Should You Buy a Used Lift?

Automotive lifts are becoming more and more popular for home garages these days, as they can offer anyone a truly professional-grade storage or maintenance system. It may seem tempting to seek out a used lift to save a few bucks on your purchase, but is this a good idea?

Can You Trust the Previous Owner?

One of the first problems that should be considered when looking for a used lift is that you have no assurances that the original owner or owners took good care of it. Lifts require thorough routine inspection and maintenance in order to work as designed and to last as long as possible. The owner may tell you that it’s in good shape, but they simply don’t have the reputability that can guarantee an accurate or truthful assessment of its condition. This is especially risky if the lift has already been disassembled. The last thing you want is to have spent thousands on a piece of equipment that won’t hold up for much longer.

The Cost of Repair

Even if the owner gave you a thorough account of the lift’s condition and maintenance history (at least to the best of their knowledge), having a pre-owned lift comes with a significant set of problems. As time goes on, any piece of automotive equipment will require more and more maintenance and repair, and eventually the cost of maintaining it is defeated by the value of investing in a new unit altogether. If you purchase a used lift, you’ll be jumping into the middle or even the later stages of its lifespan. The cost of upkeep will pile up on top of what you originally paid and simply won’t be worth it.

Warranty and Support

We’ve mentioned the issues of trust and maintenance, and these are even more important when considering the advantages of a good, fresh warranty and the support of an established lift dealer. If you buy a used lift, especially if it was manufactured and sold by a less-than-stellar company, chances are you’ll be missing out on a guarantee that would prove indispensable time and time again. Lift King, for instance, offers a lifetime warranty on the structure of the unit and a 5 year warranty on its power pack. When you establish a relationship with a respected dealer, it always pays off in the long term!

Vehicle lifts aren’t the kind of thing you want to compromise on when it comes to reliability. Price-per-quality is one of the most important factors in determining the right purchase, and when it comes to this, Lift King beats all the rest. Give us a call at (403) 283-1020 today!