, but not in a scary way. In fact, the only car I've put on it that required the wider stance was a C5 Corvette. It is supposed to be a 7000 lb lift, but I don't think I want to put my 6500 lb diesel Dodge pickup on it! I think I would want a better quality lift with a bigger margin for that kind of weight.

BTW, I'm moving to Raleigh this summer and I'd be interested in your experience buying a lift there in NC, particularly if you use a local place. I've sold my lift here and may need to buy another one when I get there.