If you are considering purchasing a new car lift for the garage, this article may help you select the best type of car lifts.

You must take in to account many factors when purchasing a vehicle lift or car ramp. Planning for the future and possible expansion in to other vehicle sizes and types is important. The range of scissor car elevators is vast with the most common being, two post car lifts, scissor lifts, four post lifts and platform lifts.

Two post lifts generally come either electro-hydraulic or electro-mechanically powered with a wide variety of weight and size capacities. These lifts are a jack of all trades. You can quickly change tires, change exhausts, service transmissions and do general servicing. With a relatively low cost, you will find a two post car lift in every garage or tire shop.

Full and mid-rise scissor car hoists are a low maintenance option for quick vehicle inspection and tire service. These are simple lifts that help to speed up the volume of cars serviced each day as they are drive on and drive off. Generally mid-rise lifts are surface mounted and can be mobile, while the full rise lifts are most commonly recessed in to the ground to create a safe level working space in the workshop.

Four post and full platform parking equipment is generally used in conjunction with wheel alignment and play detectors. Both lifts can also be recessed or surface mounted. Four post lifts are significantly cheaper and would be more common in most workshops. The advantage of the recessed full platform lift is the small amount of space it takes up. Both lifts can also be supplied with built in scissor lifts, meaning you can quickly and easily do tire service jobs too.

Most large lift manufactures have dozens of different lifts available and it is important that your supplier recommends the best one to suit your requirements regarding, vehicle type, power supply, space and budget.