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5 things you
have to know before
purchasing
Vehicle lifting equipment!
1. Not all auto lifts are created the same.
As the founder and President of this company I have spent the past
22 years selling, installing, repairing and developing auto lifts
for the end user. In the old days when 2 posts and 4 post above ground
car lifts were just starting to be popular the construction of the
average 7,000 lb 2 post auto lift was approximately 3 times heaver
than the modern day 10,000lb lift. There are some crucial factors
that become very important when making a car lift purchase. The thickness
of the steel column, the length of the internal slider carriage, the
size of the torsion tube, and the thickness of the steel in the arms.
The tolerances that all of those components meet when they are fitted
together, and how much play there is while the lifting process is
happening.
2. It absolutely does matter where the car
lift is manufactured. Car lifts manufactured in China are
manufactured with Chinese steel. I would be the first one to agree
that a skilled American welder and a skilled Chinese welder can do
an equal job given equal equipment. The major difference is that it
is a well known and common fact that steel manufactured in China does
not have the same molecular density that steel manufactured in the
United States has and therefore it is weaker. However, there are 2
steel mills in China that use the Bessemer smelting process (the process
that assures the proper molecular density). Steel purchased from those
factories is more expensive but overall it is equal to the U.S. Steel.
The products that are manufactured in our Chinese plants are given
specific instructions to purchase steel only from those 2 plants and
no others. Nearly every other lift manufacturing company deals with
the least expensive steel manufacturers and not the good ones. Also,
all measurements used in China are metric and when importers are making
decisions as to whether or not they should round up or round down
they almost always choose to round down mostly because shipping a
container load of product from China to the United States is based
on weight and the less the product weighs, the more product can be
shipped in a container. We choose to round up and provide our customers
with a better product. Shipping costs a little more but we feel that
it is worth our piece of mind to provide the end user with a better
product. The bottom line is you deal with a company that doesn't care
you receive a thinner gauge of metal that is inferior in quality.
It may look the same but it is not the same. Over time a thinner gauge
metal that is weaker in quality will tend to bend, warp, and misalign
the internal pullies and cables.
3. Many so-called equipment manufacturers
are simply importers hiding behind the veil of an American company.
Of the top 15 auto lift manufacturing companies in the United States
only 4 actually manufacture their product in the United States. Everyone
else imports their product from China and tries to imply that they
are the manufacturer. Every equipment (so called manufacturing) company
that sends out a catalog promoting their specific brand name has the
products in their catalog made in China. One in particular even goes
so far as to show pictures of the manufacturing facility in their
catalog, I can’t classify this as anything other than a lie
and totally dishonest. The FTC would have a field day with this if
someone were to report them.
4. Many of the companies that promote their
products on line carry only one like of products and heavily push
their own brand. If you call them they will try to tell you
how wonderful their product is (of course they will, it is all they
have). At America's Pride Inc. we carry multiple equipment lines which
give the end user the opportunity to make a logical informed decision
and base that decision on facts. It is our privilege to sell you what
you need and not some brand that we have put our name on but if that
is what you would like, we have that also. We carry American made
products and Chinese made products as well as Italian, German, Canadian
and others.
5. For as long as I have been doing this
there has always been one very important issue that has always bothered
me and I feel like everyone should be looking at their purchase this
way but unfortunately everyone doesn’t. The average
person will spend anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 dollars on a 2 post
car lift and considerably more on a larger 4 post car lift. This piece
of equipment lifts a vehicle 6 feet in the air and you are going to
stand under it and work on the vehicle. Your life obviously depends
on the quality of the welds, the quality of the steel and the character
and integrity of the company that manufactures the product. The bottom
line for most people becomes price. “What is the cheapest I
can buy it for”? If an American equipment distributor wants
to make the sale and make at least enough profit to keep the doors
open so that they can properly service you should you have a problem,
they have no choice but to sell you a product made in China. You’re
damned if you do and your damned if you don’t. What ever happened
to smart shoppers? Smart shoppers have become price only shoppers.
This philosophy might work with clothing but when it comes to a piece
of equipment that your life depends on it doesn’t make a whole
lot of sense.
"Be smart, be safe and make a sound decision
based on good business sense!"
At America's Pride we have a wide selection of all kinds of
equipment with knowledgeable people behind the product waiting to
help you make a good decision. We really do care which is probably
why we aren't sitting in the lap of luxury like some of our
competitors who blatantly lie, cheat and steal to get your business.
In buying your next car lift ask the important
questions.
Be sure to buy the best value instead of the
best price.
