Automotive Two Post Lifts in the Quad Cities: Used vs New Case Study

An overlanding builder outside the Quad Cities called us last spring wanting a used lift. He builds and restores 4x4s — Land Cruisers, early Broncos, a Ram with a flatbed conversion in progress — and most of his work is welding, floor pan replacement, and frame repair with the vehicle in the air for days at a stretch. He had found a fifteen-year-old two-post on a marketplace listing three hours away and wanted us to tell him whether it was a good buy. That question turned into a full evaluation, a comparison against new automotive two post lifts, and eventually an install that looked nothing like what he originally planned. Here is the whole case study, including the numbers that changed his mind.

The Used Lift He Found and What Was Wrong With It

The listing was a 9,000 lb asymmetric baseplate unit from a brand that no longer exists under that name. The seller was closing a small independent shop and wanted a fraction of new-unit money. Photos looked fine. We asked for four things: the serial plate, a photo of the cables where they leave the sheave at the top of each column, a photo of the carriage slide blocks, and a video of the lift cycling all the way up and down with the locks engaging. He got three of the four. The seller could not cycle it because the power unit had been disconnected during a panel upgrade a year earlier.

That is the moment to slow down. A lift you cannot watch operate is a lift you are buying blind. The cable photos showed surface rust and one strand starting to fray about eight inches above the sheave, which is exactly where cables fail. The carriage photos showed slide block wear well past the wear indicator. Neither is fatal on its own — cables and blocks are consumable parts — but together with an unknown hydraulic condition and a discontinued brand, we told him he was looking at a project. Used automotive two post lifts can absolutely be a smart buy, but the math has to include everything you are going to replace.

Running the Real Cost Math on a Used Unit

We put a written estimate together for him. Two new equalization cables for an orphan brand: those have to be measured and custom-fabbed, and lead time is two to four weeks. Four slide block sets. A power unit rebuild or replacement, because a unit that has sat disconnected for a year has seals that have dried out and a reservoir that has probably drawn moisture. New anchor bolts, because you never reuse them. A set of arm pads, since his were cracked. Then the parts he could not see yet: lock mechanisms, hydraulic lines, the cylinder itself.

Add freight both ways or a full day of his own time with a trailer and a forklift, plus our labor to disassemble, transport, and reinstall. When we totaled the low end of that estimate against the entry price of a new baseplate unit with a warranty, the used lift came in maybe a quarter cheaper — and that was assuming the cylinder and locks were fine. If the cylinder was scored, he was over the price of new. Nobody likes hearing that after they have mentally bought something. But we would rather show a builder the real number than let him find it out one part at a time. This is the same conversation we have in our used lift inspection guide.

When Used Actually Makes Sense

We are not against used equipment. We service plenty of twenty-year-old columns that are still square, still holding, and still safe. The used market makes sense in three specific situations. First, when the lift is from a brand still in production with readily available parts — a Rotary from the last two decades, for example, where we can pull a cable, a lock spring, or a cylinder off the shelf. Second, when you can watch it cycle under load before money changes hands. Third, when the seller is local enough that transport is a half-day rather than a weekend.

Hit all three and used is a genuinely good deal. We helped a body shop in eastern Iowa buy a pair of well-maintained commercial two-posts out of a closing dealership two years ago, and both are still running with nothing but cables and pads replaced. The difference was that we inspected them in person, the brand was current, and the shop had documented maintenance records. What kills used deals on automotive two post lifts is not age — it is orphan parts, unknown history, and distance. When any two of those three show up, we tell people to look at new instead. The warranty alone usually closes the gap.

What Restoration and Metal Work Demand From a Lift

His use case pushed the recommendation, too. Restoration work is different from general service. A car sits up for days or weeks while floor pans come out and new metal goes in. That means the locks are carrying load continuously, not cycling. It means welding spatter and grinding dust land on the columns, the cables, and the carriage. It means he is under the vehicle with a plasma cutter and a MIG gun, working overhead, sometimes with the vehicle at full height for the clearance.

For that work we want three things. Heavier-gauge columns, because sustained static load on a light-duty structure is not what it was designed around. Cables and sheaves protected from debris, which favors a design where the runs are shielded rather than exposed. And genuinely reliable mechanical locks with positive engagement you can hear and see on both columns. On restoration builds we also recommend a taller lift height so he is not hunched, and we recommend a set of stands as backup for anything sitting up longer than a shift. None of that is exotic, but it does rule out the cheapest tier of automotive two post lifts. The economy units are fine for oil changes and brake jobs; they are not what we would put a builder under for three weeks.

The Site Survey Findings That Sealed It

We drove out to his shop before he committed to anything. Thirty-two by fifty pole building, concrete he thought was six inches. Our scan found closer to four and a half, with a control joint running right down the middle of where he wanted the columns. Fourteen-foot sidewalls, so overhead clearance was not an issue. One 220 circuit feeding a welder and a compressor off the same subpanel. A wall on one side that put the passenger-side column tight against it.

The joint was the real finding. Anchors need minimum edge distance from any joint or crack, and his layout would have put two anchors within a couple inches of one. We shifted the bay eighteen inches, which meant reworking where his welding table sat, but it kept the anchors in sound concrete. We also flagged that he needed a dedicated circuit for the power unit — running a lift and a 250-amp welder off one subpanel branch is a nuisance-trip waiting to happen. That survey turned into the punch list he worked through over three weekends before the lift arrived. Prep like this is why our installs of automotive two post lifts usually finish in a day. Our concrete requirements article covers the slab side in more detail.

What He Bought and How It Is Holding Up

He bought new. A 10,000 lb asymmetric clearfloor unit from a current commercial brand, with low-profile arms so he could get under a lowered Bronco build without jacking first, plus a set of frame-cradle adapters for the truck work. He paid more than the marketplace listing by a wide margin and less than he expected once he stopped comparing against a fantasy version of the used lift. It came with a warranty, current-production parts, and a manual that matches the hardware in front of him.

Eighteen months in, he has replaced nothing but a set of arm pads he wore out with a grinder. He runs a vehicle up for a week at a time and has not had a lock issue. The clearfloor design keeps the bay open for the engine hoist and the plasma cart, which he says is the feature he did not know he wanted. That is the honest ending to most used-versus-new questions we field on automotive two post lifts: used wins when the brand is current and you can inspect it, and new wins when either of those is missing. If you are in the Quad Cities or anywhere in our service area weighing the same decision, send us the listing and we will tell you what we would tell a friend. Call 800-674-9302 and we will look at it with you before you wire any money.