When a shop owner in West Des Moines called us about getting auto lifts installed for a growing restoration and metal work bay, the first question wasn’t brand or color — it was used or new. He had a lead on a pair of secondhand two-post lifts from a shop that had closed, and a quote from us for new equipment sitting on the same desk. That’s a decision we walk owners through constantly, and it’s rarely as simple as “new is safer, used is cheaper.” We’ve installed both configurations enough times around central Iowa to know exactly where each one earns its keep, and where it becomes a liability nobody budgeted for.
Compare new two-post options built for heavy body work, or ask us about inspecting a used lift before you buy it.
Configuration One: The Used Lift Deal That Looked Too Good
The used route usually starts the same way — a shop closes or downsizes, and suddenly there are lifts for sale at a fraction of new pricing. We’ve seen this play out with shops moving locations that sold off multiple two-post lifts along with an alignment rack because the new building couldn’t fit everything. On paper, the savings look great. In practice, a used lift is only as good as its documented service history and its anchoring.
Before we’ll agree to get a used lift installed, we ask for the same things we’d want to see on any inspection: cylinder condition, cable wear, arm pin play, and whether the safety locks engage cleanly. We’ve done enough lift inspections on aging equipment — some in great shape, some pretty far gone — to know that a lift’s age alone doesn’t tell you much. What matters is whether it was maintained and whether it’s a model we can still get parts for. A used Rotary or Challenger two-post is often a fine buy if the frame is straight and the cylinders aren’t scored. A no-name import missing a data tag is a much bigger gamble, and that’s before you factor in the labor to remove the old anchors, which sometimes have to be cut off entirely if they won’t drive down flush.
Configuration Two: New Auto Lifts Installed From the Ground Up
The other configuration is straightforward — new auto lifts installed with a warranty, current safety compliance, and a clean anchor pattern poured for that specific model. For a restoration and metal work shop, this usually matters more than people expect. Metal work means torch heat, grinding dust, and vehicles sitting up on the lift for extended stretches while panels get replaced. A new lift with tight tolerances and fresh cables handles that kind of extended static load better than a lift that’s already put in a decade of daily service elsewhere.
New installs also let us dial in the exact model for the job instead of adapting to what’s available. If a shop is doing frame and unibody work, a wider four-post drive-on setup or a heavier-duty two-post with the right lifting capacity matters more than saving a few dollars on a used unit that’s rated lower than what the work actually demands. We’ve quoted new four-post installs alongside lift inspections on existing older equipment for the same customer, specifically so they could see both numbers side by side before deciding what to keep and what to replace.
What Actually Drives the Decision
Once you strip away the sticker price, the real decision factors are freight, floor readiness, and how the shop will actually use the equipment day to day. A used lift someone is selling locally might save on shipping, but if it’s coming from out of state, freight costs can eat a good chunk of the savings — and we still need someone on-site with a forklift or the ability to unload it, the same as any new shipment. We ask that question on every single quote because a lift sitting on a truck with no way to unload it turns a scheduled install into a delay.
Concrete matters just as much. A used lift’s old anchor pattern rarely lines up with where a new lift needs to sit, so we’re pouring fresh concrete or repositioning anyway in most used installs — which erases part of the cost advantage. For restoration work specifically, we also look at ceiling height and post spacing, since long wheelbase vehicles and trucks with camper shells need more clearance than a standard sedan bay.
The Warranty Gap Nobody Talks About
New auto lifts installed by us come with manufacturer warranty coverage on the cylinder, cables, and structural components. Used equipment doesn’t carry that protection forward in almost every case, which means the first cylinder reseal or cable replacement is coming out of your pocket, not a warranty claim. For a restoration shop running vehicles up and down all day, cylinder wear is not hypothetical — it’s a matter of when, not if.
We’ve also seen the flip side of skipping documentation: a corporate account once got burned badly by a botched install elsewhere that required a full concrete repour and reinstall, after they’d already paid the invoice in good faith. That’s an extreme case, but it’s exactly why we put install terms and workmanship coverage in writing on every estimate, regardless of whether the lift itself is new or used. If you’re buying used equipment from a private seller, ask whether the previous installer offers any similar assurance — most won’t, and that’s a real cost difference even if it isn’t a line item.
Lead Time Is the Hidden Variable
New equipment has to be ordered, and depending on the manufacturer and model, that can mean waiting on a shipment before we can even schedule the crew. We’ve had customers wait on tracking updates for a new lift because manufacturers don’t always send us tracking numbers up front, which makes it hard to give a firm install date until the truck actually shows up. Used lifts, if local, can sometimes get installed within days since there’s no manufacturing queue to wait on.
For a shop that’s mid-buildout and needs a bay operational by a certain date, that lead time difference can outweigh the cost math entirely. We always ask new customers about their timeline first, because it changes whether used, new, or a hybrid approach — keep one old lift in service while a new one gets ordered — makes the most sense.
Two-Post vs. Four-Post for Restoration Work
Regardless of used or new, restoration and metal work shops tend to lean toward one of two configurations: a heavy-duty two-post asymmetric lift for general access to the underside, or a four-post drive-on for long-term projects where a vehicle needs to sit elevated for days at a time without tying up a bay’s floor space. Two-post lifts give better wheel-off access for suspension and floor pan work. Four-post setups are better for cars that need to sit parked and stable through a long paint or bodywork process.
We’ve installed both configurations for the same customer more than once, because restoration work often needs both — quick access for mechanical work and stable storage for projects that stretch over weeks. When we quote a shop, we walk through which bays get which type based on how the work actually flows, not just what’s cheapest to install.
How We Help You Decide
Every time we get auto lifts installed for a shop weighing used versus new, we start with the same site visit: measuring the bay, checking the floor slab thickness, and asking what kind of work is actually happening there day to day. For a West Des Moines restoration shop, that usually means recommending new equipment for the primary work bays and reserving used equipment, if the price and condition are right, for lower-use secondary lifts like tire or alignment stations.
We’re not going to tell every customer to buy new — sometimes a used lift is genuinely the smarter move, especially for a shop just getting started. But we will always give you the honest read on what we’re seeing in the inspection, what the freight and concrete costs will actually add up to, and what timeline you’re really looking at. That’s the same conversation whether you’re in West Des Moines, Ames, or anywhere else in Iowa we send a crew.
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