Quarrymoor Financial, a small-business funding service in Kingman, Arizona, explains automotive lift financing for Kingman, AZ repair shops: reading a two-post or four-post lift quote, installation and electrical costs, used versus new lifts, loans versus leases, and keeping parts stock separate. County Business Patterns put Mohave County, AZ auto repair employers at 135 for 2023. Partners make credit decisions and set rates and terms.
Why lifts are a funding question at all
A lift is one of the few pieces of shop equipment that directly sets how many cars a shop can work on at once. For a small shop, adding or replacing one is a large purchase. Mohave County, AZ had 135 auto repair and maintenance employers in 2023, and 55.6% had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns 2023); another 387 repair businesses ran without paid employees in 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics, a separate count). For shops that size, paying cash for a lift can drain the account that covers wages and parts.
2 post car lift financing
Two-post lifts suit general repair, brakes, suspension and exhaust work. A quote should list the lift model and capacity, symmetric or asymmetric arms, delivery, installation, anchoring and any concrete testing or replacement, plus the electrical hookup. Financing the whole installed cost, not only the lift, avoids a surprise bill on install day.
4 post car lift financing
Four-post lifts handle alignments, longer vehicles and storage. They usually cost more and may come with alignment equipment as a package. If the package includes an alignment rig, ask for the two items priced separately so the partner can see what each costs and how long each will last.
Installation, concrete and electrical: the soft costs
A lift needs a floor that can hold it. If the slab is too thin or cracked, concrete work adds cost and time. Electrical work for the power unit is another line. These soft costs have no resale value, so some partners finance only part of them. Ask the seller to itemize them, and ask the partner how much it will include.
Second-hand or new, owned or leased lift
Used lifts are financed regularly, usually on shorter terms, and should be inspected and installed by a qualified installer. A loan or equipment finance agreement leaves the shop owning the lift at the end; a lease may suit a shop that expects to move or upgrade. The equipment financing page sets the three options side by side.
An illustration with invented numbers: a new two-post lift is quoted at $8,400 installed, and a used one at $4,900 plus $900 to move and reinstall. If the new lift is expected to work for twice as long, its cost per year of use can be lower even though the price is higher. These figures are made up.
Bay arithmetic: what a lift has to earn
Before comparing financing, work out what the lift adds. An illustration with invented numbers: a shop's second bay currently handles jobs that fit on jack stands, about 14 billed hours a week. With a two-post lift, the owner expects 22. At an invented $120 an hour of billed labor, the extra eight hours bring in $960 a week before parts. If the financing payments come to an invented $210 a week, the bay covers it several times over, provided the technician time to fill those hours exists. These figures are made up.
The weak point in that arithmetic is usually the labor, not the lift. If no technician has hours to spare for the extra work, the lift sits idle. Partners reading an equipment financing request often ask the same question.
What a lift quote should show before it goes to a partner
- Make, model, lifting capacity and whether it is new, used or reconditioned
- Installation, anchoring and any slab work, each as its own line
- The electrical hookup and who performs it
- Delivery and removal of the old lift, if any
- Serial number, or the dealer's commitment to provide it at delivery
Auto shop equipment financing beyond the lift
Shops often bundle a lift with a tire changer, a wheel balancer or a scan tool. Bundling is fine if each item is itemized. Parts stock is a different kind of cost; it turns over every week, so it fits inventory financing or a credit line rather than an equipment loan.
The auto repair funding page covers warranty receivables, buying a shop and working capital. County figures, including 19 repair employers with a ZIP 86401 address, are on the Kingman, AZ page, and other posts are on the Quarrymoor blog.
By Quarrymoor Financial · Updated
