Autolifters of America?

[DarrylD]

Anybody had any experience with Autolifters of America's 4-post / 4-ton lifts? After shopping around it looks like their M6 model would fit my available garage space perfectly as it's about 2' shorter than the others in the entry-level weight class.

http://www.autolifters.com/m6.html

A quick Google search shows the company is widely endorsed by the hotrod and collector car community and I couldn't see any negative comments published on-line.

I'd like to hear about any first-hand experiences with the company.

[914/6]

I had that exact one for about 6 years worked great . When I got it ,a couple of small pieces were missing they shipped em to me quickly.
Sold it set it up for new owner and he is happy with it also.

[gadams]

Darryl,

I have the M6, so far it has been a great lift. Autolifters was always very helpful when I called to check on the shipping status and when I needed help with assembly. When I was looking for a lift, I narrowed the list down to a handful of manufactures and started asking each very specific information on their lift and Autolifters was the only one that answered my question. I have a rule that goes if someone if difficult in the buying stage I usually want buy from them because they sure want be any easier to work with when they have my money.

My garage ceiling 9ft and as you can see below I can get my 930 on the lift with my Z28 under it.

[MovOvr1]

It looks like you could get a lot more room if you raise the tracks of your garage door up to close to the ceiling.

[DarrylD]

Hey Gents!

Thanks for the product endorsments, this is what I was hoping to hear. I've heard that the market is saturated with knock-offs made in China and the lifts are junk. Autolifters of America lifts are made in Kansas and they've been in business for quite a while. Besides the compact size, this was an important decision criteria too.

Man, Gadams, that is one beautiful 930 you've got there! I wouldn't mind looking under that every time I got into my car!

Now I've got to move my garage door tracks up about 4' to make room for the lift.

[Fast82930]

I've narrowed my search down to the Backyard Buddy or the Autolifters M6.

Are these only good for extra parking or can you actually use the jack stand support option and do suspension work or remove the engine?

[mb911]

I bought a team lift and the reason was it was made in the US in texas. The problem with it was Parts were drilled wrong and it was not powdercoated as they told me it would be. It works great have had no issues with it and it cost 2200 shipped. I do have a problem with the way it was represented. My ceilings are 9 ft as well and I had the 911 on top with the 914-6 on bottom worked well. I would probably not but from them again even though it works well. Just thought I would give my experience

[gadams]

Fast82930 I bought my lift primarily for storage and to clean/work underneath the car. I had full intentions of using it when I drop the engine, unfortunately the engine was slightly wider then the space between the ramps.

FWIW, I paid around $2400 delivered with extra pans and the wheels to make it mobile.

ga

[Beethoven]

Funny you should put such importance on it being an American-made product--to store a German-made car.

[RickKlem]

Fast82930,
That was my thoughts too. Other than being able to lift the car higher and be able to park another car underneath, what advantage would it have over the scissors type lift or any other type that would lift the body with the wheels hanging freely,like a two post system. I have also been thinking of buying a lift ,but undecided on which type to purchase.

It would be nice to own one of these units, but is it useful when you want to work on the car. The distance between the two "runners" is only 3.5 feet. I guess one advantage would be if your working on a non P-car ,you would be able to work on the drive train. I do like the idea that this unit can be moved around.

Just wondering
Rick

[DarrylD]

Hey Beethoven, read closely and you'll see made in America = NOT made in CHINA! No protectionist politics intended, rather product quality. Are we clear?

I was wondering about dropping the engine through that 3' 6" gap. Oh well, I'll just raise it and drag out the floor jack and jack stands. It will be nice to service the car standing up though. It's all a frequency of use thing.

[makaio]

Originally posted by RickKlem
I guess one advantage would be if your working on a non P-car ,you would be able to work on the drive train.

You're right! I have a 48" Eagle scissor lift and as I've found, I can't do any driveline or exhaust work on my BMW or VW while they're on it. But man is it slick for the 911's!

[gadams]

RickKlem, I also looked at the two post and it has some advantages and disadvantages just depends on your specific needs. The biggest disadvantage was it was bolted to the floor and the foundation has to meet some very specific requirements since the weight is more concentrated then on a 4 post lift. The disadvantage on the 4 post was the inability to easily remove the wheels which can still be accomplished but not as easily as the 2 post. If I were going with the 2 post I would most likely gone with the scissors type jack which can be purchase around $1000.


Why US made? My life and my cars was worth the difference, the CHINA made jacks I looked at were made with less steel, the cable strength was less, and typically had little to no safety features.

[DarrylD]

I made sure to buy a house with 12' ceilings in the garage. I've pictured getting one of these lifts for quite a while. I don't plan on staying in this house forever so I can't justify the additional construction work required to prep the floor to support a 2-post lift.

I've used an industrial strength one of these 4-post type lifts to work on my car at my buddy's shop. Once you get used to ducking all the time, using a small bottle jack and a sliding jack shelf between the ramps to lift your wheels isn't a big deal.

I think there is a lot to be said about having a "workbench" right by the wheelwell when you're doing brake work, etc. Especially handy since you can set level of the lift to where you're most comfortable.

There's a place for Made-in-China tools in my shop and Harbor Freight gets a bunch of business from me, however you wouldn't catch me under a lift from there!

[RickKlem]

Matt

Your car looks like it is lifted higher than 48" . What do they use for a mark when they claim a 48 " lift? I wouldn't think it was the bottom of the tire.
Do you have a pic with someone next to it for reference?

Rick

[mb911]

Amen! darryl