Choosing the Right Automotive Lift for Your Shop
There isn’t one automotive lift that is right for every shop.
We get calls all the time from customers who already have a particular lift in mind. Sometimes it’s exactly what they need. Other times, once we know what vehicles they’re working on, what kind of work they’re doing, and how the shop is laid out, there’s a better option.
Before buying a lift, these are the things we would look at.
What vehicles are you actually lifting?
Start here.
A shop working primarily on cars and light trucks has very different needs than a fleet maintaining box trucks, medium-duty vehicles, or commercial vans.
Don’t size a lift around the average vehicle you see. Make sure it can safely handle the heavier vehicles you expect to put on it. At the same time, buying much more lift than you need can cost money and take up valuable space without giving you much benefit.
Two-post lifts
For general repair work, a two-post lift is usually the first place we look.
They give technicians excellent access to the wheels, suspension, brakes, exhaust, drivetrain, and underside of the vehicle. They also use relatively little floor space.
But not every two-post lift is the same. Capacity, arm configuration, column height, overall width, available adapters, and vehicle spotting all matter.
Your concrete matters too. A two-post lift is anchored directly to the slab, so we need to know what we are working with before installation.
Four-post lifts
Four-post lifts make sense when you want the vehicle supported by the tires instead of the frame.
They’re common for alignments, inspections, general service, and vehicle storage. With rolling jacks, you can still get the wheels off the runways when needed.
They require more floor space than a two-post lift, but for the right application they can be much more convenient.
Scissor lifts
Scissor lifts are a good option when floor space or overhead clearance is limited, or when a shop wants a more open bay without two columns alongside the vehicle.
There are several different styles, from lower-rise service lifts to full-rise alignment and general-service lifts.
The tradeoff is that the lifting structure is underneath the vehicle, so access can be different from what you get with a two-post lift.
Inground lifts
Inground lifts keep most of the lifting equipment below the floor, leaving the bay open when the lift is lowered.
They are especially popular in dealerships and larger service facilities where bay layout, appearance, and long-term use justify the additional installation work.
Installing or replacing an inground lift is a much bigger project than anchoring a surface lift. Excavation, concrete, utilities, drainage, and existing site conditions all need to be considered.
Don’t forget the building
The lift itself is only half of the equation.
Before we recommend one, we also want to know:
- Ceiling height
- Concrete thickness and condition
- Bay width and depth
- Door locations
- Lighting and overhead obstructions
- Electrical availability
- Where technicians need to move around the vehicle
- What vehicles the shop may service in the future
A lift that looks perfect on paper can be a bad choice if it doesn’t work with the building.
Buy for the work you actually do
If you already know exactly what lift you want, great.
If you don’t, that’s normal too. This is something we deal with every day. We’d rather spend a little time up front making sure the equipment fits the shop than find out during installation that something was overlooked.
Northcoast Equipment Specialists provides automotive lift sales, installation, and service throughout Northeast Ohio. If you’re planning a new lift or an entire shop, contact us and we can help determine what makes the most sense for your application.
Choosing the Right Type of Automotive Lift