BTDT
Even though the lift comes highly recommended, if he has trouble competing with the PRC-manufactured lifts, you have to stop and think about whether the manufacturer will be around for potential warranty work. It's very unfortunate for the manufacturer, but you have to think about yourself first.
I paid about $3K for my lift which cosmetically appears the same as JohnZ's and the reason I went with them was because they were made in USA. Well, 3 months after my purchase, they closed because they couldn't compete with the PRC manufacturers. The first company that I bought a lift from went out of business before they could ship my lift. THANK GOD I used a credit card, those who paid by check were flat-out screwed.
I took a close look at JohnZ's lift's electric motor/pump. It is identical to mine, which is identical to the motor/pump sold by Harbor Freight which is manufactured in the PRC. You can't win.
BTW, buy the 240v version if you can. It is much more powerful. Even I was able to run 240 from the panel to the garage.
Heck, I have probably raised/lowered my lift 200 times a weekend. A bit of hyperbole but I have no hydraulic fluid leaks. I think JohnZ got a hell of a deal getting it delivered assembled. I never heard of that. I had my son and two of his friends help me to break the shipper down in the truck and lay it out on the garage floor. Each ramp weighs about 400 lbs. I had one guy help me to assemble it and I used my engine lift to raise the ramps up and secure them to cross beams. An air driven impact wrench makes things a hell of a lot simpler.
You can also contract locally to have the lift assembled in your garage.
I really believe that there is no substantial difference between 4 post lifts of a given weight capacity. They are all "certified" and the different manufacturers argue about what the various certifications really mean. Too hard to figure out for me.
