If you’re a shop owner in Ankeny trying to decide between a used or new automotive two post lift for wheel bearing service, the decision usually comes down to how much abuse the lift has already taken versus how much runway you need out of it. We install and service both configurations all over central Iowa, and we’ve seen shops save real money on a clean used unit and we’ve seen shops get burned by a rusty inground relic that was never worth hauling home. Wheel bearing work in particular puts a lot of side load and swing-arm stress on a lift, so the condition of the arms, pins, and cables matters more here than it does for simple oil changes.
Browse new Rotary and Challenger two post lifts, or call us about current used inventory before you commit either way.
Two Configurations, Side by Side
Picture two Ankeny shops doing the exact same wheel bearing pack-and-press job, one on a used lift bought off a shop that closed down, one on a brand-new asymmetric two post lift straight off the truck. The used unit might be a Forward or Rotary that’s ten to fifteen years old, arms a little slower to swing, cables stretched enough that they need adjustment every few months, but structurally sound. The new unit comes with tighter tolerances, a warranty, and arm restraints that lock cleanly every time, which matters when you’re cranking a bearing press adapter against the hub and don’t want any arm creep.
Neither setup is wrong for wheel bearing work by itself. The question is what each one costs you in downtime. A used lift that needs a cable or a hydraulic cylinder reseal every year adds up in shop hours you’re not billing. A new lift removes that variable for the first several years but costs more up front. When we quote automotive two post lifts for shops doing heavy bearing and brake volume, we walk through both columns with the owner before they sign anything, because the right answer depends on how many bays you’re running and how much cash you want tied up in equipment versus inventory.
What Wheel Bearing Work Actually Does to a Lift
Wheel bearing service isn’t gentle on a two post lift. You’re loading the arms asymmetrically, sometimes with the wheel off and a bearing press or air hammer working against the hub, and that side-loading is harder on arm pins and locks than a straight oil change ever is. On an older used lift, this is exactly where you find the weak points first — a lock that doesn’t fully engage, an arm that drifts a half inch under load, a cable that’s stretched past spec. We’ve pulled inground lifts out of Ames-area shops with cylinders gushing fluid because a fitting worked loose after years of exactly this kind of repeated stress.
On a new lift, the arm restraints and locking mechanisms are tight out of the box, and the cables are matched and rated for the full lift capacity, so that side-load doesn’t translate into slow arm drift the way it can on a worn unit. That said, a well-maintained used lift with fresh cables and a recent cylinder reseal can hold up to bearing work just fine — the key word is maintained. If you’re buying used specifically for bearing and brake volume, budget for an inspection before it goes into service, not after something fails mid-job with a customer’s car in the air.
The Case for Buying New
If your Ankeny shop is doing bearing work daily and every hour of downtime costs you real money, new automotive two post lifts remove a lot of guesswork. You get a warranty that actually covers the arm and cable components most likely to see stress from asymmetric loading, and you’re not inheriting whatever wear pattern the previous owner put on the unit. Rotary and Challenger both build asymmetric two post configurations designed with exactly this kind of lopsided loading in mind — the geometry keeps the vehicle’s center of gravity balanced over the base even when one arm is doing more work than the other.
New also means you control the install from day one. We coordinate concrete readiness, anchor bolt spacing, and overhead clearance before the lift ever shows up, so there’s no surprise about whether your bay can actually handle it. With a used lift, you’re sometimes working around whatever anchor pattern or floor condition the last install left behind, and that can limit where in the shop it goes. For a shop building out a new bay specifically for bearing and alignment work, starting from a clean new install often saves headaches down the road, even if the invoice is bigger today.
The Case for Buying Used
Used automotive two post lifts make a lot of sense for a shop that’s growing but not flush with cash, or one that just needs a second or third bay without doubling its equipment budget. We regularly have used Forward, Rotary, and Whip two post lifts come through when other Iowa shops upgrade or close, and a clean unit with a fresh service inspection can run a shop’s bearing and brake work for years at a fraction of new cost. The catch is you need someone who actually knows what to check — arm pin wear, cable condition, cylinder seals, and whether the safety locks engage crisply every single time.
We won’t sell a used lift for wheel bearing duty without walking through those points first, because a lift that’s fine for tire rotations can be marginal for bearing presses if the locks are worn. When we deliver a used unit, we quote it with or without installation, and we’re upfront about what condition it’s in — no surprises, no guessing. If a used lift needs a cylinder reseal or new cables before it goes into daily bearing service, we’ll say so before you buy it, not after it’s bolted to your floor.
Freight, Delivery, and Install Logistics
Whether you go new or used, the install questions are the same, and they matter for automotive two post lifts more than most shop owners expect. Do you have a forklift on site to unload, or does our crew need to bring one? Is the bay a pit setup or slab-mounted, and is the concrete rated thick enough for anchor bolts under load? We ask these questions on every quote because a lift that shows up to a bay with six inches of unreinforced slab isn’t going anywhere until the floor is fixed, and that delay costs you more than the lift itself usually does.
Lead time is different for new versus used too. New units from Rotary or Challenger often mean ordering ahead and waiting on freight, especially with power unit backorders we’ve seen stretch a delivery out weeks longer than expected. Used inventory, when we have it, can sometimes be installed within days since it’s already local. If your Ankeny bay is ready to go now and you can’t afford downtime waiting on a new lift to ship, that timeline alone might tip the decision toward used, even if new was otherwise the better long-term fit.
Capacity and Configuration for Bearing Work
Not every two post lift is built the same for wheel bearing service. Symmetric lifts work fine for general service but can crowd your swing space when you’ve got a bearing press or air tools rigged up at one corner. Asymmetric configurations, offset toward the front of the vehicle, give you more clearance to work the hub and knuckle without fighting the arm or column. If your Ankeny shop does a mix of light trucks and passenger cars, we typically steer bearing-focused bays toward a 10,000 to 12,000 lb asymmetric unit — enough capacity for the heavier trucks without overbuying for sedans.
Capacity also affects whether used inventory is even an option. A lot of the used lifts we see coming out of closing shops sit in the 9,000 to 12,000 lb range, which covers most bearing work fine, but if your shop services heavier trucks or fleet vehicles you may need to go new simply because the used market in that higher capacity range is thinner. We’ll tell you straight if what’s available used doesn’t match your actual vehicle mix — there’s no point saving money on a lift that can’t safely handle what you’re putting on it.
Making the Call for Your Shop
There’s no universal right answer between used and new automotive two post lifts — it depends on your cash position, your timeline, and how much bearing and brake volume you’re actually running through the bay. A shop doing occasional bearing work alongside general repair can often get years of solid service out of a well-inspected used lift and put the savings toward tools or inventory instead. A shop building a dedicated bearing and alignment bay with heavy daily volume usually comes out ahead buying new, where the warranty and tight tolerances reduce the downtime risk that eats into billable hours.
Either way, get the lift inspected by someone who knows what asymmetric loading does to arm pins and cables over time, and get the install logistics nailed down before delivery day. We quote both new and used automotive two post lifts for shops across the Ankeny and greater Des Moines area, and we’ll tell you honestly which configuration fits your volume and budget rather than just pushing whichever unit we happen to have on the lot. If you’re not sure which way to go, send us your vehicle mix and daily bay count and we’ll walk through the numbers with you.
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