[tubman]

In my opinion, care in installation trumps everything else. Being so old that I've blown through most of my retirement already, I bought the most reasonably priced 4-post lift I could find (it happens to be imported). Upon receipt, we checked it over pretty closely, and found it to be well constructed of the proper materials. I went so far as to pick it up at the truck terminal with my car hauler, and brought it back to my shop. I spent the next week unloading and unpacking it, and studying the installation/instruction manual and the lift components so I fully understood how it worked.

I had a local guy scheduled to install it for me, but for some reason, he backed out. In retrospect, this was the best thing that could have happened, because I was forced to install it myself. With the help of my best friend (a youngster of 74) and my cherry picker, I was able to get it installed over a two week period (we took a lot of breaks). Since we both knew how it worked, the installation went smoothly, albeit leisurely. After it was setup, we spent a couple of days adjusting it and making sure everything was in sync.

It's been installed for two years now and has served me well. I pay attention to it and observe how it operates and how it sounds every time I use it. I don't see how it could fail without giving me significant notification. As others have said before me, a lift is one of the most useful tools you can have; this is more true the older you are.

I know this is going to disappoint all of you "Backyard Buddy" fans and China bashers, but remember :

"The tools don't make the craftsman, the craftsman makes the tools."