These lifts are very expensive... Take a look at SJR Garage Equipment Model 3 or 4 Ramp. (sjrgarageequipment.co.uk) These are also moveable on detachable castors. Good for 3500Kgs. Word has it that these are used by McLaren ! Irrespective, there are several choices that may be suitable. Yes, it's an English company but mine cost about USD2500. You might be able to contact them and take it from there. Perhaps someone in the USA does them too. For a home garage, either to store cars or to work on, in my mind they are completely brilliant, well made, and easily moveable. No need to bolt to the floor. What more do you want! PS. Other than being a customer, I have no association with SJR Garage whatsoever.
I've had an Atlas 4 post lift for 8 years now that has never had a single problem, and that is with switching different cars around almost once a week to drive. Does not have to be bolted down and even comes with polyurethane casters to roll it / set it up wherever you want. Very good quality and reasonable price back then.
I got a 4-post Titan 2 years ago when I bought my 360. It's been great and it was 5k all in. It also has an 8,000 lb. capacity so I could put my wife's SUV up there if I wanted. Generally, it's my 5 series that is up there in the summer. My neighbor has a single post that is great for space and aesthetics, but it also cost 3x-4x the 4-poster. The hardest part of the entire installation was getting the worm drive garage door opener. That took 4 months to come in and I had 3 companies looking!
Using a single post lift is easy except that you need to consider which side of the garage you are going to install the lift. If, when facing the garage, the lift is installed on the left, with the post on the left, you will always have to back the car on the lift as you will be unable to open the driver-side door if you drive in forward unless you have a car with gull wing doors. That was my only choice and it makes getting the car on the lift more difficult. You are looking over your right shoulder, making sure that, a) you are on the lift ramps and b) that you are not going to scrape the right rear quarter panel on the lift post as you reverse. I didn’t have any choice as my high lift bay is on the left and a 4 post lift would have compromised the remaining garage space. Certainly not enough of an issue to void installing one but something to consider before you purchase a lift.
Well I had a similar problem in my garage. I used one single lift see picture. It works quite well. I changed my roll off door to a high ceiling rolling door. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have 3 lifts in my garage, 2 that are 4 posts and 1 that is a scissor lift. The scissor lift is hands down my favorite even though it costs more. Well worth it.
I am building a single car garage that is *just* tall enough to accommodate for 2 cars one on top of the other.. the car up top will go into the roof partially. My only choice is to do a 4 post which is movable as I can't set it in concrete. I will put it in the middle as that is the only place the car up top will be able to fit inside the roof ... from my measurements. And it has to be the Ferrari, the M3 or other beemer won't fit, too tall. The M3 fits under though hopefully ...
Look into the BendPak lift It’s a good fit in a garage for car storage I can send a picture of my install if you like
I have had 4 post lifts. I sold 3 of them and took my son’s double wide 4 post. If you can turn nuts and bolts you can install it yourself. I have the luxury of a small forklift and it helped but you can also solo if you have an engine lift as I did with the first 3. Those who have limited height, see if the door is not close to flush on the ceiling. My other place had 12 foot ceiling but the door was a couple of feet suspended. I added some vertical tracks and got those two extra feet. Also I never bolted any of them. I like the idea of mobility and it proved to be advantageous.
You really need to figure out what is the purpose of the lift to pick one. Is it for storage or work ? What kind of work: oil changes, tire rotations, suspensions, engine/trans removals, etc? What kind of cars also makes a difference. I’m somewhat surprised nobody has mentioned 2-post lifts. I prefer those if you are going to work on the car. I have a Bendpak Grand Prix which I’ve been happy with. The floor is clear with it, unlike many other lifts. I don't like relying completely on concrete fasteners to hold a car up. Since the Grand Prix has a big beam on top, there should be minimal pull forces on the concrete fasteners if the car is centered properly. A downside to the two posts is that the car and the arms need to be placed every time, although things like marks on the floor can help get a car into the same place. If you are completely clueless, you can tip a car off these lifts. I shake the car every time I lift it a little bit off the floor before going higher. The posts are a slightly in the way, but you can get in and out of the car from either side. These lifts don't have anything to catch oil drips from the top car. For quick jobs, like an oil change, I would prefer a 4-post. Just drive on and it's ready to lift. One thing to consider with the 4-posts, is the approach ramps. The runways can be high enough that a low car might need ramp extensions. Perhaps others with experience can give input on that. Also, if your garage is short, you might need to take the ramps off to close the garage door. The oil drips can be a problem on these also, although it's easier to rig up something to catch them. The 4-post lift can get in the way of working on the car. Pulling a transmission from a Focus requires hanging the car partially off the lift. A 911 engine on a high lift transmission jack is blocked inside the lift and can't be just rolled out. You won't be pulling a suspension cradle off a car with one of these lifts. An actual parking lift might be the best choice for you if that's all you want to do with it. Those are generally low profile so approaching is easy and they have full floors so oil drips are not an issue. They are useless for doing any work on the car though.
Check the length before you buy. 25 years ago, I bought two Parking Solutions 4-post lifts. All Ferraris should fit, but my 1956 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I is too long. Anyone want to by a Rolls cheap?
I've got a 4 post lift in my garage, my 360 on top and my wife's SUV underneath, and I am very happy with it. The lift is also very useful for maintenance/repair, even oddball things like I can drive my lawn tractor onto the lift (had to make a little wooden frame to narrow the center opening to accommodate the tiny track), raise it up and sharpen the blades in seconds from underneath...very convenient! LIFT SHOPPERS BE AWARE....The width of a lift can turn out to be several inches smaller than advertised when you assemble it at home because the lift cables tend to run on the inside of the frame and they measure width from frame to frame. On my lift it means that I have about 3" less width to work with than anticipated which is significant for my 360. The 360 is really the maximum width vehicle that can go on a standard home 4 post lift, the mirrors just clear the cables and the rear axle is exactly the same width as the parking platform (stock wheels and tires). I always back the 360 onto my lift so that I'm not reversing off of the lift with a cold clutch and cold engine, hoping to save some clutch life. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I’ve had 4post BendPaks(2) for 9 years. No problems. Decided I only was concerned about storage and would not be working on any of my cars. The posts aren’t screwed into the cement floor. Both apparatuses are stable and working just fine. Had to special order for color preference. All BendPaks are manufactured in the PRC. When special instructions are attached to order, it slows up the process up by to 4 weeks. Become friends with the service department who will look after the hoists. Really need to have them checked once a year for peace of mind.
Two 4 post Bendpak HD9's - after several years no issues. 4 post work well free standing without being bolted, and Bendpak claims no issues unbolted even in earthquakes for those concerned about that. I want single post for less clutter, however, the 4 post price/value is pretty great esp if you don't want to drill concrete (or need to move it on a rare occasion)
Look at bestbuyautoequipment.com. They offer many brands and specs for comparison. I am seriously considering the Auto Lift car park-9. My garage doors are 9ft wide so it makes sense to me for the lift to have 9ft between columns. $4599 plus shipping.
I have a challenger post lift - and loved it. Am moving and will be selling it as I doubt the new buyer will want it. New garage has space for 4 cars, so no issue. Been very impressed with the Challenger build quality an service
Before you finalize your garage - make sure you get a high lift garage door and side mount opener (lead times on both were pretty long when I renovated my garage). If you're considering coating your floor, do it, its worth the money and better to get done if you do end up with a non-bolted 4 post lift. Placement of lift - plan out where the posts will be and if they interfere significantly with any pathways (its 4 freakin posts - they're going to interfere to some extent). Good to think about pathways with doors, cabinets, or just general storage. This is an interesting one - plan out where the garage door will actually stop if you need the extra 6 inches (another place where a couple inches matter) - I had plenty of ceiling height so not an issue for me but spoke with someone that was able to get the car on a lift as the run of the garage door cleared the front end of the car and stopped short of the windshield. Some lifts require an air compressor too - I chose the one that didn't but something to be aware of. Be aware of the electrical load requirements (I don't believe the electrical load was too bad but we ran a dedicated line and breaker to be certain).
I have 2 Advantage lifts in my garage and I love them. You can usually find Advantage lifts at the Mecum or Barrett Jackson car auctions. They usually have them on display so you can see them up close. I also have one Cytec four post lift that was made in the USA, but they no longer exist due to competition with Communist China. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
How tall is the ceiling in your garage? I have a 8 foot 9 inch ceiling in the garage, and I'd love to be able to get the lift in. Thanks!
It is not the lift.. it is the height of the cars dictating if you can do it or not. Lift can get up in steps, but to get the car under the one up the top you need certain height... You need to measure how tall are your cars all up, and allow for the clearances. I can barely fit my F430 on top of my M3 in a 10' garage. F430 = 50". M3=58". === so I need at minimum 10' to be comfortable raising it. Obviously if you have 2 Ferraris or some low Lambo , not a problem fitting in a 8' ceiling.
Thanks. I have a Maranello that’s 50.3” and a C8 Corvette that’s 48.6”. Total of 99”. Ceiling is 8’10” or 106”. Cutting it pretty close. Don’t think it’s going to work. Worried that I’ll be bumping up against the ceiling.
I'm happy with my 4 post Triumph lift. Important thing is to remove the overhead garage door opener (most US garages use them), replace it with a shaft mounted like the one pictured and reposition the garage door tracks above the car so they are very close to the ceiling. It gives additional 1.5-2ft lift space. Image Unavailable, Please Login
