Well, I am going to give you my take on it. I have friends who have Eagle, Bend Pak, Backyayd Buddy, Superior, ect., ect. There is something that is quite apparent. Almost all the 4 post lifts built use the exact same design and the exact same mechanical parts!
I have seen lift manufactuers market their lifts by saying that they uses a full 1 H.P. pump rather than a 3/4 H.P. one, but have yet to find a company that sells a 3/4 H.P. pump!! The same goes for the thickness of the ramp material! all these lifts use the same cables, the same rams, and the same pumps! It is quite obvious that they all buy their hydraulic parts from the same vendor.
This design is a tried-and-true design and will serve the average hobbiest for many years with only minimal maintenance. There is no doubt that a commercial lift is of a more robust design, but this type of lift is designed for many,many cycles every day for many years. This is not the way most of us will use a lift! My lift only makes 10-15 cycles a week on a good week, so my point is buy a commercial lift if you have a need for hundreds of cycles a week but don't spend the extra money unless you will get the value out of it. My lift cost Less than 2K and provides me great service and a very safe platform. It is very easy to raise the front or rear suspension up for tire or suspension work with the supplied jack bridge, and the lift is completely portable! My shop has 5 bays in two different buildings connected by a drive, and I cannot tell you how great it is to be able to move the lift from bay to bay depending on the status of cars that I am working on. It is so easy to move that I regularly move it out to the drive outside when the weather is really nice outside, so I can enjoy the weather!
This same decision process has to be exercised every time you buy tools or equipment. It would be nice to have a 25 HP commercial air compressor, but my 7.5 HP compressor meets all my normal needs. I think that all the lifts that have been mentioned in this thread are good lifts and would provide many years of service. It will just boil down to personal preference and reccomendations form people who are happy with their lift.
I only know of one person who was unhappy with his lift, and his displeasure was because the vendor failed to stand behind the product when he had a problem.
Regards, John McGraw
