Thinking of buying a scissor lift

Roxyred

86 X, 85 X, and 75 Spider with Abarth conversion
Heya! Considering buying a scissor lift for the fleet since my garage isn’t big enough for a post lift. Have decided I need a mid height lift, but concerned about ground clearance and accessibility underneath.

If you have one, which one and what do you like/not like? Delivery looks to be problematic as they weigh a lot, but other than that what challenges do you have with yours?

Thanks in advance! I figure if I want to know if it fits an X, ask the fellow X enthusiasts!
 
Costco had one recently that was pretty interesting. The model they had wasn’t the smallest one so the wheelbase of the X (and my 850) wouldn’t have served. https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/portable-car-lifts/ they had the 5000 unit for $1000 until just before the holidays.

The low lift movable post lift that Fiatpower (Jon Ranney) has seems to be the best all around. It lifts height enough to roll under the car using a stool and can be moved to multiple places in your garage or even out on the apron. https://www.maxjaxusa.com/dannmar-maxjax-standard-package.html

The MaxJax is the one I hope to get as you have better access to the majority of the car and it can lift the car enough to easily get the motor out the bottom using wheeled dollies or whatever cradle you choose to create. Or lift the car enough to to put it on a cradle or rotisserie to do body work over time safely.
 
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This is my lift;

https://www.gregsmithequipment.com/...MI0oiT9NOX5wIVSNyGCh15ZQcsEAAYASAAEgLDxPD_BwE

Works great for the X1/9. I can lift the car high enough to sit on a stool and roll under the car for work. Since everything on the X1/9 is in the front or the back the lift does not interfere with work. I have had the lift for about 10 years. I had the lift delivered to my office since they require a loading dock or a lot of extra freight to ship to a house. Took it home in a full size van or will fit in a full size pick up bed.
 
I had the BendPak MD6XP shown here: https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/mid-rise-scissor-lifts/

I used it for a few months while I had my 850 Coupe and it barely fit that car -- the frame was touching the tires if I recall correctly because of the short wheelbase. I was able to get around well underneath the car and it did make working on the car far easier. That said, I never felt entirely safe using it and once when I was torquing on a suspension component, I felt the car start to move pretty seriously -- perhaps it wasn't balanced just right with the rear-engine 850. I had to use ramps for most cars to clear it and I was constantly tripping over it in the garage, especially with the ramps in place. Also, while it is "portable," it's not something that's at all easy to move around unless you're a pretty strong, fit guy. I am neither, so it was an utter PITA for me to move even just a few feet.

Were I to look at lifts again, I'd probably look at something like the MaxJax, but your concrete slab garage floor will need to be at a certain spec to install one safely.
 
Clearing the lift is a problem. I have a 2 by 12 by 16ft on each side of the lift to drive the X1/9 on to clear the lift. Moving the lift is not real easy but I never move it out of the way totally. Driving up the 2x 12s is easy with any car.
 
I’d steer well clear of any lift that doesn’t support the wheels, had my 1500 up on a lift similar to the MAX one and it was very unbalanced, I would not feel safe working underneath it.
 
Costco had one recently that was pretty interesting. The model they had wasn’t the smallest one so the wheelbase of the X (and my 850) wouldn’t have served. https://www.bendpak.com/car-lifts/portable-car-lifts/ they had the 5000 unit for $1000 until just before the holidays.

The low lift movable post lift that Fiatpower (Jon Ranney) has seems to be the best all around. It lifts height enough to roll under the car using a stool and can be moved to multiple places in your garage or even out on the apron. https://www.maxjaxusa.com/dannmar-maxjax-standard-package.html

The MaxJax is the one I hope to get as you have better access to the majority of the car and it can lift the car enough to easily get the motor out the bottom using wheeled dollies or whatever cradle you choose to create. Or lift the car enough to to put it on a cradle or rotisserie to do body work over time safely.

The one thing that I think people don't fully realize with this type of lift is that you still have to drill holes in the concrete floor and bolt it down when using it. Maybe semantics but I would say it's "moveable" but not "portable." If that's not a show stopper, then IMO they do offer good value.
 
Heya! Considering buying a scissor lift for the fleet since my garage isn’t big enough for a post lift. Have decided I need a mid height lift, but concerned about ground clearance and accessibility underneath.

If you have one, which one and what do you like/not like? Delivery looks to be problematic as they weigh a lot, but other than that what challenges do you have with yours?

Thanks in advance! I figure if I want to know if it fits an X, ask the fellow X enthusiasts!

Haven't used these or even seen in person but they look promising. And no hydraulics to leak.

Happened to see this style recently: https://www.ezcarlift.com/ezcarlift_features.html

And here's a tilting style lift: https://www.autoliftproduction.com/en-us/autolift3000 These are sold under several brand names.
 
I’d steer well clear of any lift that doesn’t support the wheels, had my 1500 up on a lift similar to the MAX one and it was very unbalanced, I would not feel safe working underneath it.

I would offer a dissenting opinion on that. Certainly any 2 post type lift (or, most jacks w/ stands for that matter) or scissor lift for that matter requires more care in terms of truly balancing the CG and considering how the CG may shift when a major weight component is added/subtracted, but if one can honestly assess one's ability to consider & plan for this, lifting with the body can be a wonderful thing.

Of course, my answer it get one of each type :)
 
I would offer a dissenting opinion on that. Certainly any 2 post type lift (or, most jacks w/ stands for that matter) or scissor lift for that matter requires more care in terms of truly balancing the CG and considering how the CG may shift when a major weight component is added/subtracted, but if one can honestly assess one's ability to consider & plan for this, lifting with the body can be a wonderful thing.

Yep, while I experienced stability issues with my scissor-style lift, I suspect I just hadn't taken the time to properly balance the car on it. It can be a little tedious to position the car and the lift properly if you aren't familiar with using them. Most people think you can have any car up in the air in minutes, but I think the reality for us "shade tree mechanics" is that it's a more lengthy, involved process, at least the first several times with any given car.
 
On the EZ Lift, one thing to consider is our cars wheelbase at 86.7” versus a Fiat 500 wheel base of 90.5” I don’t know that the lift base will actually fit between our wheels:

3A959EC4-445D-4D1F-B395-C8E68FDBFEBA.jpeg


The platform is stated to be 60” long. Just some thing that would need to be checked to verify it would work.

Looks to be a nice option.

Not a fan of a car on a teeter totter, I am sure it can be dealt with safely.
 
Lifting platform type units you drive up on are great, they do make working on the suspension more difficult but with a movable tray to carry a bottle jack you can lift the car on the lift. We had a little bit of an issue with a 124 on such a unit when we replaced the A arm bushings and had to remove the spring by over rotation of the lower a arm.
 
Cool, thanks everyone! This helps a bunch. I’d looked at the bendpack and dennmar, I’ll definitely be checking out the other suggestions too. Paying attention to the balance is super important on any lift, knowing some might be a bit skittish helps.
 
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